Past Events

Field trip to Waipori Gorge

Due to the heavy rain we had over the last few days, which is continuing, we have unfortunately canceled this trip. Fungal foray to Waipori Gorge. Waipori has proven to be a real treasure trove of interesting fungi, so we'll be finding out what's there on Sunday. Bring your lunch, drink, a camera, warm clothes, wet weather gear and suitable tramping shoes. Meet at the Botany Dept car park at 9:00 a.m., we'll aim to return by 4 p.m.

Annual General Meeting and Photographic Competition

Judging of the 5th BSO photographic competition and a brief AGM. Entries will be on display, photographic tips given and prizes presented. At the Zoology Benham Building, 346 Great King Street, behind the Zoology car park by the Captain Cook Hotel. Use the main entrance of the Benham Building to get in and go to the Benham Seminar Room, Rm. 215, 2nd floor. Please be prompt as we have to hold the door open.

Field trip to Akatore

Akatore is a remnant of diverse coastal shrubland at the mouth of Akatore Creek 45 minutes south of Dunedin. Some special features of this site include the diversity of shrub species and threatened species such as Coprosma obconica, Olearia fragrantissima, Melicytus flexuosus and Carex littorosa with the possibility of our discovering other threatened species. We may also visit the adjacent coast where the threatened cress Lepidium tenuicaule is present as well as Myosotis pygmaea. Depart from the Dept of Botany Carpark, cnr Great King Street and Union Street (West).

Plant strategies along small-scale snowmelt gradients in New Zealand

A final MSc talk by Annika Korsten, Dept of Botany, University of Otago. A Department of Botany Lunchtime Seminar. Note: Special time and Venue: Union St Lecture Theatre, Cnr Union St West & Great King St

Oxidative damage & antioxidant defences of Ulva pertusa & a mollusk following contamination

Full title: Oxidative damage and antioxidant defences of the macroalgae Ulva pertusa and an associated grazing mollusk in response to fluoranthene contamination. A final MSc talk by Nikita Engels, Dept of Botany, University of Otago. A Department of Botany Lunchtime Seminar. Note: Special time and Venue: Union St Lecture Theatre, Cnr Union St West & Great King St

What is the role of facilitation in structuring alpine communities?

A PhD proposal by Britt Cranston, Dept of Botany, University of Otago. A Department of Botany Lunchtime Seminar. Note: Special time and Venue: Union St Lecture Theatre, Cnr Union St West & Great King St

Toxins, climate change and marine invertebrates

A PhD proposal by Kathryn Lister, Dept of Botany, University of Otago. A Department of Botany Lunchtime Seminar. Note: Special time and Venue: Union St Lecture Theatre, Cnr Union St West & Great King St

Weekend field trip to Thisbe Stream, Catlins

We will stay at Thisbe Stream where there is a six bed hut and good sites for camping. We will see beech forest with Peraxilla mistletoe, and frost hollow vegetation with the shrubs Melicytus flexuosus and Coprosma elatirioides. If we are fortunate we may see mohua—not botanical but really cool little birds. Contact Leader Graeme Loh by Wednesday 16 March.

Galapagos Islands

A talk by Graeme Loh on his recent visit to the Galapagos Islands. At the Zoology Benham Building, 346 Great King Street, behind the Zoology car park by the Captain Cook Hotel. Use the main entrance of the Benham Building to get in and go to the Benham Seminar Room, Rm. 215, 2nd floor. Please be prompt as we have to hold the door open.

Hybrid fitness and ecological speciation in flowering plants

A talk by Professor Diane Campbell, University of California, Irvine and the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, USA. A Department of Botany Lunchtime Seminar. Note: Special time and Venue: Union St Lecture Theatre, Cnr Union St West & Great King St

Free BSO BBQ!

BBQ to welcome new botany/ecology students and new BSO members. At the front lawn, Botany House Annex, Great King Street (across the road from the main Botany building). Sausage sandwiches and drinks provided free by the Botanical Society of Otago. All BSO members welcome!

Mountain tops to ocean depths: my involvement with a range of ecological/environmental issues

A public lecture by Professor Sir Alan Mark. The Charles Fleming Lecturer for 2011 is Professor Sir Alan Mark FRSNZ from the Department of Botany, University of Otago, Dunedin. He writes: "I will describe a lifetime involvement with pure and applied ecological studies of the indigenous upland snow tussock grasslands. This has been aimed at understanding the grassland ecology, its sustainable management and ecosystem services, particularly the impacts of burning and grazing, and unpredictably high water yields. This research has been interspersed with indulgences in ecopolitics, ranging from the conservation of indigenous grassland and associated mountain lands, sustainable lake management (Lakes Manapouri, Monowai and Te Anau), conservation organizations, to national park ecological surveys and long-term monitoring. Several appointed roles and a position as Deputy Director of the Temperate Grasslands Conservation Initiative of the IUCN have allowed me to indulge quite widely." In Archway 4 lecture Theatre, access from Union Street East. All public welcome!.

Slide show of the Otago and Wellington Botanical Societies' Summer Camp

A talk by David Lyttle. David will show slides taken during the Otago and Wellington Botanical Societies' Summer Camp earlier this year. A selection of photos of alpine plants taken on visits to the Eglington Valley, Gertrude Valley, Key Summit, Mt Burns, Boyd Creek, Takahe Valley and the St Bathans Range. At the Zoology Benham Building, 346 Great King Street, behind the Zoology car park by the Captain Cook Hotel. Use the main entrance of the Benham Building to get in and go to the Benham Seminar Room, Rm. 215, 2nd floor. Please be prompt as we have to hold the door open.

Field trip to McPhee's Rock, Rock and Pillar Range

A great chance to experience some wonderful alpine vegetation on the outskirts of Dunedin City. Meet at the Botany Department car park at 9 a.m.

Summer Camp at Boyd Creek, Southland

To be held in conjunction with Wellington Botanical Society from 29 December 2010 – 7 Januray 2011. We will be based at the Southland Boys High School hut at Boyd Creek in the Eglington Valley. Botanising possibilities include Lake Marian, Gertrude and Hollyford Valleys, Milford Sound, Key Summit, Eglinton Valley, Hutt Creek, Knobs Flat and Boyd Creek tops. Check the Wellington Bot Soc website for more details: www.wellingtonbotsoc.org.nz or contact Mick Parsons: email, phone (04) 972 1142.