Past Events

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.

End of year dinner at the Asian Restaurant

Always a fun and popular event! This year we return to the fabulous Asian Restaurant, 43 Moray Place, Dunedin. Make sure you let Bill Wilson know if you'd like to come.

Botanic Garden, Picnic Lunch with French Botanical Society

Another chance to meet the French Botanical Society. Bring a picnic lunch to the azalea garden, just through from the toilets in the upper Botanic Garden.

Old Man Range with French Botanical Society

Members are invited to join the French Botanical Society on their trip up the Old Man Range, guided by Mark Hanger. They aim to be at bottom of the Symes Rd by 11:30 am and are coming from Lake Ohau that morning. David Lyttle will be taking a 4WD vehicle from Dunedin. If you'd like to car-pool contact him at: 454 5470 or djlyttle@ihug.co.nz

Life in your backyard: bringing the social into the natural sciences

A talk by Prof. Katharine Dickinson, Department of Botany, University of Otago. 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 Mt Cargill

There is a swampy clearing in a pine plantation below and to the north of the summit of Mt Cargill. This area has not been investigated botanically and appears to contain a number of uncommon plants in the Dunedin area. Plants found there include Coprosma decurva, Aciphylla scott-thomsonii, Thelymitra cyanea and Forstera tenella. Meet at Botany Department car park at 9.00 a.m.

Winning Botany Colloquium talks

This evening of talks will be presented by the winners of the prizes at the Botany Postgraduate Research Colloquium. The student speakers will talk about their research, which will almost certainly be on a diverse and interesting range of topics. 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.

Physiological responses of macroalgae under high PAR, UVR and elevated temperature

A talk by Dr Michael Roleda, Marsden Post Doctoral Fellow, Department of Botany, University of Otago. A Department of Botany Seminar. Note special time and venue: At the Union Street Lecture Theatre (upstairs, corner of Union and Great King Streets).