Past Events

Cliff ecology

A talk by Prof. Ulf Molau. Prof. Molau is an Otago University William Evans Fellow from the Department of Environmental Science, Goteborg University, Sweden. Cliffs are perhaps best regarded as an azonal biome of its own, and the ecosystems depend much more on bedrock chemistry, weathering, and solar radiation than on air temperature. Cliff species tend to have wide distribution areas, but are notoriously rare and occur as permanently fragmented populations. 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.

The Peatland /Ice Age hypothesis, and a possible glacial pulse initiation trigger

NOTE special day. A talk by Professor Lars Franzén, Earth Sciences Centre, Göteborg University, Sweden. In early December, Prof Franzén, will be visiting southern NZ to sample peat bogs. He is an ecologist/geologist, and one of the two leading scientists advocating the idea that entrapment of carbon dioxide into peat in bogs is the main cause of ice ages. 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. An end-of-year BSO dinner will follow this talk, at a restaurant to be decided. If you would like to go to dinner, email Robyn Bridges by 30 November 2007.

Trip to Pulpit Rock and the Painted Forest

A botanical day tramp for the medium to fit; a 6-7 hour return trip. Following a ridge track to the site of the old Green Hut and then upwards to Pulpit Rock where we will descend to the Painted Forest. A 75 ha pure stand of silver beech reaching an altitude of 700 m, west of the tallest peak. It is thought beech cover was widespread in the Silver Peaks which has been reduced by early fires. The origins of the name of this stunningly beautiful primeval patch of beech is a mystery. This is exposed country where conditions can change quickly, so bring appropriate clothing, footwear and food. Meet 8.30am Botany Department carpark.

A Very Merry Mere

A talk by the 2007 Allan Mere recipient Dr Peter Johnson. A celebration of the award will follow the talk. The Allan Mere was gifted by Dr Lucy Moore in 1982 to commemorate the botanist Dr HH Allan, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth. The mere is made from pounamu. As the 2007 recipient of the Allan Mere award, and as a resident of Te Wai pounamu, I shall use this as a theme, linked with a 'mere' of my own creation, to describe some of the merry places and marvellous plants of my botanical wandering and wondering. 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. Dinner will follow this talk, at a restaurant to be decided. If you would like to go to dinner, email Robyn Bridges by 12 November 2007.

Who gives a tussock? Geoff Baylis and the Hellaby Trust!

Professor Alan Mark will present the 6th Annual Geoff Baylis Lecture with a talk entitled "Who gives a tussock? Geoff Baylis and the Hellaby Trust!". Geoff Baylis was a Board member since the inception of the Hellaby Trust in 1959 and was Chairman for many years. Professor Mark has also been involved in many different ways since the Trust's inception. The Trust has supported approximately 360 projects over the years. NOTE SPECIAL VENUE: Archway 2 Lecture Theatre. Light refreshments will be served for BSO members in the University Staff Club from 5:15 p.m. Dinner will follow at 7:30 p.m. at Etrusco Pizzeria & Spaghetteria (The Savoy Building, 8A Moray Place, Dunedin), for a banquet-style meal for $25/person (or $30/person with dessert). If you would like to go to dinner, email Robyn Bridges as soon as possible and at the latest by 4 p.m., Tuesday 9 October 2007.

Field trip to Swampy Spur

Prof. Bastow Wilson will lead a trip to Swampy Spur. We'll start at Leith Saddle, walk up through bush to timberline and through subalpine scrub/grassland to the Swampy Spur raised/valley bog (see New Zealand Journal of Ecology 25, 39-52 (PDF)) and some fabulous lichens! Wear warm, windproof clothes and waterproof footwear. Trip leaves 8:30 am from Botany Carpark, returning mid afternoon. Rain date 13 October 2007.

The effects of marram grass invasion and eradications

Ten years of the dune restoration program, Doughboy Bay, Stewart Island. A Department of Botany lunchtime talk by Dr Mike Hilton, Geography Department, University of Otago. Note venue: Union Street Lecture Theatre (upstairs), Cnr Great King Street and Union Street (West).

The private life of NZ alpine plants

A talk by Mascha Bischoff. Mascha is a PhD student working on pollination of alpine plants. She splits time between New Zealand and Germany, and we're guaranteed of a beautifully presented exposé of alpine flora. More details to come about this talk, so keep an eye on this page. 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.

Weekend field trip to the Catlins

This trip will explore several coastal botanical locations over two days. Saturday will be spent around Papatowai with opportunities for a walk through the Tahakopa dune forest with its mixed podocarp and beech swamp forest, wet shrubland and pingao areas, or a shorter walk to the Picnic Point coastal cliffs. This will be followed by a look at Cannibal Bay and the rare dune slack vegetation near False Islet. Sunday will be based around Nugget Point/Roaring Bay with its huge botanical and wildlife diversity. Accommodation on Saturday night will be at Nugget Point Lighthouse Keepers house (numbers limited). Day trippers are welcome to join us on either day. To reserve accommodation or find out more contact John Barkla ph. 476 3686 (evenings) by Wednesday 12 September. Leave from Botany carpark at 9.00 am Saturday.

Antarctic glaciers and Climate change: Will global warming make Dunedin colder?

PUBLIC LECTURE - all welcome. A talk by Associate Professor Sean Fitzsimons (Department of Geography, University of Otago). Note special venue: Archway 3 Lecture Theatre.

Symposium: "Nature named & ordered"

Hutton Theatre, Otago Museum, discussing the life and works of Linnaeus and Solander, the Linnaean system of classification, and the influence of new technologies on the classification, origins and distribution of New Zealand's biodiversity. The Symposium concludes with the Cockayne Lecture 2007 by Dr Bill Lee, Landcare Research "Birds in Paradise: the role of birds in shaping New Zealand's terrestrial biodiversity". Classification of the world's biodiversity is indebted to the Swedish naturalist and physician Carl Linnaeus. He was the 'father' of our system of naming plants and animals. One of his students, Daniel Solander (1733-1782), was a naturalist, along with Joseph Banks, on the famous Endeavour voyage to the Pacific and New Zealand under the command of Captain Cook in 1769. See the Royal Society for more information about this and other related events. Download the flier and registration form.

Debating New Zealand's Grasslands' Revolution

A talk by Tom Brooking, Department of History, University of Otago. More details to follow about this talk. 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.

Unexpected effects of an invasive species and its biological controls in Montana, USA

A Department of Botany lunchtime talk by Leigh Greenwood, Candidate, Masters of Science in Wildlife, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA. Note venue: Union Street Lecture Theatre (upstairs), Cnr Great King Street and Union Street (West).

The funneling of New Zealand grass seed choices 1850s-1930s

A Department of Botany lunchtime talk by Professor Tom Brooking, History Department, University of Otago and Professor Peter Holland, Geography Department, University of Otago. Note venue: Union Street Lecture Theatre (upstairs), Cnr Great King Street and Union Street (West).

Tim Flannery - Patricia Coleman Lecture

Tim Flannery, the 2007 Australian of the Year, is giving a public lecture (Patricia Coleman Lecture) on Tuesday 7 August 7.30 pm St David St lecture theatre, University of Otago. For the location of this, please see G4.11 on this map. Tickets are available at the venue on the night from 6.30 pm (these are on a first-come-first-served basis). Please note, seats cannot be reserved. However, there are an extra 400 seats from video linked theatres now available, so there's a greater chance of ticket availability.