Join us to celebrate International Women’s Day with the Tasmanian Land Conservancy and Enviro-Dynamics. 

The evening will begin with a panel discussion featuring ecologists working with conservation dogs. Speakers will share how these dogs assist in conservation efforts across a range of landscapes and conservation challenges. 

Meet the speakers:

• Melissa Houghton has a strong interest in invasive species management and biosecurity, with experience monitoring around pest eradication programs on islands around Tasmania. The year she spent on subantarctic Macquarie Island as a dog handler hunting rabbits was transformational, shaping the trajectory of her life and career in conservation. Having undergone training by one of Australia’s leading detection dog trainers, Wags and Melissa tracked the last adult rabbit on Macquarie Island. Moving on from rabbits, Melissa became an invertebrate hunter on Macquarie Island and is currently a diagnostic entomologist with the Tasmanian Government.

• Nicole Gill is a conservation detection dog handler and field ecologist who works with her dogs, Zorro, Gromit and Morello, to collect data to inform environmental research. A reformed botanist, Nicole spent much of the last 20 years working in environmental management with an invasive species focus. In 2019, she and Zorro undertook a Masters’ degree with the ANU Difficult Birds Research Group, investigating the potential for dogs to assist with the conservation of the elusive and endangered Tasmanian masked owl. When not at work conducting bird and bat mortality monitoring at a wind farm in the Tasmanian Central Highlands, Nic also writes about environmental science (and dogs!) for readers of all ages.  
• Lynn Baker (MResSci) has worked in ecology and threatened species conservation across Australia for over 40 years, both within government and as a contractor. For the past 11 years, she has worked with scent detection dogs on threatened and invasive species surveys and research, contributing to conservation management programs in NSW, Qld and Tasmania. As a member of Canines for Wildlife (CFW), Lynn currently trains and works with a team of four scent detection dogs. One of CFW’s recent projects is working with Miki, a working cocker spaniel, on critically endangered orchids in Tasmania.  
• Sue Robinson is an invasive species biologist with Biosecurity Tasmania, with a lifelong career in conservation. Trained in zoology, she has worked in zoos internationally and conducted extensive research on penguins and fur seals in Antarctica and on Macquarie Island. Sue has played a key role in island restoration and vertebrate pest eradication programs across Australia, including the Macquarie Island feral cat eradication. Since 2002, conservation detection dogs have been central to her work. She currently leads pest and weed eradication efforts on seabird islands in eastern Bass Strait through federally funded programs.

Following the discussion, we invite you to catch up and connect with your peers over networking style drinks and refreshments at the Theatre Royal bar. Vegetarian food will be provided, with dietary options available. Please let us know if you have any specific dietary requirements when registering.

If you are unable to join the event in person, streaming tickets are available. We’ll send you a link to join closer to the event.

Complimentary tickets are available for Aboriginal community members to support attendance. Please email us to receive a booking code.

Questions? Please contact events@tasland.org.au