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Ballarat welcomes 300 forestry professionals for a national symposium

A cross-section of the nation’s leading minds have converged in Ballarat, to discuss the goal of creating a healthy and resilient future for Australia’s forests and share knowledge and ideas to ensure forests can provide a wide range of benefits for generations to come. Source: Timberbiz

Approximately 300 scientists, researchers, forestry professionals and foresters will gather at Forestry Australia’s National Symposium, to be held at the Mercure Hotel and Convention Centre in Ballarat from 29-31 October.

Under the theme – Healthy and Resilient Forests for our future, the symposium covers a wide range of topics, including the future of forestry in Australia with the co-owner of Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New – MONA, Kirsha Kaechele.

Other key speakers include Racheal Cavanagh, who will talk the Aboriginal perspective of ‘Caring for Country’, while Dr Jacki Shirmer will talk about her study looking the Regional Wellbeing Survey.

With artificial intelligence an emerging area of interest, Mike Lawson will talk about AI camera technology for bushfire detection.

Acting Forestry Australia President Dr Bill Jackson said healthy forests can deliver a range of environmental, social, cultural, and economic benefits and are much more likely to withstand future shocks and stresses, such as those generated by bushfires, invasive species and those anticipated with climate change.

The symposium aimed to facilitate conversation and explore strategies that address these issues and create a bright and innovative future for forests in Australia.

“We have a wide range of sessions and topics to re-imagine the future of forest management, for all its values so our forests can continue to benefit Australia and Australians for generations to come,” Dr Jackson said.