Memorial Lecture Series
Held annually in the third week of November, the aim of the Norman Wettenhall Memorial Lecture series is to promote dialogue and debate in the environmental arena around the 'big picture' questions that are so often drowned out by the day to day disasters and the mainstream's preoccupation with celebrity sound bites.
The lectures are hosted by the Norman Wettenhall Foundation in association with Birds Australia, the Trust for Nature and Museum Victoria - all organisations that champion the environment and with which Norman was intimately involved, either as a chairman or a trustee.
Nine lectures have been delivered so far in the Museum Victoria's AGE Theatre.
2010 Lecture
The 2010 lecture is currently being organised. This year we will have a Q and A type panel with guests each speaking for five minutes on what they would do if they had the power to save the planet for as many species as possible. The evening is going to be taped for ABC Radio National's Bush Telegraph show.
This is the tenth Annual Memorial Lecture. We are going to have limited edition prints of Norman's photography for sale to commemorate his love of nature and the work of the Foundation. This will be a very special evening and seats are definitely limited. Invitations will be available in September.
The date for the 2010 Lecture is Friday 19th November, starting at 5.30pm.
Speakers include Dr Michelle Casanova, Professor Rachel Webster, Dr Cathy Oke, Darryl Argall, Sean Dooley. The moderator will be author and presenter Michael Cathcart.
Speaker Biographies
Dr Michelle Casanova grew up in Lake Bolac in the western district of Victoria. She studied Marine Biology at James Cook University, then a PhD on water plants in the Botany Department of UNE in Armidale, working as a tutor and researcher there until 1998. Michelle now lives on a farm at Westmere, where they grow wheat, barley, canola, oats and fine-wool merinos. She has worked as a consultant on wetlands, and water plant biodiversity, and some of the work has been in documenting the diversity of a particular group of plants called 'charophytes' for the Australian Biological Resources Study through the Royal Botanic Gardens. Michelle is passionate about wetlands and biodiversity conservation and the necessity of incorporating conservation practices into productive agricultural systems.
Professor Rachel Webster is the head of the Astrophysics group at the University of Melbourne. She was born and educated in Melbourne, but studied at Cambridge University in the UK for her PhD. She then worked for 7 years at the University of Toronto in Canada before returning to start a new Astronomy program in the School of Physics at the University of Melbourne. Apart from teaching in the School of Physics, her main research interests are in extragalactic astronomy, where
she tries to understand the most distant objects we can observe in the universe. The main questions she tries to answer include: what is the structure and nature of the universe? why has life
evolved in the universe, and what preconditions are needed for life to exist? This has led to her interest in the interactions between life on Earth and the physical evolution of the planet.
Rachel has had an active interest in climate change, both from a scientific perspective and an educational one. She has lead the creation of a series of climate change subjects at the University
of Melbourne, and chairs the Victorian Geothermal Assessment Report steering committee. Rachel is very active in the Australian and international astronomical communities, and is a regular speaker in wider community forums.
Dr Cathy Oke has over 15 years' experience in the sustainability sector, including the last six years working on the Kids Teaching Kids program that connects young people with their local environment and community. Cathy has a Bachelor of Science Degree majoring in Marine Biology and Zoology and a PhD in Genetics. Cathy is a Councillor with the City of Melbourne where she is Chair of the Future Melbourne (Eco-City) Committee, Deputy Chair of the Future Melbourne (Connected City) Committee and Co-Chair of the Parks and Gardens Advisory Committee.
Darryl Argall is a retired farmer from Kiata in the Wimmera district. He served his community on many committees over the years. He entered local government in 1989 as a councillor for the Dimboola Shire Council, and after amalgamations he became Mayor of the Hindmarsh Shire Council for 7 years out of his 12 year term as councillor. Darryl was Rural Vice President ofthe Municipal Association of Victoria and board member of the Australian Local Government Association. He has been on the Wimmera Catchment Management Authority Board for 12 years and is currently Chair of the Western Region Sustainable Water Strategy Advisory Committee for DSE. Darryl is a founding member of the Hindmarsh Landcare Network and has been a member of the Gernang Landcare Group for 15 years. He now looks forward to retirement and travel.
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