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Sydney event celebrates the city's wild wonders
'The Wild Wonders of Mosman' was a joint event hosted by the Mosman Environmental Foundation and Kuno.
The purpose was to learn about and celebrate the extraordinary diversity of life that exists in the heart of Sydney, to understand and be inspired by the dedicated efforts to conserve and restore this life, and to understand why conserving nature and connecting people with nature in the heart of cities is central to the broader challenge of the future of life on Earth.
Clare Taylor opened the event and explained the important role that the Mosman Environmental Foundation plays unleashing the potential of local partners to protect and enhance the natural values of Mosman. The foundation was established by Mosman Council with a founding grant from Don Seaton - a local passionate about conserving the environment.
Brett Fenton the COO of the world leading Sydney Institute of Marine Science then put Sydney harbour's marine biodiversity, the challenges it faces, and critical work of the institute in focus.
A fun fact Brett loves to point out is that there is 600 fish species found in Sydney harbour alone in comparison to 1200 across the entirety of continental Europe.
Brett explained the environmental challenges and pressures facing marine life in Sydney harbour and the suite of projects that SIMS is delivering in the harbour from replanting seagrasses, to saving White's seahorse, to bringing living seawalls back into heavily modified parts of the harbour.
The hope is that these ground-breaking efforts not just succeed in restoring the health of marine life in Sydney harbour, but for Sydney to also be a global leader in catalysing similar efforts in harbour cities across the planet.
Duncan Adams from the Wyargine Aquatic Reserve Friends is a dedicated ocean swimmer who had just recently swum from Spain to Morocco.
In his ocean swimming - he has seen a lot of what is going on under the water, and observed stark differences between the wonderful abundance and diversity of marine life in Sydney's Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve for example, and his local beach.
Duncan's big dream is to create a new aquatic reserve that helps bring marine life back into the heart of the city.
The merit of this is for marine life for its own sake locally, but also because it is an area accessible to city people to be able to easily snorkel, see and understand the beauty of our marine world and the broader importance of marine conservation.
Leading ecologist Dr David Robertson beautifully explained the myriad of plant and animal species that still exist right in the heart of the city.
For example, there are two families of the extraordinary powerful Owl, Australia's largest owl species, that live in the suburb of Mosman.
However, there has been significant loss of habitat in this part of Australia in the past 200 years, and multiple pressures that make conservation efforts essential.
After Q&A with the panel, Kuno Director Dr Phill Pullinger brought the event to a close:
"It can be a mistake to believe that the frontline of nature’s future is only found in remote wild places and have nothing to do with busy life in the concrete jungle of our cities.
Nearly half of Australia’s threatened animal species live in our cities and towns. And this is where they are under the most intense pressure and every patch of bush, every patch of restored marine habitat, and every effort can make a critical difference to their future.
Most people live in cities. Over 3 quarters of Australians live in our cities. It is the hearts and minds and decisions of people in the world’s cities that will decide the future.
People need to have a relationship with and connection with the natural world to understand it, to love it, and to take the actions needed to ensure its future, and for that to happen - nature needs to actually exist in our cities. That's why every effort here is crucial"
The event wrapped up with a story about a remarkable encounter that wildlife film-maker from Kuno Marcio (and Phill) experienced with a family of four powerful owls just in time to feature in Marcio's beautiful film on Birds of Mosman which was a beautiful and emotional conclusion to the event.
More information about joining or donating to groups committed to nature in Mosman here
It can be a mistake to believe that the frontline of nature’s future is only found in remote wild places and have nothing to do with busy life in the concrete jungle of our cities. Conserving and weaving nature into the lives of cities is absolutely crucial to the future of life on Earth
Phill Pullinger
'The Wild Wonders of Mosman' was a joint event hosted by the Mosman Environmental Foundation and Kuno.
The purpose was to learn about and celebrate the extraordinary diversity of life that exists in the heart of Sydney, to understand and be inspired by the dedicated efforts to conserve and restore this life, and to understand why conserving nature and connecting people with nature in the heart of cities is central to the broader challenge of the future of life on Earth.
Clare Taylor opened the event and explained the important role that the Mosman Environmental Foundation plays unleashing the potential of local partners to protect and enhance the natural values of Mosman. The foundation was established by Mosman Council with a founding grant from Don Seaton - a local passionate about conserving the environment.
Brett Fenton the COO of the world leading Sydney Institute of Marine Science then put Sydney harbour's marine biodiversity, the challenges it faces, and critical work of the institute in focus.
A fun fact Brett loves to point out is that there is 600 fish species found in Sydney harbour alone in comparison to 1200 across the entirety of continental Europe.
Brett explained the environmental challenges and pressures facing marine life in Sydney harbour and the suite of projects that SIMS is delivering in the harbour from replanting seagrasses, to saving White's seahorse, to bringing living seawalls back into heavily modified parts of the harbour.
The hope is that these ground-breaking efforts not just succeed in restoring the health of marine life in Sydney harbour, but for Sydney to also be a global leader in catalysing similar efforts in harbour cities across the planet.
Duncan Adams from the Wyargine Aquatic Reserve Friends is a dedicated ocean swimmer who had just recently swum from Spain to Morocco.
In his ocean swimming - he has seen a lot of what is going on under the water, and observed stark differences between the wonderful abundance and diversity of marine life in Sydney's Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve for example, and his local beach.
Duncan's big dream is to create a new aquatic reserve that helps bring marine life back into the heart of the city.
The merit of this is for marine life for its own sake locally, but also because it is an area accessible to city people to be able to easily snorkel, see and understand the beauty of our marine world and the broader importance of marine conservation.
Leading ecologist Dr David Robertson beautifully explained the myriad of plant and animal species that still exist right in the heart of the city.
For example, there are two families of the extraordinary powerful Owl, Australia's largest owl species, that live in the suburb of Mosman.
However, there has been significant loss of habitat in this part of Australia in the past 200 years, and multiple pressures that make conservation efforts essential.
After Q&A with the panel, Kuno Director Dr Phill Pullinger brought the event to a close:
"It can be a mistake to believe that the frontline of nature’s future is only found in remote wild places and have nothing to do with busy life in the concrete jungle of our cities.
Nearly half of Australia’s threatened animal species live in our cities and towns. And this is where they are under the most intense pressure and every patch of bush, every patch of restored marine habitat, and every effort can make a critical difference to their future.
Most people live in cities. Over 3 quarters of Australians live in our cities. It is the hearts and minds and decisions of people in the world’s cities that will decide the future.
People need to have a relationship with and connection with the natural world to understand it, to love it, and to take the actions needed to ensure its future, and for that to happen - nature needs to actually exist in our cities. That's why every effort here is crucial"
The event wrapped up with a story about a remarkable encounter that wildlife film-maker from Kuno Marcio (and Phill) experienced with a family of four powerful owls just in time to feature in Marcio's beautiful film on Birds of Mosman which was a beautiful and emotional conclusion to the event.
More information about joining or donating to groups committed to nature in Mosman here
It can be a mistake to believe that the frontline of nature’s future is only found in remote wild places and have nothing to do with busy life in the concrete jungle of our cities. Conserving and weaving nature into the lives of cities is absolutely crucial to the future of life on Earth
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