The 2022 WA State Natural Resource Management and Coastal Conference was held in Mandurah in September, bringing together environmental experts across a range of fields to share knowledge about supporting natural areas and assets into the future.
Held at the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre from September 19-21, the conference gave more than 100 attendees, including environmental managers, coastal planners and practitioners, the chance to share their experiences about coastal and natural resource management.
This year’s theme was Building Resilience Through Innovation. The event was held in partnership with the City of Mandurah, the Shire of Murray and the Shire of Waroona, and included Traditional Owners and guest speakers and presenters from across Australia who covered a wide and engaging range of topics.
The event was officially opened by Mayor Rhys Williams and a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony with Traditional Owner George Walley.
Keynote speaker Dr Chadden Hunter, a filmmaker and wildlife biologist who has worked alongside Sir David Attenborough for more than 20 years, explored whether wildlife films actually help conservation. Dr Steven Lade from the Stockholm Resilience Centre and Australian National University spoke about resilience theory and practice, including resilience as the capacity to deal with change. Keynote speakers also included Hon. Dr Carmen Lawrence AO from the University of WA and marine scientist Richard Campbell from The Nature Conservancy.
A number of field trips were also held throughout the three-day event, exploring some of the region’s most valued and significant land- and water-based environments including the Peel-Harvey Estuary, Bindjareb Park and the Pinjarra Massacre Site, the Thrombolites, Preston Beach and Mandurah’s coastal areas.
This highly regarded event has been held regularly since the 1990s, focusing on the challenges and opportunities in planning and managing natural resources.
Mayor Rhys Williams said the conference was an amazing display of innovative minds coming together to discover new and meaningful approaches to managing resources and coastal environments.
“We were so proud to have held the conference in Mandurah – what better place to host an environmental event of this calibre than right here,” Mayor Williams said.
“Not only was this a great opportunity to showcase our beautiful natural environment to visitors from far and wide, but the collaboration and knowledge sharing among all attendees and invited guests was amazing to see.
“I’d like to thank our event partners the Shire of Murray and Shire of Waroona, plus all of our partners, sponsors and supporters for helping to bring this diverse program to Mandurah.”
Waroona Shire President, Mike Walmsley, said feedback from delegates on the Preston Beach field trip indicated the conference was successful in invoking innovative thinking around supporting our natural environment.
“What an opportunity to have challenging conversations around natural resource management while being surrounded by some of the State’s best coasts and waterways,” Councillor Walmsley said.
“It was a pleasure to work with our neighbouring local government areas to bring this learning and networking opportunity to fruition.”
Murray Shire President, Councillor David Bolt agreed the event was beneficial for many stakeholders.
“It was fantastic to be a co-host for the State NRM and Coastal Conference this year, bringing together stakeholders in natural resources to network, learn and connect in the Peel Region. I would like to thank our event partners, and all the support organisations who assisted in making this event possible.”
