Dinner with a View

Come and be captivated by the fabulous view of the lights on the bay as you enjoy a superb meal at one of our finer restaurants., the Waterfront Kitchen.  

But more importantly, our guest speaker for the Conference Dinner is Jacqui Young, Reserve Officer, Threatened Species Management at Mount Rothwell Biodiversity Interpretation Centre (also referred to as Mount Rothwell Conservation and Research Centre).

On first experiencing Mt Rothwell in 2010 as a visitor on a nocturnal spotlight tour,     Jacqui was so inspired by their conservation achievements that she completed the     work experience component of her studies at Mt Rothwell in 2012. Captured by the     strong community of volunteers, their passion for Mt Rothwell, their commitment,           diversity of cultural backgrounds, age groups, experiences and world views, Jacqui     soon felt right at home and signed up as a volunteer. Late 2013, Jacqui           commenced  as a guide for Mt Rothwell’s guided spotlight tours and in 2014, commenced as  Reserve Officer, assisting with the day to day running of Mt Rothwell. Jacqui has also  worked at Serendip Sanctuary with Parks Victoria and with Flora Victoria.

Jacqui came to conservation from a 17 year career within the health industry, holding various non-clinical roles, her last being Medial IT Specialist at St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne. She has a strong passion  for the environment and has been lucky enough to change her career which has allowed her to use her previous experience to assist Mt Rothwell in achieving greater conservation success.

You will be sure to be inspired by a passionate and vibrant young speaker who will share her story of the conservation of native animals in the You Yangs area of Victoria.

Mt Rothwell – a successful conservation model

Australia has the worst mammal extinction rate in the world. In the last 400 years, one third of global mammal extinctions have occurred in Australia. The majority of critically endangered species no longer have the luxury of waiting for government policy to affect change across the Australian landscape. They need immediate protection and conservation.

At over 1000 acres, Mt Rothwell is Victoria’s largest feral predator free ecosystem and has been for over 10 years. Protected by an 11km predator proof fence, Mt Rothwell conserves some of Victoria’s most threatened flora and fauna populations including the critically endangered Eastern Barred Bandicoot, Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby and Eastern Quoll. These species all co-exist across the landscape. Mt Rothwell’s conservation model is simple: remove the threats, restore the habitat and the natives will thrive. Our holistic approach to threatened species management focuses on eliminating threats, restoring ecosystems and maintaining and improving population genetic diversity.

March 26 2016