FORUM PRESENTERS
Holly Kirk - Forum Convenor
Holly Kirk is an urban ecologist and ARC Industry Fellow at Curtin University, WA. Working across disciplines in the Schools of Molecular and Life Sciences, and Design and Built Environment, Holly uses her expertise in behavioural ecology and spatial modelling to plan cities that support and enhance biodiversity. Chair of ESA Hot Topics Editorial Board, Holly is passionate about translating scientific theory into positive on-ground action.
Emma Bennett
Emma is one of Australia’s most experienced specialists in wind energy and wildlife interactions. With over 20 years of experience as an independent consultant across Australia and Southeast Asia, she has led the implementation of best-practice post-construction fatality monitoring. A pioneer in the use of detection dogs for bird and bat surveys, Emma also spearheaded Australia’s first wind turbine curtailment trial. Internationally recognised for her expertise and commitment to best practice, Emma serves as the Australasian scientific advisor for the International Conference on Wind Energy and Wildlife Interactions. She has built strong partnerships between industry,Traditional Owners, research organisations, and government agencies at both state and federal levels to drive better outcomes that balance the energy transition with wildlife conservation. Emma holds a PhD in conservation biology from MonashUniversity, specialising in evaluating imperfect detection in wildlife surveys using detection dogs. Passionate about bats and biodiversity, she is dedicated to advancing wind energy solutions that are compatible with ecological sustainability.
Presentation Title:
Wind turbines kill bats but they don't have to
Dr Eric Nordberg
Eric Nordberg is a wildlife ecologist and Senior Lecturer at UNE, Australia, researching how wildlife communities respond to landscape change. His work focuses on developing best-practice strategies to enhance biodiversity and habitat suitability, particularly on large-scale solar farms and other human-modified environments.
Presentation Title:
Developing conservoltaic systems to support biodiversity on solar farms
Dr Kit Prendergast
Dr Kit Prendergast is a native bee ecologist and science communicator. She has researched native bees in relation to diverse topics, including bee hotels, bushfires, ground-nesting bees, taxonomy, pollination ecology, and citizen science. She has published over 70 peer-reviewed articles, and was awarded the Curtin Alumni Young Achiever 2024.
Presentation Title:
The crisis in Australian native bee conservation
Darcy Watchorn
Darcy is an early-career conservation ecologist based in Victoria, Australia. His research focuses on fire, invasive predators, and threatened species management. He has a particular interest in translocation as a tool to reduce extinction risk under climate change and altered fire regimes. He currently works in the Wildlife Conservation and Science Department at Zoos Victoria.
Presentation Title:
The efficacy of artificial habitats for wildlife conservation after fire
Dr Michelle Wille
Dr Michelle Wille is a senior researcher and outreach coordinator at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza and the University of Melbourne. She is interested in the ecology and evolution of avian viruses, with particular focus on avian influenza viruses.
Presentation Title:
Impacts of a potential HPAI H5N1 incursion on Australian wildlife
Paul Williams
I have been working as an ecologist across Queensland for 30 years. I have had the very good fortune of learning from some very skilled fire practioners, and being able to make observes before and after hundreds of fires. This has convinced me that the Australian bush needs much more active burning, at times of good soil moisture.
Presentation Title:
Kangaroo grass: A keystone species for ecological fire management
Dr Dale Wright
Dale Wright is based in Melbourne and recently completed his PhD at RMIT University - investigating sustainable agriculture and biodiversity conservation using coffee as a case study. Dale's nearly 20 years of experience in conservation science and practice includes conservation programme development and implementation at BirdLife South Africa, protected area management in Tanzania, private environmental consulting for large organisations, and teaching and research in environmental science. His fields of expertise include sustainable agriculture, area-based conservation, threatened species, environmental management and conservation social science. Dale is currently the Director - Science & Priority Landscapes at BirdLife Australia, overseeing the Data and Analytics team, Science and Innovation team, Key Biodiversity Areas project, Urban birds program and the Birds on Farms program. He has been a bird watcher for as long as he can remember - a passion which led him to pursue his career in conservation.
Presentation Title:
Unpacking the nature positive global goal