2026 AGM President's Report

2026 President's Report

by Priscilla Richards

I am pleased to share with you another successful year at TPT. Firstly, a huge thanks goes to the volunteers on the TPT committee, both new and departing,  who pitch in to keep this organisation going strong and welcoming. It’s a true  collective effort. Following some mid-year committee shifts, the 2026 AGM brings more committee changes as usual. After 2 years as President, I am stepping down, but have nominated to stay on as Vice President. Sharing leadership opportunities is important to a strong succession plan and brings  fresh ideas to TPT. The organisation is doing really well and I’m confident in its future.  - Download a PDF of this report

This year we came together to draft the 2026-2031 Strategic Plan. See attached Table 1 for an excerpt of our strategies, actions, and last financial year’s achievements.

If you were one of our 175 members with the opportunity to participate in our field trips this year, remember that beyond an enjoyable day out in our beautiful Tasmanian landscapes, your recovery actions and data collection actively helps our partners manage the state’s most threatened flora. Over 24 days in the field you contributed over 700 hours of data collection, weeding, and caging threatened plants, and planting seedlings at translocation sites. Your  extra eyes and effort and enthusiasm go a long way! 

A key to our success is our highly collaborative working model. We would like to recognise the following organisations and individuals for their technical and logistical leadership on our trips (detailed in Table 1):

• NRE  | Milford Forest Landcare | NRM South | Derwent Catchment Project | Tasmanian Land Conservancy | Forico

• Private Landholders - thank you for access and support!

• Phil Collier & Mark Wapstra - for workshops and technical expertise in the field

There were many highlights this year, but a couple deserve a special mention. Surveying for Paraprasophyllum abblittiorum alongside Don Abblitt and Janine Cranney -  the local experts involved in discovering and describing the species with Phil Collier back in 2017 (see archive) -  was a wonderful moment, passing that knowledge on to new volunteers. In another momentous occasion, we joined the pakana Rangers in returning over 1000 Davies waxflower plants home, so to speak, and it was personally very rewarding feeling that connection to place and to get to know some of the pakana Rangers, new TPT volunteers, and NRE volunteers. Kudos to the NRE project team for pulling off such a successful and  collaborative project! Our 2026-27 Newsletter will be published soon, with more field trip stories.

Beyond the field trip program, the TPT committee submitted a review of NRE’s Draft Threatened Species Strategy, advocating strongly for a clearly defined strategy and investment (Read TPT's submission here).  Speaking of investment, we took up NRE’s Threatened Species Partnership Grant opportunity, partnering on 3 successful grant applications. Only 6 projects were funded in total, so we are particularly proud to be involved in all 3 flora-focused projects, which will boost our 2026-27 field trip program.

Supported by the Tasmanian Government :

• “Securing the Grassland Paperdaisy at the Vale of Belvoir through fire and seed supplementation” - delivered by Tasmanian Land Conservancy

• “Safeguarding Shy Susan (Tetratheca gunnii) - one of Tasmania's rarest plants” - delivered by NRM North

• “Protecting two sub-populations of Barbarea australis on the Guide River” - delivered by Burnie City Council 

In other news, TPT has donated to the development of a brand-new orchid app created by Malcolm Wells and Mark Wapstra. Aligning with TPT’s purpose of “learning through sharing our collective knowledge,” this donation acknowledges the many TPT members who have contributed to its development.

Finally, we look forward to another rewarding field trip program. We are early in the planning stages, but the Preliminary Field Trip Program in Table 2 (below) provides tentative timings to give you a taste of what’s ahead. Please look out for official trip notifications 2 to 6 weeks in advance.

Table 1: Strategies & Achievements

Table 2: Preliminary Field Trip Program 2026-27

 Subject to change - Please check the Proposed Field Trip Program page for more up to date information