2025 President’s Report
by Priscilla Richards
This was a transition year for TPT, with the biggest turnover in committee members in quite a while. Behind the scenes, we’ve had a year of settling into our new roles, getting everyone up to speed on using our systems, and reviewing our policies and procedures.
TPT has had another successful year assisting our partner organisations to conduct critical surveys and recovery actions for a number of threatened flora. Collectively we provided approximately 980 volunteer hours in the field over 25 days, and we thank everyone who has been able to participate or contribute through membership.
Field trip summary:
- NRE Tas - Ozothamnus reflexifolia (Mt Direction), Zieria veronica (Mt William)
- Milford Forest Landcare - Caladenia saggicola, Paraprasophyllum milfordense
- Landscape Recovery Foundation - Midlands threatened orchids
- Derwent Catchment Project + PWS - weeding at remnant grassland (Jordan NR)
- Forico - Paraprasophyllum crebriflorum
- Tasmanian Land Conservancy (Pine Tier) - various spp
- Understorey Network / Hobart Airport - Calocephalus citreus seed collecting
We also ran a very popular native grass identification workshop, thanks to Phil Collier and Mark Wapstra, and a Bryophytes field day thanks to Stella Fish.
2025 - 2026 Planning
As for the coming year, we’ve had the opportunity to partner with NRM South on a successful grant application to continue recovery actions for the Southport Heath, which will include a weeding trip in spring.
The Davies waxflower recovery project with NRE that started last year is well underway, and there are several trips to the St Helens area planned for constructing exclosures and translocating plants that have been propagated at the RTBG.
Many other field trip plans are still forming, including trips that the we on the TPT committee are organising ourselves, as well as trips with TLC, NRE, Forico, Milford Forest Landcare, Derwent Catchment Program and more. You will see the Proposed Program develop as details are finalised. Field trip notifications will be emailed as soon as each trip is open for registrations.
In June, the committee met for a planning day to discuss new field trip ideas, and agree on criteria for prioritising proposed field trips. With 493 threatened plant species listed under Tasmania's Threatened Species Protection Act 1995, we need to prioritise what we put our time and efforts into. The recent re-prioritisation model for Tasmania’s threatened flora based on IUCN Red List criteria, developed by Joe Quarmby at NRE (2023), provides us with valuable information, and is a key part of our criteria.
Field Trip priority is based on a combination of these factors:
- Target species are high on IUCN Red List 2023 re-assessment
- Actions to be taken are part of an existing Recovery Plan or Listing Statement
- Data to be recorded fills a gap in NVA records
- Whether the target species are poorly reserved
- Whether there is more than one target species at a site
- Where species presence is unknown, the site’s vegetation types and conditions are assessed as likely to be supporting threatened flora
- Building a relationship with a Partner Organisation or landholder is feasible
- Site is suitable for volunteers (consider access, terrain, proximity to roadside, etc)
- Conditions on the ground are right for the survey
- Aim for balanced taxonomic and geographic spread of trips around the state
Review of TPT’s 2020 - 2025 Strategic Plan
This is the final year of TPT's 5-year Strategic Plan, and we are pleased to report on progress.
|
Strategy |
Action |
Target completion date |
Progress |
|
Prioritise target species |
Undertake a desktop assessment of Tasmania’s threatened flora to support TPT’s threatened species prioritisation |
December 2020 |
Achieved by Joe Quarmby (2023), Evaluating extinction risk in Tasmania’s vascular flora using rapid IUCN Red List assessments |
|
Coordinate a workshop with threatened flora experts to prioritise TPT’s target species |
December 2021 |
Criteria for prioritising trips achieved |
|
|
Coordinate volunteer field trips |
Work with partners to develop annual field trip program |
June - August each year |
Achieved |
|
Coordinate field trip program |
September – February each year, with out of season events as required |
Achieved |
|
|
Provide field trip reports to participants and ensure that data is submitted to the NVA |
Within 1 month of a field trip |
Field trip reports sometimes achieved. Data on the NVA achieved. |
|
|
Provide reports to land managers for field trips that involve threat assessment |
Within 1 month of a field trip involving population threat assessments |
Achieved |
|
|
Secure investment and in-kind support for event coordination and administrative support (2 weeks per year to support current activities) and website maintenance |
January each year |
Achieved in some years. Covid affected some negotiations. |
|
|
Work with partners on on ground recovery projects |
Work with partners to develop annual field trip program including working bees to undertake on ground recovery actions |
August each year |
Achieved every year |
|
Work with partners to support funding applications and lobby to increase resources for threatened flora recovery |
December 2025 |
Successful funding partnerships: LRF - midlands orchids NRE - davies waxflower NRM South - Southport Heath |
|
|
Increase opportunities for TPT members |
Secure investment and in-kind support for event coordination and administrative support (1 week per year to support current activities) |
January 2021, and January each year following |
In-kind support from partners organising trips |
|
Survey TPT members to determine if volunteer coordination and training events are meeting volunteer needs |
October 2020, and every two years following |
Scheduled for 2025 to inform next strategic plan |
|
|
Undertake volunteer training events on topic as determined by TPT member surveys |
December 2025 |
Flora ID: Orchids Native grasses Bryophytes |
Thanks to everyone who has contributed to TPT!
Priscilla Richards
TPT President