A world-renowned political scientist who is a regular guest on Sunrise was the keynote speaker at an environmental awareness forum in Dubbo on Thursday.
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Dr Keith Suter is a lecturer at Boston University and is a regular media correspondent, appearing on Channel 7’s Sunrise as their Foreign Affairs correspondent.
Dr Suter was part of the Hollows for Habitat event at Taronga Western Plains Zoo, which looked at new ways to create environments for birds and marsupials, but also took a wider look at the environment.
The forum was the result of a collaboration between the Central West Councils Environment and Waterways Alliance, the Central West Local Land Services and the zoo.
Organiser Mick Callan said he was pleased with the turnout at the event.
“Hollows for Habitat is about trying to educate the community and the people involved in land management about the plight of hollow-dependent fauna. That’s a whole range of species, birds, possums, gliders and bats,” he said.
“Hollows take 100 years to form for a small one and up to 300 years for a larger one that suits a possum or an owl.”
Mr Callan said changes to the environment had caused a drop in the number of some species and Thursday was about educating people on what needed to be done to correct it.
A number of prominent local environmental experts spoke, but it was the attendance of Dr Suter that really caught the attention of the 100-strong crowd.
“It’s important to find a way to communicate an issue so people can understand it and see the value in it,” Dr Suter said.
He spoke about the rise of environmental awareness during the 1960s and 70s and how that had grown into today’s concern for the planet’s health. He also advised those in attendance on how to grow awareness for their cause.
Dr Suter said he was impressed with how much Dubbo had grown over the years, after being a frequent visitors to the city for previous employment.
“I used to do quite a lot of work in Dubbo because I was involved in aged care and health care. We would come out mainly using the RSL Club for our meetings and I’m very impressed with the redevelopments going on. It’s really flourishing,” he said.
The day also included a demonstration of how arborists could create artificial hollows for animals.
