Dr Michael Mulvaney, ‘Red Hill Regenerators’

Michael’s talk will be a natural history of Red Hill from its geological formation to the plants and animals that occur there today. It will have a specific focus but will place Red Hill into a wider ACT conservation context.
Dr Michael Mulvaney has been playing on Red Hill for more than 50 years. Over that time he has learnt the Hill’s story backwards and been part of its restoration to one of Australia’s most significant woodland remnants. Concern with all the garden escapees smothering his beloved Hill, led Michael into a PhD as to why some garden plants become weeds and most don’t. This led him in turn to being a junior author of the Weed Risk Assessment currently used as part of Australia quarantine checks. The wildlife knowledge he accumulated on Red Hill has seen Michael employed by the Commonwealth, NSW and ACT governments to provide expert advice on protecting native plants and animals  into planning, development and conservation management decisions.