2023 Flying-Fox Forum Overview

Ecosure has facilitated seven successful Flying-fox annual forums, which have been attended by experts in the field and delegates from local, state and federal government, research institutions, NRM groups, NGOs, wildlife care organisations and conservation groups.

In 2023 we hosted a hybrid forum including a recorded full day of talks and a second half day workshop with a field trip to Kooloonbung Creek Camp, Port Macquarie (hosted by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment).

The forum was held at Sails Port Macquarie, by Rydges.

2022 Flying-Fox Forum Overview

The 7^th National Flying-fox Forum was held in South Australia at the Adelaide Zoo.  This was the first intentional year the forum was delivered as a hybrid event over the  two days in September.   Speakers and delegates traveled to engage in the forum and contributed valuable and topical updates across the various states. 

The event was attended by 100 passionate delegates who participated in-person and online via the zoom platform.  Enthusiastic presentations and conversations continued between sessions in our Breakout Rooms. 

Day 2 was an optional in-person workshop and roost tour in the surrounding Botanical Gardens.  During this time the group were able to hear from local organisations about their respective challenges, innovation and success throughout the recent years.  Actions to drive the Strategic Vision were discussed and will be shared soon.

2021 Flying-Fox Forum Overview

The 6^th National Flying-fox Forum was planned to be in-person, however, COVID lockdowns once again prevented this from going ahead.

With only a few weeks’ notice, we held the event virtually on September 14th for a full day of Flying-fox discussions.

The event was attended by 150 passionate delegates who participated in two online quizzes and panel discussions. We were pleased to have almost everyone show up and attend the full day.

Lucky Door Prizes included cotton bags with Grey-headed flying-fox art, hand-drawn artwork by Lizzy Lamb, Natural history of Australian bats: working the night shift, a book by Greg Richards, Les Hall and Steve Parish. And to capture the true essence of our current situation, we gave our lucky winners flying-fox themed face masks.

2020 Flying-Fox Forum Overview

The 5^th National Flying-fox Forum was held virtually over two days in November 2020 and was attended by 150 delegates.

Led by keynote speaker Dr Justin Welbergen from Western Sydney University, the 2020 Forum had 20 fantastic speakers from across the country, including a focus on the Melbourne and Victorian flying-fox context.

Delegates also participated in two interactive polls and a Power of Imagery workshop hosted award-winning conservation and wildlife photojournalist Doug Gimesy. Prizes were awarded for the top three emotive images and Doug Gimesy and Heather Kiley’s book ‘Life Upside Down’ was awarded to one of our delegates as a lucky door prize!

The new online format allowed our delegates to interact with Forum speakers in ten expo booths at the end of each day over a cold drink.

2019 Flying-Fox Forum Overview

The 4^th National Flying-fox Forum was held in Canberra from the 13-14^th November. The forum was attended by 89 individuals from local, state and federal government, research institutions, NRM groups, NGO, wildlife care organisations and conservation groups.

Delegates were invited to a dusk networking event at Commonwealth Park where they learnt about the management of this urban camp and watched the evening fly out.

The forum began with a keynote speech from Dr David Westcott (CSIRO, Land and Water), followed by updates by government representatives from ACT Government, Department of Environment and Energy, National Capital Authority, Department of Environment and Science, Government of South Australia and NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment.

Further presentations explored topics including modelling population trends, flying-fox health, mitigating and managing heat stress, and the effectiveness of flying-fox education in Australian communities.

The forum also undertook two ‘Break Out’ sessions on flying-fox dispersal techniques, learnings and lessons, and translocation protocols for rescued bats.

2018 Flying-Fox Forum Overview

The 3^rd National Flying-fox Forum was held in Cairns on the 8^th November and was attended by 84 delegates from all levels of government, non-government organisations, consultancies and community groups.

The forum aimed to take a regional focus on flying-fox research and management, while also learning new ways to effectively engage the community on flying-fox issues.

Dr David Westcott from CSIRO, Land and Water delivered the keynote address, followed by national updates by representatives from Department of Environment and Science (QLD), Office of Environment and Heritage (NSW), Government of South Australia (SA AND University of Melbourne (VIC).

The forum involved presentations by community, government and rescue organisations that explored a range of topics, including community attitudes towards flying-foxes, Hendra virus research updates and aviation strike risk.

A facilitated workshop was also run to deliver tools for effective community engagement. The forum included an optional field trip to Tolga Bat Hospital on the 9^th November, lead by Jenny Mclean from Tolga Bat Rescue and Research.

2017 Flying-Fox Forum Overview

The 2017 National Flying-fox Forum was held at Club York, Sydney, on the 25^th October.

The forum was attended by 96 delegates from all levels of government, non-government organisations, consultancies and community groups.

The forum aimed to expand on the topics raised during the inaugural forum and move on to implementing the principles of the strategic vision. A number of flying-fox experts from across the country also presented management and research updates and findings on a range of topics, including;

• NSW flying-fox foraging habitat
• OEH camp habitat modelling project
• EHP-CSIRO project update – Flying-fox ecology and managing human-flying-fox conflict
• Manager and community perceptions of camp management
• Communication and education to mitigate human/flying-fox conflict
• ARC Linkages Project and Australasian Bat Society updates
• Why are flying-fox roosts found in certain places and not others?
• Interactions between land use change, flying-fox ecology and HeV dynamics
• Modelling flying-fox heat stress vulnerability

The forum undertook two workshops to deliver a Heat Stress Response Guideline for land managers as well as identify where research gaps exist for flying-fox conservation.

The workshops were facilitated by expert panels and involved presentations by Dr Justin Welbergen, Trish Wimberley (Australian Bat Clinic) and Dr Tania Bishop.

2016 Flying-Fox Forum Overview

The 2016 National Flying-fox Forum was held over two days in September (6-7^th) and was attended by 75 dedicated individuals from all levels of government, non-government organisations, consultancies and community groups to explore the issues of flying fox management and conservation.

Day one of the forum consisted of field trips to Emerald Woods and Redcliffe Botanical Gardens, with presentations by Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay Regional Council representatives.

Day two of the forum was held at the EcoCentre (Griffith University) and involved;

• presentations by keynote speakers from the Sydney Botanic Gardens, CSIRO, University of NSW and OEH
• panel discussion lead by Ecosure/Avisure Managing Director Phil Shaw
• workshops discussing the content of the proposed National Flying-fox Strategy
• speed talks focussing on specialist project experience by representatives from LGAQ, DEHP, Sunshine Coast Council, Australian Bat Clinic, Northern Beaches Council, Sutherland Shire Council, Eco Logical Australia, Eurobodalla Shire Council, OEH, Griffith University, Australian Bat Clinic and Adair Ecological Solutions.

From Humble Beginnings

The 2016 Flying-Fox Forum

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