A giant of conservation, Gondwana Link’s Keith Bradby, will be a guest presenter at the launch of Nature Conservation Margaret River Region’s new Sundowner Series at the Margaret River District Club on Tuesday, October 4th.

It will be the first in the NCMRR series of informal sundowner evenings over the next 12 months – each one looking at a particular environmental issue with key speakers and an audience Q&A, responding to the conservation-focused community who are custodians and advocates for the nature of our region.

Mr Bradby, who received an Order of Australia Medal for service to conservation, is the narrator of the films A Million Acres a Year and Breathing life into Boodja. He will discuss how Margaret River region residents have a vital role to play in Gondwana Link. Mr Bradby is the chief executive and co-founder of Gondwana Link, which is an ambitious project successfully reconnecting country, ecosystem function, wildlife corridors and biodiversity across south-western Australia from Margaret River to the Nullarbor Plain.

Nature Conservation general manager Drew McKenzie will MC the October 4 evening titled Gondwana Link: 1000km of Reconnected Country – a big picture approach and where Margaret River fit. It will also feature a discussion panel including Zac Webb from Undalup Association and an audience Q&A. Tickets are $15 each or $35 including an annual NCMRR membership and include a light supper and beer or wine on entry. See www.natureconservation.org.au for tickets and details.

NCMRR chair Dr Ann Ward said the Sundowner Series was “an excellent opportunity for robust discussion from a range of perspectives in the Margaret River region”. “I believe that living here comes with a responsibility to be an informed community who can learn together how to best care for where we live and how we can contribute to the wellbeing of the natural world,” she said.

The next events in the Sundowner Series coming later in the year will focus on themes such as 20 years protecting the Wooditchup Bilya (Margaret River); spotlight on the Margaret River region coast and marine life; and fire and its impacts.

Dr Ward said it was a privilege to welcome Mr Bradby – who helped establish some of Australia’s earliest land care groups, worked at a policy level in government, and has run beekeeping and native seed businesses – for the opening sundowner on October 4.

“We feel truly honoured to have Keith launching this important series. What he has achieved since he actively commenced his environmental work in 1976 and over the last 20 years since establishing Gondwana Link has made a huge difference to the ecological and cultural landscape of the South-West. He’s a giant of conservation and a hugely entertaining and inspiring public speaker. This is an event not to missed,” she said.