Grassy Talks
Talk 1: The Pimelea spinescens story, Dr Debbie Reynolds
Talk 2: A new grassland for Royal Park, Katherine Horsfell
Talk 3: The striped legless lizard – A short history?, Megan O’Shea
Talk 4: Offsets: The good (Yes!), the bad and the intricacies, Lincoln Kern
Talk 5: Fat-tailed dunnarts, Dr Emily Scicluna
Talk 6: The Friends of grasslands’ experience, Geoff Robertson
Talk 7: Gardening with grassland plants, Chris Clarke
Talk 8: Victoria’s golden sun moth, Graham Jury
Talk 9: Merri Creek grassy talk, Ann McGregor & Michael Longmore
Talk 10: Invertebrate pollinators in our grassy plains, Allison Menzies
Talk 11: Grassy Eucalypt Woodland talk, Ben Cullen
Talk 12: Rock the mighty Victorian Volcanic Plain, Dr John Webb
Talk 13: ‘Inch flora’, Prof. John Morgan
Talk 14: Metro’s rail grasslands, Ben Roberts
Talk 15: 25 years of grassland protection, Doug Robinson
Talk 16: From patch to landscape: Plains-wanderer conservation, Dr Dan Nugent
Talk 17: Growing great Kangaroo grass, Dylan Male
Talk 18: Grasslands of the Wimmera, Dr Joshua Hodges
Talk 19: Soil and ecosystem restoration, Kim Deans
Talk 20: Fire in grasslands, Dr Ben Zeeman
Talk 21: Seasonal Herbaceous Wetlands: bursting into life, Dr Michelle Casanova
Talk 22: Looking to the Future, Prof. John Morgan
Talk 23: Grassland orchids, Dr Noushka Reiter
Talk 24: Oh, Savannah, Dr Steve Sinclair
Talk 25: Grasslands, Burning and the CFA, Dr Joshua Hodges
Talk 26: The hard, vital business of seed collecting, Cath Olive
Talk 27: Bats over the Grassy Plains, Emma Bennett
Talk 28: Victorian Grassland Earless Dragon, Garry Peterson
Talk 29: Grasslands of the Murray Valley Plains, Dr Paul Foreman
Talk 30: Western Grassland Reserve, a Parks Victoria perspective, Parks Victoria
Talk 31: Bandicoot-Friendly Suburbs, Eilish Roberts
Talk 32: Rethinking Management for Threatened Grassland Reptiles and Frogs, David De Angelis
Talk 33: Interim management in the Western Grassland Reserve, the Wyndham experience!, Vanessa Hutchins and Sarah Box
Talk 34: Natural Damp Grasslands on the brink of extinction, Dr Jeff (Eucalypt) Yugovic
Talk 35: Wallan Wallan Regional Park, Rob Eldridge
Talk 36: Grassland Birds, Dr Mark Antos
Talk 37: Grassy Talent Time! Maggie Logan, Susan Kachaniwsky, Griffin Clements
Talk 38: Assessing EPBC offsets, issues with Vic offsets, and offset reforms, Vaughan Cox
Talk 38: Assessing EPBC offsets, issues with Vic offsets, and offset reforms
July 7, 2026
Vaughn Cox talks through issues with the way offsets are calculated at the federal level, focusing on some recent Victorian examples in this Grassy Talk. He also takes a look at proposed offset reforms and some ideas for managing the outcomes of those reforms.
Vaughn retired from DCCEEW mid-2025 after 35 years in WA and Commonwealth environment agencies. He’s been instrumental in Environmental Impact Assessments, strategic assessments, policy, program and compliance.
Talk 37: Grassy Talent Time!
June 2, 2026
This Grassy Talk features three La Trobe students who share with us their important research on microbial communities, Featherheads (Ptilotus macrocephalus) and Button wrinklewort (Rutidosis leptorrhynchoides).
After finishing a Bachelor of Science, Maggie Logan worked in bushland management until starting Honours research on how management legacies in grasslands have impacted the soil microbiome. Her Masters continues to uncover the relationship between above and below ground ecosystems, and the impact disturbance has on this relationship.
Susan Kachaniwsky’s Big Heads, Small Populations Masters concentrates on the demography and reproductive ecology of Featherheads, asking whether small and isolated populations experience reductions in fitness, and exploring interactions with invertebrates.
For his Honours project, Griffin Clements looked at fire survival and regeneration failure in Button Wrinkleworts. He runs a small indigenous nursery to regenerate urban green spaces with locally native plants.
Talk 36: Grassland Birds
May 5, 2026
From Button Quail exploding from the undergrowth beneath your feet, to raptors soaring over the plains, a huge variety of birds call our grasslands home.
In our 36th Grassy Talk, Dr Mark Antos reveals some of the astonishing diversity of birds and habitats across Victoria’s threatened grasslands.
Mark has been working in conservation science and management over the past 20 years, after doing a PhD on the ecology of declining woodland birds. His areas of work have included developing survey standards and monitoring programs, citizen science collaborations and threatened wildlife translocations.
He is currently Manager of Conservation Science at Parks Victoria and has been monitoring the wildlife and habitat structure of northern Victorian grasslands since 2009.
Talk 35: Getting there, the making-in-progress of Wallan Wallan Regional Park
April 7, 2026
The Wallan Wallan Regional Parkland Alliance (Wallan Environment Group, Merri Creek Management Committee, Friends of Merri Creek, and BEAM Mitchell Environment Group), are campaigning to create the 3000 ha Wallan Wallan Regional Parkland in Melbourne’s north.
The parkland in the upper reaches of the Merri Creek will protect the unique landscape of the Wallan Wallan region, including extensive wetlands, ancient volcanic cones and grasslands.
Hear from Rob Eldridge, local campaigner, former Mitchell Shire Councillor and key member of the Alliance in our 35th Grassy Talk. Rob has been advocating for the park’s establishment since 2010.
Talk 34: Natural Damp Grasslands on the brink of extinction
March 3, 2026
Incredibly, only a few dozen hectares of the Natural Damp Grassland of the Victorian Coastal Plain ecological community survive on the silty soils from Port Fairy to Wonthaggi.
The 34th Grassy Talk was presented as a special live only presentation by Dr Jeff (Eucalypt) Yugovic, Senior Associate Ecologist at Biosis.
Jeff, a senior consultant with Biosis for over 30 years, has been instrumental in the protection and formal Critically Endangered listing under the EPBC Act of these Damp Sands Grasslands and has published many scientific reports and papers. His insights made for a fascinating talk on this unique and most threatened grassy community.
Talk 33: Interim management in the Western Grassland Reserve, the Wyndham experience!
February 3, 2026
Wyndam Council does vital work on private land in the future Western Grassland Reserve (WGR). They look after land before it’s acquired and managed by Parks Victoria. Their program, funded by the Melbourne Strategic Assessment, is a real success story!
Vanessa Hutchins is a Senior Land Management Officer at Wyndham, and has been involved with the WGR since 2020 and grasslands for 15 years. Sarah Box is an Environment Projects Officer working with Vanessa.
Join Vanessa and Sarah to hear about wins, losses, innovations, surveying, drone work and seed production in the Western Grassland Reserve.
Talk 32: Rethinking Management for Threatened Grassland Reptiles and Frogs
December 2, 2025
Join the wonderful David De Angelis as he examines our assumptions about the best way to manage revegetation, weed control and fire for local reptile and frog populations. Habitat structure and disturbance history are often more important. David also discusses the difficulties managing populations living in highly disturbed, polluted or weedy habitats.
David is President of Frogs Victoria, teaches fauna survey and monitoring at Holmesglen Institute, and works with ABZECO and La Trobe University’s Nangak Tamboree Wildlife Sanctuary.
Talk 31: Bandicoot-Friendly Suburbs
November 11, 2025
Eilish Roberts is the Southern Brown Bandicoot Outreach Officer at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria’s Cranbourne Gardens.Home to one of Victoria’s last remaining populations of this nationally Endangered marsupial.
Eilish provides her insights into the community engagement and stakeholder collaboration she leads to promote conservation and foster ‘bandicoot-friendly’ suburbs.
It’s a heady mix of science communication, citizen science, and behaviour change to drive tangible outcomes for wildlife protection.
Talk 30: Western Grassland Reserve, a Parks Victoria perspective
October 6, 2025
The creation of the 15,000 hectare Western Grassland Reserve on the edge of Melbourne is one of the core promises of the joint state/commonwealth Melbourne Strategic Assessment. Parks Victoria is the lead land manager of the grasslands protected so far. The challenges, and potential, are huge.
Join James Neil (Ranger Team Leader Western Grassland Reserve), Kellie Jackson (Ranger Western Grassland Reserve), Nicholas Lawrence (Ranger Western Grasslands) and Jayden Maloney (Grassland Ecologist) as they give us a Parks Victoria perspective on this complex rehabilitation project.
The Western Grasslands team’s talk will also focus on the management efforts at Little Raven, the southernmost block of the Western Grassland Reserve.
Talk 29: Grasslands of the Murray Valley Plains
September, 2025
The grasslands of northern Victoria are almost as threatened as those of the Victorian Volcanic Plain. But that’s where many of the similarities end. Rainfall, soils, and many of the plants and animals differ, and wow do they do soil crusts!
Join Dr Paul Foreman for an exploration of this remarkable ecosystem. Paul is a highly regarded ecologist with years of experience working on the northern grasslands, including helping set-up Terrick Terrick National Park.
Talk 28: Victorian Grassland Earless Dragon
August 5, 2025
The Victorian Grassland Earless Dragon (VGED) is Australia’s most imperilled reptile. They were rediscovered only two years ago after many thought them extinct. Helping them recover is a complex challenge, as demand continues for land that may well be home to this amazing dragon.
Join Garry Peterson in one of the first public discussions about the rediscovery and the future of our earless friend. Garry is General Manager of Threatened Species at Zoos Victoria and chair of the VGED National Recovery Team.
Talk 27: Bats over the Grassy Plains
July 1, 2025
Bats are a key part of our grassy habitats. Emma Bennett tells us about bat ecology why they’re important, the threats they face and what we can do to help protect them.
Emma is Principal Ecologist at Elmoby Ecology, which specialises in quantifying the impacts of windfarms on birds and bats.
Talk 26: The hard, vital business of seed collecting
June 3, 2025
Cath Olive, Development Manager at Euroa Arboretum, talks with us about the realities of seed collecting. She covers the economics, the role of volunteers, legal issues and the straight-up hard work of managing it all across over a hundred species.
Cath is a driving force for restoration in the region, and a passionate educator. She balances the needs of community and farmers with positive outcomes for nature.
Talk 25: Grasslands, Burning and the CFA
May 6, 2025
In this Grassy Talk, Dr Joshua Hodges, a fire and grassland ecologist and a CFA Vegetation Management Officer, runs us through CFA’s structure, officer roles, politics, decision-making and funding.
Joshua also dives into the ecological consequences of fire (or lack thereof) in grasslands, what you can do, and what needs to change.
You can also view Joshua’s previous Grassy Talk which gave us the lowdown on the Wimmera grasslands here.
Talk 24: Oh, Savannah
April 4, 2025
We often think of historical western Victoria as treeless grassland. But much of it was savannah, with many types of trees scattered across the landscape, including many non-Eucalypts. These woodlands have almost all been cleared.
Dr. Steve Sinclair brings together historic and contemporary evidence to build a picture of these savannah woodlands. Steve will dive into their ecology, decline and efforts to restore them.
Steve is a Senior Scientist at DEECA’s Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research (ARI), and a member of the Friends of the Forgotten Woodlands.
Talk 23: Grassland orchids
March 4, 2025
The 23rd Grassy Talk on the wonderfully complex world of grassland orchids was presented as a special live only presentation by Dr Noushka Reiter, Senior Research Scientist in Conservation at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria.
Noushka’s research unravels orchids’ unique associations with mycorrhizal fungi, pollinators and habitat. She leads the Garden’s Orchid Conservation Program.
The presentation included unpublished information that was included in the live presentation as a special treat. Due to this unpublished research, we are not able to share this month’s Grassy Talk with you at this time.
In the meantime, please visit the Orchid Conservation Program at RBGV.
Talk 22: Looking to the Future
February 4, 2025
In the first Grassy Talk for 2025, Professor John Morgan discusses where we should be focusing our efforts for grassy ecosystem conservation and restoration.
John is one of Australia’s foremost grassland ecologists, and has been influential in grassland conservation policy and action for many years.
Talk 21: Seasonal Herbaceous Wetlands: bursting into life
November 5, 2024
Seasonal Herbaceous Wetlands are almost invisible, until enough rainfall coaxes them back to life. When revived, they burst on the scene with rare plants and wondrous creatures, many of which have dormant for years.
Dr Michelle Casanova has a profound understanding of these glorious ephemeral patches. She co-nominated the community under the federal EPBC Act for this amazing ecological community which is now listed as critically endangered.
Talk 20: Fire in grasslands
November 5, 2024
High diversity in native grasslands on the Victorian Volcanic Plain occurs where fire has been historically frequent. But the elements that created a culture of regular grassland burning are changing.
How do we make sure burning continues? How do we approach grassland conservation on farms that lack a burning history over the past century?
Dr Ben Zeeman is going to help us navigate this complex area. Ben is a plant ecologist and Senior Biodiversity Officer at Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority.
Talk 19: Soil and ecosystem restoration
October 1, 2024
Get the dirt on soil health! Kim Deans runs through a soils-focused, whole of system approach to restoration. Kim discusses soil health, above and below ground succession, weed management and the effects of fire and herbicide.
Kim is a holistic agricultural extension professional with over 30 years of experience and has worked with agricultural businesses navigating processes of change and transition.
Talk 18: Grasslands of the Wimmera
September 3, 2024
Head west with Dr Joshua Hodges to get an understanding of what makes the Wimmera grasslands distinctive.
Joshua is a fire and grassland ecologist. They previously worked for the National Seed Bank, where their research focused on the role of fire in promoting seedling emergence in grasslands and grassy woodlands. After moving to Natimuk in 2023, Joshua committed to raising awareness of the Wimmera’s often-overlooked grassy ecosystems and the threats they face.
Talk 17: Growing great Kangaroo grass
August 6, 2024
Kangaroo Grass is a keystone species, but surprisingly difficult to grow efficiently. Enter Dylan Male, an agricultural scientist passionate about the integration of science and traditional knowledge to improve agricultural systems.
Dylan’s recently completed University of Melbourne research supported DJAARA – the traditional owner group representing the Dja Dja Wurrung people of central Victoria – to develop Kangaroo Grass into a contemporary seed crop. In this grassy talk he shares his PhD findings on seed sowing and harvest timing, weed control and ecotype selection.
Talk 16: From patch to landscape: Plains-wanderer conservation
July 2, 2024
The Plains-wanderer is an elusive and remarkable grassland icon. Dr Dan Nugent, Bush Heritage Australia reserve manager and ecologist, knows more about them than almost anyone.
Lucky for us, Dan’s happy to share his experience and knowledge of 15 years of restoration and conservation research.
Talk 15: 25 years of grassland protection
June 4, 2024
Trust for Nature protects thousands of hectares of Victorian grassland across Victoria. Doug Robinson, their Chief Conservation Scientist reveals some of his insights from the last 25 years.
Talk 14: Metro’s rail grasslands
May 7, 2024
Ben Roberts from Metro Trains tells us how Metro is implementing their Biodiversity Management Plan, caring for the many grassland biosites they’re responsible for, and updates us on an exciting direct seeding trial right now underway.
Talk 13: ‘Inch flora’, Prof. John Morgan
April 9, 2024
One of Australia’s leading grassland ecologists Professor John Morgan (La Trobe University) gives our next Grassy Talk on a favourite subject of his – ‘inch flora’
Tiny annuals, some ‘inch-flora’ are 100,000+ times smaller than a Mountain Ash!
Talk 12: Rock the mighty Victorian Volcanic Plain
March 5, 2024
Emeritus Professor Dr John Webb (La Trobe University) reveals what underlies our great grassy land – the geology and geomorphology of the Victorian Volcanic Plain.
Cue stony rises, lava flows and heavy clay soils!
Talk 11: Grassy Eucalypt Woodland Talk
February 2, 2024
Trust for Nature‘s Ben Cullen‘s Grassy Talk on Grassy Eucalypt Woodlands. We were promised that 1200 hectares of this critically endangered ecosystem would be protected as part of the Melbourne Strategic Assessment, but more than a decade later almost none has been protected. In a shift of strategy away from Public Acquisition Overlays, Ben is leading efforts by Trust for Nature to use covenants to secure the long term protection of Grassy Eucalypt Woodland in the north of Melbourne.
Talk 10: Inverterbrate Pollinators in our Grassy Plains
November 7, 2023
Allison Menzies will give us the buzz on pollination in our grasslands – from forester moths to flower wasps, small black beetles to leafcutter bees. Her current Latrobe Uni Masters project is looking at invertebrate pollinators of five key floral plants at Illabarook Grassland Flora Reserve.
Talk 9: Merri Creek Grassy Talk
October 3, 2023
Ann McGregor and Michael Longmore from the magnificent Friends of Merri Creek and Merri Creek Management Committee will talk about how these twin organisations got to be so fabulously effective at protecting and restoring the Merri and beyond – and bringing in so many people. They have been truly instrumental in creating change.
Talk 8: Victoria’s Golden Sun Moth: The challenges and complexities of managing a cryptic invertebrate
September 5, 2023
Talk 7: Gardening with Grassland Plants
August 8, 2023
Talk 6: The Friends of Grasslands’ Experience
July 4, 2023
Geoff Robertson is a former economist and statistician, who has worked many years in Canberra and internationally, and has extensive experience in many conservation groups. He has been privileged to have close relationships with a number of first nations people. He is a former long-term president of FOG, a former co-owner of a conservation property of Garuwanga, and has been an active innovator in creating grassland projects and initiatives.
Talk 5: Fat-tailed Dunnarts
June 6, 2023
Emily recently completed her PhD at La Trobe University and is now a Research Associate at The University of Melbourne, specialising in carnivorous marsupial conservation. Within her PhD project, Emily investigated a number of key aspects of Fat-tailed Dunnart (Sminthopsis crassicaudata) ecology, captive breeding, characterisation of personality, cognitive ability, skull morphology and reintroduction success. Her questions revolved around what changes occur during captivity that might influence reintroduction success later.
Talk 4: Offsets: The Good (Yes!), the Bad and the Intricacies
May 2, 2023
Talk 3: The Striped Legless Lizard – A Short History?
April 4, 2023
Megan currently heads up The GREEN Lab @ Iramoo project at Victoria University which focuses on Grasslands: Research, Education, Engagement and Nursery (GREEN). Megan’s work has focused on Striped Legless Lizards, Spiny Rice-flower, and restoration, management and community engagement in grasslands of the Werribee-Keilor Plain.
Talk 2: A New Grassland for Royal Park
March 7, 2023
Talk 1: The Pimelea spinescens story
February 7, 2023