Updates to Plant Community Types in Eastern NSW & Implications to Transitional Arrangements for the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme

HEI are pleased to invite you to our next in person seminar on the recent changes to Plant Community Types in NSW. Our two speakers from DPE Sydney will be joined by two panelists working in the industry as we delve into the changes, as well as discuss implications for current and future projects across eastern NSW. A time to connect and network with others across the industry and hear from DPE specialists as well as a question time with our panelists and speakers. Join us afterwards for further networking and drinks at The Clarendon Hotel (with Green Drinks).

Speakers:

• Karen Caves, Principal Project Officer, Department of Planning and Environment
• Daniel Connolly, Senior Team Leader, Department of Planning and Environment

Panelists:

• Stephen Bell, Vegetation Ecologist, Eastcoast Flora Survey and University of Newcastle
• Jacob Manners, Senior Ecologist, Umwelt

Ticket price includes a drink at the Clarendon Hotel afterwards and nibbles at the event.

Thanks to our gold sponsor, NGH, and the University of Newcastle, our host.

Karen Caves, Principal Project Officer, Department of Planning and Environment

Karen Caves is the Principal Project Officer, Offsets Practice and Guidance in the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme Branch. Karen has worked with the department for over 20 years in the field of conservation assessment, vegetation classification and mapping and most recently in the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme. 

Daniel Connolly, Senior Team Leader, Department of Planning and Environment

Daniel Connolly is the Senior Team Leader, Vegetation Ecology and Classification in the Remote Sensing and Landscape Science Branch in the Department of Planning and Environment. He has worked for over 25 years with vegetation classification and mapping programs.

Stephen Bell, Vegetation Ecologist, Eastcoast Flora Survey

Stephen works as a vegetation ecologist and consultant botanist, and has been involved in native vegetation survey, classification and mapping in the Greater Sydney and Hunter Regions of New South Wales since 1990. He has run his own specialist botanical consultancy based in Newcastle for over 25 years, and has been an adjunct researcher at the University of Newcastle for 9 years. Stephen has collaborated with government ecologists developing regional vegetation classifications since the mid-1990s, and remains involved as a consultant botanist for the Eastern NSW Plant Community Type classification. Other research interests include threatened species ecology and management, and plant taxonomy. Stephen recently served two terms on the NSW Threatened Species Scientific Committee, assessing plant species and communities nominated to the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016, and advising the NSW Minister for the Environment on such matters.

Jacob Manners, Senior Ecologist, Umwelt

Jacob is a Senior Ecologist at Umwelt (Australia) and has over 15 years of experience in the ecological consulting industry. He has an excellent understanding of the BAM and regulatory processes under local, state and federal legislation and has worked extensively on both large and small biodiversity impact assessment projects. Jacob has a wealth of experience in practical site scale application of the NSW plant community types, including the revised eastern NSW classification.

Please see below materials/recording from the event.

Download information: HEI Seminar – PCT Transitional arrangements for the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme

Download PowerPoint slides: Slides