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News
2010 News
Suzanne Medway, President of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia wins 2010 NRMA Helping People Awards
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Every year across NSW and ACT, hardworking volunteers lend their helping hands to assist charities in their community. The NRMA Helping People Awards recognise the tireless contribution these people make.
Suzanne Medway has been awarded the 2010 Environmental Volunteer Award for her contribution to preserving Australia's wildlife.
Suzanne was born in Kogarah, Sydney, and educated at Kingsgrove High School and St George TAFE. She holds an Associate Diploma in Business (Office Administration) and is a Justice of the Peace for New South Wales.
She has had considerable experience at middle and senior management positions in commercial business including Seagram Limited, A & A Insurance, and served as Company Secretary for Australian Defence Industries (a multi-million dollar government defence company) prior to retiring. She has travelled widely and is familiar with most aspects of Australian wildlife conservation. Suzanne has had prior board experience serving as a director on the boards of the Business Enterprise Development Agency in Mascot and the Business Enterprise Centre in Southern Sydney. |
She also served as Secretary and then Vice-President of the Central Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce and is a board member of the Brighton Le Sands Chamber of Commerce.
Suzanne has been a member of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia since 1988 and was elected as Secretary/Executive Director in 2002. Since that time Suzanne has modernised the office administration, created and maintained the website, increased the membership base and raised the standard of the Australian Wildlife magazine to a very professional level, along with the new wildlife email Newsletter. Suzanne has also edited three books for the Society – Conserving Australia’s Wildlife (The History of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia; Conservation Victories and Battles Yet to Win; 100 Years of Saving Australia’s Wildlife (The History of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia 1909-2009).
Her experience and commitment over the past twenty years earned her Honorary Life Membership of the Society in 2008. Suzanne’s in-depth knowledge and experience prepared her well for her new role and she was elected President of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia in March 2010.
Call for Australians to voice their opinion in the national kangaroo survey
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The kangaroo may be an Australian icon which unites the country in sporting battle, however when it comes to managing its population there appears to be as many views as there are roos and this is making their effective management difficult.
A unique study has been launched to survey Australian views of their most famous national animal with the results used to help shape future management plans for kangaroos.
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PhD candidate, Pip Chalk from the University of Western Sydney's School of Natural Sciences has created the online kangaroo survey as part of a study into the 'human dimensions' of roos.
Unlike many official reviews of kangaroo management plans which mostly attract interest from those with the strongest views and closest connection to kangaroo management, this internet-based kangaroo survey is designed to capture the widest diversity of Australian views and voices.
"The relationship between the Australian people and the kangaroo has traditionally been complex and is an on-going challenge for agencies charged with managing wildlife, ecosystems and agricultural land," says Ms Chalk.
She says better capturing of community views and greater communication between stakeholders could take the heat out of the kangaroo debate.
"Kangaroos polarise opinions and this makes them very difficult to successfully manage."
"A kangaroo bounding across the Australian landscape can inspire awe, but for people who are adversely affected by its adaptability and prolific breeding it can represent a threat to the local environment. For some, the roo is a natural resource to be harvested and under the law it's a native Australian animal that is protected."
In the kangaroo survey, participants are asked how the kangaroo makes them feel, what the animal means to the nation, their views on protection, culling and harvesting roos as a resource for food and other products.
The survey even includes a question about the television series that has become as iconic as the animal itself, 'Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'.
"Despite the place of the kangaroo in the Australian folklore and contemporary society, there is surprisingly little research into the attitudes and perceptions of Australians towards the animal. However, there is a growing international trend to collect data on community views of wild animals and use this to defuse tension between interest groups and help shape management plans which are more effective for the community and environment as a whole."
To participate in the survey visit: www.kangaroosurvey.com
Election of Executive Directors – 2010
The Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia is pleased to announce that Suzanne Medway has been elected as the 18th President of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Society on 7 April 2010. Suzanne has been a member of the Society since 1988 and was awarded Honorary Life Membership in 2009 for her outstanding services to the Society. Suzanne was elected as the Honorary Secretary of the Society in 2002. MORE
History of the WPSA released
We now have a new book on the history of the WPSA available. MORE
2009 News
100th Annual General Meeting – 2009
The historic 100th Annual General Meeting of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia Limited was held on Wednesday 25 February 2009 in Sydney. The Hon Carmell Tebbutt MP, Minister for Environment and Climate Change, was the Guest of Honour and unveiled a commemorative plaque to mark this special occasion.
Centenary Celebrations
The Society’s Centenary year started with a Sydney Lord Mayor’s Reception, which was a great success. Life Members and long term members of the Society enjoyed a morning tea in the Lord Mayor of Sydney's reception rooms to mark the start of the Society's Centenary celebrations.
A Centenary Luncheon to celebrate 100 years of conservation work by the Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia was held in Sydney on Friday 22 May 2009 in the presence of Her Excellency, Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, Governor of New South Wales.
Over one hundred members and friends joined our celebrations in the beautiful Cello’s Restaurant. Her Excellency gave an impassioned speech and unveiled a Centenary commemorative plaque.
For our Victorian members, a Civic Reception, hosted by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Robert Doyle, was held on Monday 25 May. His representative for the evening was Dr Cathie Oke, who has a special interest in environmental issues.
On Thursday 2 July a civic reception was held in Darwin, hosted by the Lord Mayor of Darwin, Graeme Sawyer. The Lord Mayor is also head of the Cane Toad Control Council.
Councillor Peter Matic, representing the Lord Mayor of Brisbane, hosted a reception for our Queensland members and supporters in the Brisbane City Hall on Wednesday 22 July.
2008 News
Centenary Membership
It is with great pleasure we invite new members to join the Society to mark our Centenary in 2009 by joining up during 2008. A special new Centenary Membership Certificate was launched on 5 January 2008 to mark our Centenary in 2009 and those new members wishing to receive a special Centenary Membership Certificate suitable for framing can do so by joining throughout 2008 and 2009 and paying a fee of $100. All funds collected through this method will go towards our wildlife preservation projects across Australia.
Existing and long term members are also invited to take out this new membership as well or to use it to introduce new members or family and relatives to the conservation work of the Society. Our aim is to expand our national membership by 2009, when we will be marking our centenary of conservation work across the nation. MORE
2007 News
Society mourns the Death of Dr Vincent Serventy AM BSc BEd DSc
Patrick W Medway AM, President of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia, expressed the great sorrow of both Council and Members on the death of their beloved President of Honour, Dr Vincent Noel Serventy AM, on Saturday 8 September 2007. He passed away in his sleep in a nursing home at Woy Woy, aged 91 years.
“He will be sadly missed by several generations of Australians who had the pleasure of meeting him, working with him or reading his many conservation publications. He was truly regarded by many of us as the ‘Father of Conservation in Australia’ and his wit and wisdom will be sadly missed,” Patrick Medway stated. MORE
2006 News
A word about the bilby from the Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia
Have you seen a bilby?
This shy little marsupial has a grey and white silky coat, long sensitive ears and pink pointed nose. With huge rabbit ears and soft grey fur it's easy to see the resemblance to rabbits, but that's where it ends. In earlier times, the guardians of the land knew that the bilby could be found all over Australia, but nowadays they can only be seen in certain remote places.
How is the Wildlife Preservation Society helping, and how can you help?
Members of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia have been working since the Society’s foundation in May 1909 to preserve and protect Australia’s wildlife in all its forms.
The Wildlife Preservation Society is proposing to support a community driven bilby conservation program in the Northern Territory that will focus on the establishment of wild breeding populations of bilbies. The program will be run out of Yuendumu (which is approximately 150 kilometres north-west of Alice Springs) through the traditional guardians of that country in conjunction with the Central Land Council.
We invite you, a visitor to our website, to also help and support these programs with us to “Save the Bilby” by making a donation to the conservation work of the Society. MORE
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Centenary of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia
The Wildlife Preservation Society was formed in 1909 and is dedicated to the conservation of Australia’s unique wildlife in all its forms. With this proud history behind us it now behooves us to plan for the future of our Society, its membership and the continued protection of our precious Australian wildlife.
Since its formation in 1909 the Society has maintained an important independent outlook and not been beholden to any government. To the contrary, the Society has been a fierce critic of poor performance by government officials and has lobbied hard to ensure that all agencies at all levels discharge their legal and moral responsibilities to ensure that our Australian wildlife is properly protected under the law. With a sound independent constitution, the Society has survived against hard times and in good times to the extent that with continuing good sound management and good leadership it will continue to flourish and make a real and ongoing contribution to protecting Australian wildlife in all its forms well into the future of Australia.
The Council of the Society is working towards a year of celebrations in 2009 to celebrate 100 years of wildlife conservation is Australia, commencing with a Centenary Luncheon, to be held in March 2009.
Keep an eye of this section of the website for further announcements about the Centenary celebrations.
National President Honoured
The National President of the Society, Patrick W Medway JP, was honoured in the 2003 Australia Day Honours. He has been made a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AM) for his service to Australian wildlife conservation and the environment through environmental education and a range of organisations and committees concerned with the preservation of Australian wildlife and nature particularly for his outstanding leadership work for the Wildlife Society Preservation Society of Australia. MORE
FOR MORE INFORMATION please contact our Office on:
Tel: 02 9556 1537 • International: +61 2 9556 1537
Fax: 02 9599 0000 • International: +61 2 9599 0000
Email: info@wpsa.org.au
Post: PO Box 42, BRIGHTON LE SANDS, NSW, 2216, Australia |
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