Nature Foundation's Conservation Conversations is back in 2025 with an exciting new format that offers more conversations with more conservationists, more often, and in a very accessible format. We know how passionate you are about conservation and are excited to provide more opportunities to learn about actions and results and engage directly with experts in their field.
Every two months, Nature Foundation's Science and Knowledge team will host a live webinar, featuring special guests working across various aspects of conservation in South Australia and beyond.
The inaugural Conservation Conversations webinar kicked off the new season on Thursday, 19 June 2025, providing an informative and engaging update about the ReBird the Ranges initiative.
Birds are essential to the health and balance of our shared ecosystems. By supporting birdlife, we also contribute to the broader goal of ensuring a healthy, thriving and sustainable environment for our collective future. ReBird the Ranges is an alliance of like-minded organisations taking nature-positive action to restore woodland bird populations and habitats across the Mount Lofty Ranges and bringing people together to regenerate habitat and protect nature in our wild spaces, farms, schools and backyards.
Earlier this year, ReBird the Ranges released a comprehensive 75-year Action Plan outlining the activities needed to reverse the decline of woodland bird species in the Mount Lofty Ranges.
You can watch the webinar recording below.
In this webinar, Dr Wendy Telfer provided an overview of the ReBird the Ranges program, its aims and Action Plan, followed by Dr Dragos Moise, who shared a summary of the restoration work that has occurred at Para Woodlands Nature Reserve, and the resulting benefits for Mount Lofty Ranges threatened woodland bird species. Dr Lucy Clive then presented an outline of the habitat restoration works at Watchalunga Nature Reserve that support the local Mount Lofty Ranges Southern Emu-wren population, which is believed to be the last stronghold for this threatened subspecies.
Following the presentation, guests then participated in a Q&A session.
About the speakers:
Dr Lucy Clive, Science and Knowledge Project Officer, Nature Foundation
Dr Lucy Clive is the Science and Knowledge Project Officer for Nature Foundation. Her passion for ecology drives her to meticulously plan, manage, and execute activities related to threatened species conservation and habitat restoration across our nature reserves.
Originating from Oxford, UK, Lucy completed a Bachelor's in Zoology and a Master's in Animal Behaviour before embarking on a year-long study of meerkats in South Africa. Her global perspective was further enhanced by her PhD research on the nationally endangered Pygmy Bluetongue Lizard with Flinders University in 2019, which involved extensive fieldwork on Nature Foundation's Tiliqua Nature Reserve, before commencing with Nature Foundation in 2021.
While the Pygmy Bluetongue Lizard remains her favourite species, Lucy works closely with many threatened native bird species, including Regent Parrots and Mount Lofty Ranges Southern Emu-wren.
Dr Wendy Telfer, ReBird the Ranges Coordinator, Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board
Wendy Telfer is deeply committed to restoring nature at scale across the Mount Lofty Ranges. As ReBird the Ranges Coordinator, she is actively working with the 20 organisations involved with the alliance to reverse the regional extinctions of woodland bird species by mobilising community action, protecting remnant habitats, and reconstructing habitat across the landscape.
Wendy's career began in ecological research and land management across various incredible landscapes around Australia. Her PhD, which integrated Indigenous knowledge with Western science, was a humbling and transformative experience, deepening her respect for the connection, wisdom, and expertise that First Nations people bring to caring for Country. Later, her work with the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation sparked a passion for planning and engagement.
Over the past 12 years, Wendy has worked with Natural Resource Management and Landscape Boards in South Australia, partnering closely with communities to care for land, water, and biodiversity. She is optimistic that we can restore nature at the scale and urgency it demands through collaboration, powerful storytelling, and empowering land managers.
Dr Dragos Moise, Para Woodlands Restoration Ecologist, Department for Environment and Water (DEW)
Dr Dragos Moise, who has a Romanian background, previously held the position of senior researcher in the field of zooarchaeology at the National History Museum of Romania. Upon relocating to Australia, he was inspired by the country's distinctive wildlife and natural environments to pursue a career in ecology. He subsequently completed a PhD in avian ecology at the University of Adelaide and has contributed to a wide range of environmental projects throughout South Australia over the past eighteen years.
Dragos has been working with the Para Woodlands Restoration Project as a Restoration Ecologist since 2011, seeing degraded farmland gradually become a valuable habitat for declining woodland birds.
Learn more about ReBird the Ranges here.