Today is National Threatened Species Day in Australia.
National Threatened Species Day is held on 7th September each year – commemorating the death of the last Tasmanian Tiger at Hobart Zoo in 1936.
Have you read the children's book 'I Saw Nothing: The Extinction of the Thylacine'? I can't help but cry each and every time I read that book to Little Eco.
The idea that we can sit back, watch, and do nothing while hundreds (if not thousands) of species become extinct horrifies me.
But it's happening.
National Threatened Species Day aims to raise awareness of the plight of threatened species and to encourage community involvement in their conservation.
The general public is typically aware that many of Australia’s animals, like the Tasmanian Devil and the Hairy-nosed Wombat, are threatened with extinction. But they are often not aware that hundreds of Australian plant species face extinction.
More than 40 Australian plant species have become extinct since European settlement and over 1000 species are considered likely to become extinct within our lifetime unless something is done to reverse their decline.
Plant conservation, in reality, is what motivates me to write this blog. It's our mindless consumption and addiction to stuff that is driving species to extinction.
Plant conservation is my thing. I work for the Australian Network for Plant Conservation and have been working in the field for 20 years. I have a PhD in plant conservation and have published a few scientific papers and co-authored a book.
But I rarely, if ever, write about plant conservation in this space. Thats because I know most people aren't interested. Most people just don't care about threatened plants. I'd lose readers and achieve nothing.
But I'm interested. What would help you to care about threatened plants?
Also – what's your 'thing' and how do you encourage people care about it?
Would you like to see a couple of pretty pics of plant species that are likley to become extinct in the next decade or so unless we do something? Here's a slide show of 21 of Australia's most threatened plants that I put together to celebrate the Australian Network for Plant Conservation's 21st Birthday. Make sure you click-on 'show info' in the top right corner to see the text. The slide show is best viewed at full screen (select the box with four arrows in the bottom right).
I've spent a fair chunk of my working career over the past 6 years working to save #4.
Reading via email and can't see the slide show? Click here.
I'll return to my regular fortnightly foraging friday post in a fortnight.
If you do happen to be interested in plant conservation please follow the ANPC on facebook, twitter or google + or subscribe to our e newsletter.
