The development of Australia’s first long-term plan for ecosystem science, Foundations for the future (‘the Plan’), over the last year is just one example of the way TERN’s infrastructure and networks have been used to build the collective capacity of Australia’s ecosystem observation and management communities.
Since the launch of the Plan in July, the Steering Committee for this project have been busy working to lay out the first steps to bring this Plan to life. The implementation of the Plan relies on continued collaboration and open participation from across the ecosystem science and management communities.
We’re happy to help spread the word about ways for you to be involved with this process, and below you’ll find details of two important current opportunities:
1. Forming the Ecosystem Science Council
Central to the first actions in implementing the Plan is the formation of a new Ecosystem Science Council to offer leadership in implementing the Plan.
If you would like to have a say in how the Council is formed and operates, you’re invited to participate in a special reference group that will work with the Steering Committee for the Plan to establish this Council.
This is an important opportunity for you to help establish the Council in a way that ensures it has wide support and will endure for many years to come. The reference group will help to design and implement the recruitment process for the Council, and will help to develop its Terms of Reference. The key activities for the group will be across Oct-Nov 2014.
If you are interested in taking up this opportunity, please follow this link to get more details and sign up for the reference group.
2. Tell us about your work
The Plan includes six key directions for the future of Australian ecosystem science. The Steering Committee is currently collating information about the extent of existing activities, projects and programs underway across the country that are already taking action towards these key directions.
They’ve already heard from some of you about your work, but they’d like to hear from more of you! Understanding the existing activities happening across the country will support better coordination of our collective activities to achieve the most from our community’s resources in the future. Follow this link to provide some brief details about your work.
Remember, you can sign up to receive updates about progress in implementing the Plan here; and you can also follow on Twitter for the latest news. Also keep an eye out for the Plan appearing in an upcoming edition of Austral Ecology.
Published in TERN newsletter September 2014
