Mensa AG 2018

Sessions Speakers Floor Plan Buzz

Restoring an Island Ecosystem from Scratch (Room JW Grand Ballroom 1)

05 Jul 18
6:00 PM - 7:15 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Peter Carey
About 20 years ago, Peter bought four islands in the Falklands with the plan to restore them to prime wildlife habitat. For the past 17 years he has worked on this wild and stormy “fixer-upper,” squeezing in fieldwork there between job and family commitments in New Zealand. In 2016, the project took a giant step forward with an operation to eradicate the invasive pest species that had been introduced to the islands more than a century ago. The Falklands have no native land mammals, and the introduction of rats, mice, and rabbits have had a big impact on the native animals and plants. Peter's presentation will describe the eradication operation and its tentative results, the abundant native wildlife, and the many delights and headaches to be had when living on a remote island surrounded by shy penguins, cheeky falcons, and aggressive ducks. For more information visit subantarctic.com or email peter@subantarctic.com.