Inaugural rainforest plant identification course delivered at NT Herbarium
The NT Herbarium was pleased to support James Cook University’s Australian Tropical Herbarium (ATH) in delivering the inaugural Rainforest Plant Identification course in the Northern Territory. This milestone was the result of a number of years of planning and collaboration, and it was exciting to see the course finally come to fruition.
The course was presented in Darwin by botanist Stuart Worboys from the ATH who has been delivering the Rainforest Plant Identification course to students, industry professionals and members of the public across northern Queensland for many years. His expertise brought a wealth of experience to NT participants.
The course has been built on decades of work, dating back to the 1970s when the CSIRO in Atherton initiated study of rainforest plants. These efforts were continued by the former Botany Department at JCU and have since evolved into the current program, which represents a collaboration between the CSIRO and the ATH. This shared knowledge has been embedded in the Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants identification key, a valuable resource for education and further development. To find out more, go to the Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants website.
The course was delivered in collaboration with the NT Herbarium who provided facilities, equipment and plant material for participants to learn with. The herbarium is appreciative of the support afforded by staff from the NT Parks and Wildlife Commission and George Brown Botanic Gardens in assisting with the sourcing of the large quantity of plant material required to deliver the course.
The first day of the course focused on theory, with a combination of presentations and hands-on activities using specimens in the Herbarium facility. In the afternoon, participants took part in a short field exercise around Palmerston, observing and discussing plant identification characters in the outdoors.
The second day centred around a field excursion to Berry Springs Nature Park, giving participants the chance to apply their learning in a rich rainforest setting.
The NT Herbarium expressed its appreciation for the opportunity to expand the use of the key and make rainforest plant identification tools more accessible in the Territory. It is hoped that this course will spark further development of NT-based content for the resource.
Overall, the inaugural course provided participants with an excellent opportunity to deepen their knowledge of rainforest plant identification and gain practical tips for using the Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants identification key.
