2016 Seddon Lecture

The 2016 George Seddon Memorial Lecture by Professor Kingsley Dixon, Director, ARC Centre for Mine Restoration, Department of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University.

Western Australia and the southwest in particular is blessed with one of the richest floras on earth - in fact we are more biodiverse than 98% of other regions of similar size. This remarkable diversity of plants has come about due to remarkable processes of age and stability unparalleled except in a few other regions on earth. This presentation journeyed through what we have, how we got it and what we need to do to preserve this botanical extravagance for future generations.

Kingsley Dixon is a biologist and Professor at Curtin University and holds professorial positions at The University of Western Australia and Kings Park where he specialises in the conservation and restoration of plants and ecosystems in the southwest Australian biodiversity hotspot, coastal ecosystems and dryland regions of the world. He is an avid community volunteer on weekends and enjoys nothing more than designing and building gardens.

About Emeritus Professor George Seddon AM

George Seddon AM (1927-2007) was an Emeritus Professor of Environmental Science at the University of Melbourne and a Senior Honorary Research Fellow in English at UWA. He was a Fellow of the Royal Australian Planning Institute, the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects, the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences, and the Australian Academy of Humanities. His books include Swan River Landscapes, Landprints, From the Country, A Landscape for Learning and Sense of Place. He was awarded the Eureka Prize from the Australian Museum in 1995, the Mawson Medal from the Academy of Science in 1996 and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Planning Institute of Australia.

The annual George Seddon Lecture is sponsored by the Institute of Advanced Studies and UWA’s Friends of the Grounds.