Biodiversity Summit

A powerful meeting of minds...

The Sunshine Coast Biodiversity Summit

To make sure that we can continue to enjoy nature’s riches, the Ruby Lake Lagoon Nature Reserve Society collaborated with local communities, scientists, and other organizations to create a Biodiversity Strategy for the Sunshine Coast. By coordinating our efforts, we can better conserve and enhance biodiversity on the Coast for the benefit of people and wildlife.

A major milestone in developing the Strategy was the Biodiversity Summit, held May 31 – June 2, 2012. During these incredibly powerful 3 days, major stakeholders living and working on the Coast came together at the Summit to share their experiences and ideas, listen to others, celebrate the riches that our biodiversity provides, and act to create a framework for the Strategy.

Click here to download the Summit program.

Summit Presentations

Couldn’t make it to the Summit? We’ve compiled some of the presentations here for you to enjoy:

• "Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function" – Diane Srivastava PhD, Professor, Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia.
• "The Saskatchewan Prairie Conservation Action Plan: A Case Study for Success" – Michelle Clark, Manager SPCAP
• "Biodiversity along the West Coast of Vancouver Island: Lessons learned and their application to the Strait of Georgia" – Ron Tanasichuk PhD, Senior Research Scientist, Pacific Biological Station, Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
• “Sunshine Coast Biodiversity Conservation Initiatives” – Michelle Evelyn PhD, Leader, Sunshine Coast Wildlife Project.
• Videos from the presentation: Male turtle mating dance. Why did the painted turtle cross the road?
• “The Importance of Genetic Biodiversity: Sticklebacks on Nelson Island” – Michael Jackson PhD, Chair of Ruby Lake Lagoon Society.
• “The Beauty of the Sunshine Coast” – Candace Campo, Talasay Tours.
• The Global Wombat - this video was a favourite at the summit … comic but right to the point!

The Sunshine Coast Biodiversity Steering Group and our team of organizers were all very pleased with the high level of community involvement, and we’d like to express our gratitude for the time and energy everyone put into sharing ideas, expertise and vision for a local Biodiversity Strategy Framework.

Since the Biodiversity Summit was held in 2012, we - with the help of many others - have developed a Sunshine Coast Biodiversity Strategy which you can read about here. As of 2015, we have moved past the strategy stage and are moving on to create our Biodiversity Action Plan Database, which you can read about here.

If you have any questions about the Summit, the Strategy, the Action Plan Database, or would like to contribute your comments, please contact info(at)lagoonsociety.com.