Join us in Kiama in September 2022

AUSTRALIAN FLORA – PAST PRESENT FUTURE

Kiama Pavilion, Saturday 10 to Friday 16 September 2022

The Australian Plants Society NSW is delighted to be hosting the Australian Native Plants Society Australia (ANPSA) Biennial Conference at the Kiama Pavilion in September 2022.

These conferences are held every two years and are hosted by each state in turn. The very successful 2019 conference was held in Albany, WA, with around 325 delegates attending.

In 2022, the conference is being hosted by the Australian Plants Society NSW and is being held at the Kiama Pavilion in the beautiful village of Kiama on the pristine south coast.

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Australian flora - past present future: a journey of inspiration

Focusing on ‘Australian flora – past present future’, we will take you on a journey:

Travel back to the past to appreciate the land of thousands of years ago
Experience the beauty of the current world and the threats it’s facing
Project ourselves into the future to design solutions to better protect and enhance our unique floral heritage.

With a series of expert speakers and excursions to surrounding areas, we'll be sharing:

The evolutionary history of the Illawarra – its landforms and plants
How the land was used and cared for, pre-white settlement
Successes in environmental protection, regeneration, horticultural trends and the threats of fire, weeds, feral pests and population growth and development
Opportunities with education, plant resilience, collaborations and seed and plant conservation

Registrations open in mid March 2022

We advise booking accommodation asap

It is strongly recommended that you take out travel insurance when booking

Schedule of activities

We kick off the conference on the Saturday 10 September, with:

A complimentary tour of the Kiama region, which is part of the package for people attending the whole conference. This includes lunch at Shoalhaven Heads winery lunch with visits to Berry School nursery and Bombo Headland
A market fair - a combined farmers market and native plant sale - on the Sunday
A cocktail event to welcome people on the Sunday night
Conference sessions and excursions from Monday to Friday - conference days are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and excursions on Wednesday and Friday.

Focus on solutions - future proofing

We hope at the end of the week, you’ll:

Be amazed at the beautiful Illawarra plants and environment
Renew old friendships and make new ones
Be inspired by new ideas, new partnerships and new learning
Experience practical hands-on tips and techniques to grow native plants

Together, we can make a difference to the world of today and the one we hand to our children and grandchildren.

Excursions during the conference

We are planning 2 days of excursions during the conference. We are offering a variety of excursions accessible via a coach in a day optimising the time on the ground exploring!

At booking time, we will ask you to nominate your choices. If your chosen excursion has already reached capacity, we will let you know so you can make an alternate choice. The current list for mid week excursions are shown here (subject to change).

Several of the excursions feature the same locations due to limits on numbers per bus as well as bus access. Each excursion will have a local leader to provide commentary. There will be toilet stops, morning/afternoon tea and lunch included. Some locations will require limited walking and others will have longer walks and options for extended walks and be picked up at the other end by the bus.

To see a taste of the excursions and for plant lists, click here for short 3 minute promotional videos plus downloadable material such as plant lists. We are aiming to go as 'green' as possible and not produce lots of paper lists, so please review the material and print or download as needed.

Click for more details on excursions

See a video introduction to the conference below

Pre- and post-tours

Tours to extend your stay before and after the conference are being planned. We are currently planning tours for conference participants and their partners to:

World Heritage Blue Mountains, pre-conference, Monday 5 September to Friday 9 September.
Spectacular Lord Howe Island, pre-conference, Sunday 4 to Saturday 10 September; post-conference, Saturday 17 to Friday 23 September
Dramatic Warrumbungles and Pilliga, pre-conference, Sunday 4 to Friday 9 September; post-conference, Saturday 17 to Thursday 22 September
Surprising Sydney sandstone flora - post-conference, Saturday 17 to Wednesday 21 September
Sunny South Coast, pre-conference, Monday 5 to Friday 9 September

it is strongly recommended that you take out travel insurance when booking.

Click for more details on tours

Location - Kiama in the Illawarra

The event will be held at the Kiama Pavilion, right on the beach at Kiama. For more inspiration and information on what you can see and do in the Kiama area - see here.

Getting to Kiama - More info here

Accommodation in Kiama

Kiama is spoilt for choice in accommodation options. One of our members has developed the following accommodation guide, at today's prices. Click here to download. This guide was last updated in October 2021. Several facilities offer discounts for attendees at the conference.

Additional information on Kiama accommodation found here. The Visitors Guide with maps for Kiama is located here.

The Kiama Pavilion

About Kiama, the Illawarra and its flora and fauna

Geology and landscape of the Illawarra

Geology of the Illawarra and Southern Highlands - Sydney Basin

The Illawarra Escarpment

History of the Illawarra

First Nations Kiama

Aboriginal people of Wollongong

Aboriginal history of the Illawarra

Illawarra Aborigines - An Introductory history

History of the Illawarra by Brad Chilby

Flora of the Illawarra and surrounds

Growing Illawarra Natives, database of native plants

Illawarra Native Garden Guide, Wollongong Council's guide to native gardening

Plants of the Illawarra, ABC Gardening Australia

Species lists, developed by Tony Maxwell, APS NSW, including Illawarra/Shoalhaven

Flora and fauna of the area, by Illawarra Fly

Wonderful places to visit

These places will require you have your own vehicle although we are visiting some on excursions and tours.

Carrington Falls and Nellie's Glen, spectacular falls and walks

Barren Grounds

Minnamurra Rainforest

Saddleback Mountain Lookout

Kiama - what to see and do and where to stay

Thank you's

We are thankful for the support of the local Kiama Council to hold the conference in their region.

We’d also like to acknowledge the contribution of Destination NSW, our Strategic Sponsor, whose grant is assisting us to enhance the impact of the conference, while attracting members from all over the country and people new to the Society.

We'd also like to thank the many volunteers of the Australian Plants Society NSW, who are helping put on the conference.

Strategic Sponsor

More information

For queries about the conference and tours: Heather Miles, Secretary@austplants.com.au, 0408 696 356;

Ralph Cartwright, Conf2022@spin.net.au, 0416 030 872. To receive email updates, click here:

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P.O. Box 263
Cremorne Junction NSW 2090