Abstract

At the far west of the Falklands, New Island was the site of a whaling station, industrial harvesting of penguins, widespread collection Black-Browed Albatross eggs and a campaign to dig up the nests of a million Thin-billed Prions.

The abundant seas that surround New Island have been key to the resilience of its wildlife but the island’s history has left deep ecological scars. Today invasive mammals remain, continuing to have profound and insidious impacts. Species on the brink of local extinction and catastrophic erosion means there is a race against time to restore New Island.

Join us at 1pm, 24 July in the Main Seminar Room as Esther Bertram from Falklands Conservation will introduce this spectacular wildlife island. As a small wildlife charity in this remote archipelago, the Falklands Conservation team will describe their vision, successes, and obstacles in the quest to restore one of the finest wildlife islands in the South Atlantic.

Speaker: Dr Esther Bertram, CEO , Falklands Conservation Esther lives in the Falkland Islands where she has been Chief Executive of Falklands Conservation for ten years. She manages a team of 16 dedicated staff who look after the charity’s 22 wildlife islands, undertake whale, seabird and carbon research and engage in public debates on issues such as offshore oil drilling and agriculture.