Visiting and local scientists conducting research for, or from, the Great Southern and South Coast enthralled the audience at the Great Southern Great Science symposium in Albany on Friday 12 August.

Anne Cochrane, from the Department of Environment and Conservation, presented her research on the impact of changing temperatures and rainfall on the germination of native seeds.

Students from Albany Senior High School provided a particular highlight for many delegates with an overview of several projects from their marine studies program.

Prof Mary Oliver from The University of Western Australia explained how the performance of school students improved after taking part in a structured "Thinking Science" program.

Dr Craig Sinclair from the Rural Clinical School of WA provided interesting research on factors affecting the uptake of advanced health directives by people in the Great Southern.

Other presentations from local scientists and professionals covered nationally significant work such as research on north-west coral reefs, management of non-mulesed sheep, the restoration of a threatened plant species, and the effect of mosaic burning patterns on biodiversity.

Many delegates enjoyed the "diversity of presentations covering a wide aspect of relevant scientific topics."

 "We were happy that the audience evaluations gave the conference a score of 90% and they are already looking forward to next year's symposium," said Prof Peter Davies, Director of UWA Centre of Excellence in Natural Resource Management, who hosted the conference.