Program
The full program outline is now available to download!
Monday 7 September
Welcome Reception
Tuesday 8 September
Conference Welcome
Plenary presentations
Panel & concurrent sessions
Poster session
Professional Development Interactive Q&A
Wednesday 9 September
Field Tours
Thursday 10 September
Plenary presentations
Panel & concurrent sessions
Poster session
Professional Development Interactive Q&A
Conference Dinner
Friday 11 September
Plenary presentations
Concurrent sessions
Conference Close
Field Tours
Sunrise Wildlife Cruise on Corroboree Billabong
Corroboree Billabong is part of the Mary River wetlands, home to the largest concentration of saltwater crocodiles in the world. Enjoy viewing plenty of crocodiles plus a huge variety of birds and other local wildlife in their natural environment.
This 2-hour sunrise cruise allows you to get up close to the animals with plenty of opportunity to take amazing pictures and learn from knowledgeable guides about a nature lover’s paradise.
Arnhem Highway Adventure
A full NT adventure with barra, cattle, floodplains, crocs and buffalo.
Discover what’s happening in the worlds of aquaculture, agriculture, tourismand conservation along the Arnhem Highway.
Territory Wildlife Park Fire Experiment and Gamba Field Tour
More information coming soon!
Eva Valley Meats (Old Cameron Downs station)
More information coming soon!
Social Functions
Welcome Reception
Ahead of the conference commencing on Tuesday, join us on Monday evening, 7 September, for the ARS Conference Welcome Reception. Enjoy canapés and drinks in a relaxed setting while reconnecting with colleagues and meeting fellow delegates.
Date & time: Monday, 7 September, 5:30 - 7:30pm (subject to change)
Location: Flick's - 74 Mitchell St, Darwin City NT 0800
Dress code: Casual
Tickets: Included in your registration, indicate your attendance
Conference Dinner
As the conference draws to a close, join us on Thursday evening, 10 September, for the ARS Conference Dinner. This cocktail-style event is the perfect opportunity to celebrate the conference, and reflect on the week’s discussions with fellow delegates and colleagues.
Date & time: Thursday, 10 September, from 6:30pm (subject to change)
Location: Wharf One - 19 Kitchener Dr, Darwin City NT 0801
Dress code: Smart casual
Tickets: Available to purchase through the registration portal
Plenary Speakers
Prof Don Butler
Australian National University
Don is a vegetation ecologist and biogeographer with extensive experience in biodiversity information and land management for biodiversity. Don was a Queensland Government scientist for more than twenty years before joining the Australian National University in 2021, where he works in a small team on environmental markets within the College of Law, Governance and Policy. Don has worked on land sector carbon management and emerging natural capital markets since 2011. This work has included contributions development of methods for Australia’s carbon market and the Nature Repair market, as well as support for natural capital accounting and co-benefit frameworks.
Dr Rebecca Diete
Australian Wildlife Conservancy
Dr Rebecca Diete is an ecologist with a background in threatened and invasive species research, wildlife conservation, and land management, with a particular focus on northern Australia. Her work has
contributed to invasive rodent management on Torres Strait islands, and native species conservation in Arnhem Land, Cape York, and central and western Queensland. She collaborates with a wide variety of stakeholders including resource industries, pastoralists, government agencies, Indigenous corporations, conservation NGOs, and universities to achieve outcomes for biodiversity and sustainable land use.
Rebecca is the Regional Ecologist for Australian Wildlife Conservancy’s sanctuaries and partnerships in central-north Australia where she leads AWC’s Science Program of monitoring, research, wildlife reintroductions, and science-informed land management. She’s also a member of the IUCN SSC Small Mammal Specialist Group and several wildlife recovery committees.
Heather Ellis
BlueWren Connections Pty Ltd
Heather Ellis is a community development practitioner, facilitator, researcher, and Founder and Director of BlueWren Connections, a Brisbane-based consultancy working across rural, regional, and remote Australia.
Drawing on more than 30 years of experience as a primary producer, community leader, and practitioner, Heather specialises in strengthening the capacity of individuals, organisations, and communities to lead change from within. Her work spans agricultural extension, community development, leadership development, disaster resilience, and place-based capacity building.
Heather is passionate about supporting practitioners to navigate complexity by integrating knowledge, relationships, values, and reflective practice. She works extensively with local government, industry
groups, community organisations, and regional networks, helping people move beyond service delivery approaches toward community-led and participatory
practice.
Known for her engaging facilitation style and practical application of theory, Heather translates complex concepts into accessible tools that support learning, collaboration, and action. Her recent work has focused on leadership development in regional Australia, strengthening drought
resilience, supporting extension officers to develop personal practice frameworks, and fostering community-led approaches to sustainable change.
At the 2026 Australian Rangelands Society Conference, Heather brings a strong interest in the human dimensions of extension and innovation, exploring how relationships, leadership, and reflective practice contribute to resilient rangeland communities and industries.
Dr Margaret Freidel
RIEL Charles Darwin University Alice Springs
Dr Margaret Friedel PSM has been an Adjunct Professor in the Research Institute for Environment & Livelihoods at Charles Darwin University in Alice Springs since 2013. She joined CSIRO Alice Springs in 1974 to research the ecology and management of arid rangelands and since then has explored aspects of range assessment, rehabilitation, tourism, land use planning, policy development and invasive plants. Having retired in 2010, she was appointed an Honorary Fellow with CSIRO Land & Water to 2019 and was made a Fellow of the Australian Rangeland Society in 2017. Marg enjoys writing about rangeland management and engaging with natural history enthusiasts. In recent years she has written about the history of plant invasions – particularly buffel grass –
in arid Australia, CSIRO’s 64 years of rangeland research in central Australia and beyond, and the life of Australia’s ‘father of rangelands research’, Ray Perry.
Dr Beverley Henry
Queensland University of Technology
Beverley Henry is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Queensland University of Technology and consultant with over 30 years’ experience in research and policy-relevant science on climate change, greenhouse gas accounting and sustainable land management, with a particular focus on rangelands. She holds positions on several Australian and international committees and advisory panels and is a past member of the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee.
Barry Hunter
North Australian Indigenous Land & Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA)
Barry J Hunter is a descendant from the Djabugay speaking people of Cairns hinterland. He grew up besides the Barron River in the rainforest near Kuranda. Barry’s experience includes employment in Government conservation agencies, mining and exploration industry, community and not-for-profit NGO’s. With over 30 years’ experience in Aboriginal affairs particularly in areas of land, natural and cultural resource management. He is currently, Chief Executive Officer of the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA).
Barry has a Bachelor of Applied Science from Charles Sturt University and has a keen interest in the work community rangers do in looking after land, fire management and cultural heritage. Also having a real passion building community capacity and planning that deliver sustainable social, cultural and economic outcomes within our communities.
Dr Gerry Roberts
GR Consulting
Gerry Roberts, PhD, is a specialist in agricultural extension and training design, focused on strengthening industry‑led support across Australia’s rangelands. His work integrates behavioural methodologies
into extension delivery models, helping extension practitioners develop robust personal practice frameworks – an approach well‑established in other service professions but still emerging in agriculture.
By supporting practitioners to navigate the complex human dimensions of land management change, Gerry’s work enhances the effectiveness and impact of extension programs. He also collects and interprets project evaluation data from landholders to generate practical insights that make extension approaches more relevant, usable, and meaningful for landholders.
Prof Jeremy Russell-Smith
Darwin Centre for Bushfire Research
Since the early 1980s Jeremy Russell-Smith has been involved with researching savanna fire ecology, carbon market, ecosystem services, and associated livelihood opportunities for land managers and Indigenous and local communities in northern Australia and internationally.
From the early 2000s he has been involved with ongoing development of Australian Government-regulated savanna burning greenhouse gas emissions abatement, carbon sequestration, and current biodiversity conservation methods.
In recent years he has been involved with the development of similar methodological approaches for application in fire-prone savannas especially in southern Africa, the Indo-Pacific and South America. He gained a PhD in 1986 from the Australian National University, Canberra. He is Professor of Fire Ecology at Charles Darwin University, and Principal Scientist with the International Savanna Fire Management Initiative (an Australian not-for-profit).
Dr Ian Watson
CSIRO Agriculture and Food
Ian Watson is an agricultural scientist with a range management and ecology background. His work in northern Australia over the last decade has focused on exploring the scale of opportunity for its intensified agricultural development and the inherent social, economic, cultural and ecological risks inherent in this. Prior to joining CSIRO in 2007 he was with the Western Australian Department of Agriculture for more than 20 years, working with the extensive grazing industry in animal production, rangeland management, regulation and monitoring.
Professor Andrew Macintosh
The Australian National University College of Law, Governance & Policy Co-director, ANU Centre for Environmental
Markets
Professor Andrew Macintosh is a lawyer and economist based at The Australian National University (ANU), where he co-directs the Centre for Environmental Markets. His research focuses on the design, administration and evaluation of carbon and biodiversity markets. He has served in numerous government roles in his career, including as a Royal Commissioner, Chair of the Australian Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee and an Associate Member of the Climate Change Authority. He is also a non-executive director of Paraway Pastoral Company, one of Australia’s largest pastoral businesses. Past roles include directorships at the Port of Newcastle and Sydney Desalination Plant.