EMERITUS Professor Gisela Kaplan AM, Professor of Animal Behaviour and a Coffs Harbour resident, has been installed into the Nature Conservation Council (NCC) of NSW’s Hall of Fame by winning the Allen Strom Award.
This is the highest honour of the NCC of NSW, the State’s chief environmental organisation, and recognises individuals with a long-term, continuous, and reliable contribution to the conservation movement with deep integrity, established in memory of Allen Strom.
Prof Kaplan was nominated by Leanne Stewart, who has known her for over 30 years.
“I first met her (Prof Kaplan) at the University of New England, where I was appointed Lab Manager for the Research Centre of Neuroscience and Animal Behaviour, in which she was a professor,” she told the NCC.
“I stayed there for many years and have remained in contact with her and her work and have seen both the hands-on work of rescuing and rehabilitating birds under the umbrella of WIRES, and her incredible writing activities, ongoing media activities, and many direct contacts with the public, constantly promoting native birds.”
While the NCC cannot share the judges’ comments, the organisation has told News Of The Area that Prof Kaplan scored highly across all the categories, including showing a lifetime dedication to conservation, demonstrating high-level leadership, and acting with integrity, reliability and commitment.
Prof Kaplan was surprised to hear of her success in winning this recognition, she told NOTA.
“I feel very honoured to have been inscribed into the ‘Allen Strom Hall of Fame’ of the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, the peak non-government advocacy body for nature,” she said.
“Allen Strom was considered the Chief Guardian of fauna.
“In papers, books, interviews, and community talks I have tried to communicate the extraordinary nature of Australia’s birds and how much they do for us and the environment.
“By communicating these features of our wildlife, I so very much hope that we can all become guardians.
“I am deeply grateful for the explicit support and recognition by the NCC.”
Prof Kaplan has written more than 250 papers in international journals and 23 books covering a wide range of subjects.
The last seven books, exclusively about birds, have been best-sellers and through which she has won awards.
Especially pleasing has been the success of three of her books: Australian Magpie, Tawny Frogmouth, and Bird Minds, all written for the public.
Her children’s book: Famous Australian Birds, won the award of the best children’s publication in 2004.
Prof Kaplan’s work features in a series of 10 biographies published by Wild Dingo Press for primary and lower secondary school telling of the lives and passions of ‘STEM’ Stars’ (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), to encourage young people early to consider careers in science.
The Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales (NCC) is one of the oldest and most prominent non-governmental environmental watchdog and advocacy organisations in Australia.
It was established to unite and provide a shared voice for various localised community conservation groups.
By Andrea FERRARI
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