Symposium programme out now – you won’t want to miss this
We’ve just released the full programme for our August Biosecurity Symposium, featuring a great day-and-a-half of interactive guest presentations – including a Trans-Tasman guest discussing the fruit fly responses our closest neighbours are currently managing – and an exclusive immersive response event.
Register now to save your spot for each day. There’s also the option of joining us for a social dinner the first night.
On day one, Thursday 10 August, we’ll take part in an immersive biosecurity exercise where we team up in the room to respond to the finding of a high-risk pathogen on a kiwifruit orchard, learning how Biosecurity New Zealand conduct responses and how Onside technology could help speed up response actions.
In the event of an incursion the goal is to reduce impact and increase the likelihood of successful outcomes. We know that one of the biggest challenges we’ll face is knowing where the disease, or pest is. Which orchards? Which nurseries? Has it spread to more than one growing region?
As we work in our groups through the response phases, we’ll get to use sample traceability data and most importantly, see firsthand how it helps make effective and efficient response decisions – especially around things like zoning, surveillance locations, and priority areas for potential new locations.
On day two, Friday 11 August, we’ll focus on the ways we are adapting to change as an organisation and industry, to ensure we continue to manage biosecurity risks and are resilient against our biggest pest and disease threats.
We’ll have a guest presentation from Desi Ramoo, Director Better Border Biosecurity, on how global change could impact New Zealand’s plant biosecurity system and how we can use the outcomes of current and future research to manage these impacts.
Other sessions will cover what is out there that we need to prepare for, and how do we prepare for it? What impacts will changes in climate continue to have, and how do we know what’s on the horizon? How are we innovating and using science to create tools for change?
There will also be demonstration stations and plenty of opportunities for networking, making this an interactive and interesting biosecurity event bringing the kiwifruit, biosecurity, science, and government sectors together.
