The Great Glossy Count is returning on 16–17 May this year, and we’re putting the call out for communities to get involved by hosting a Glossy ID workshop.
The Great Glossy Count is critical to collecting important data that informs recovery planning for the vulnerable South-eastern Glossy Black-Cockatoo. But we can’t do this work without you!
To prepare citizen scientists across Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT and Victoria to take part in the Count, we partner with community groups to offer free training workshops in the lead-up to the event. These sessions help citizen scientists confidence and skills in identifying Glossies by sight and sound, distinguishing the difference between gender and age, and recognising feed trees in the field.
In past years, our Conservancy partners have generously hosted workshops in their regions, helping bring local communities together, share knowledge, and build momentum ahead of the Count weekend.
Now, we’re reaching out across our wider national network to invite organisations and community groups to host a Glossy Black-Cockatoo training workshop between 15 March – 15 May.
Why Host a Workshop?
Hosting a workshop is a fantastic way to:
- Engage your community in meaningful citizen science ahead of the Great Glossy Count.
- Help participants develop Glossy ID skills, understand Glossy behaviour and ecology, and confidently collect reliable data.
- Inspire new volunteers, birdwatchers, landholders, photographers and nature lovers to take part in one of Australia’s flagship bird-counting events.
Whether you’re a local landcare group, council, birding club, school, environmental organisation, or community centre, we’d love to hear from you!
What support we can offer:
The Conservancy will:
- Coordinate registrations (if required)
- Promote the workshop through our national network
- Provide video, powerpoint and field guide resources ahead of the workshop
What we’re asking partners to do:
If you’re keen to host a workshop, you’ll need to:
- Organise a local venue, date and time
- Nominate a presenter who has the knowledge to teach others how to identify Glossies, tell them apart from other Black-Cockatoos and their ID their feed trees (we have plenty of resources including a video and Powerpoint presentation)
- Promote the workshop through your local networks
Ready to Get Involved?
If you’re interested in hosting a workshop, or you’d like to find out more about what’s involved, please get in touch with us as soon as possible. Include in your message:
- Your organisation’s name
- Proposed workshop location
- Preferred dates and format (in-person or online)
- Any support you might need from the Conservancy
You can contact our team at info@glossyblack.org.au.
Together, we can help more people learn about Glossy Black-Cockatoos, sharpen their field skills, and make this Great Glossy Count the most impactful yet!
