Stephen Sia, The Lord Howe Island Signal

The Friends of Lord Howe Island ran their 93rd weeding ecotour 20 to 27 August. Twenty-two people came from Sydney, Brisbane and Victoria to participate. On this trip, the Friends again assisted the Lord Howe Island Board weed team with projects. One was a visit to Blackburn Island to plant out more small trees as part of the revegetation program there.

Vincent Savolainen. Professor Vincent Savolainen has come back to Lord Howe Island to set up new research about the role that underground fungi may play in generating and maintaining plant diversity ... Our understanding of how species originate has changed considerably since Darwin's seminal work. One aspect, however, that has been totally ignored is the role that microbes can play in driving plant and animal diversity.

Suzie Christensen. Meet Willow, the newest potential recruit to the LHIB’s Biosecurity detection dog team. Arriving on island from Perth at 13 weeks old, this little Cocker Spaniel is being evaluated for her suitability to island life, and if all goes well she will begin her training in detecting invasive species.

Out now!

Ian Hutton. As Curator of the museum, I get a lot of requests via email ... However, in May of this year, I received a most unusual email. A journalist from New Zealand contacted me asking if I considered the photo of a stuffed white bird seen in an antique shop there was the long-extinct flightless White gallinule of Lord Howe Island.

Holly Fern found at the Lower Road. Holly Fern Cyrtomium falcatum is an exotic introduction to LHI. It is a fast-growing fern that produces high spore load, propagates easily and loves rock face nooks and crannies. It is targeted for eradication on LHI.

Turtles are a key environmental value and attraction for both tourists and residents in the Lord Howe Island Marine Park ... Given marine turtles are valuable and threatened species, understanding both local and global threats to their populations is important. Injured and dead turtles are occasionally seen in the LHIMP and these observations can help identify which threats are having the greatest impact on turtles in the marine park.

Out now!

Suzie Christensen. A major milestone was celebrated on Sunday 26 June with the return of cattle to two of Lord Howe Island’s patient special leaseholders ... Beef cattle have been grown and raised here almost as long as the island has been settled. The return of quality breeding animals will contribute to the island’s ability to produce its own food and ultimately community resilience.

Ian Hutton. In May 2022 the Geological Survey of NSW published an updated geology map for Lord Howe Island. This has been a major revision of the original map published over 30 years ago.