Our public talks have now wrapped up with over 250 people attending the eight Geopark public talks in 2021. We are having a small break over the summer while everyone is on holiday and exploring our beautiful country.
The Geopark Public Talk series is part of our community engagement and education programme. We are thrilled that we were able to bring experts from all kinds of backgrounds to Oamaru to share their knowledge and expertise with Waitakians. The topics presented were always relevant to Waitaki and were designed to showcase Waitaki's geological, cultural and natural stories through an educational lens. Our speakers (and their topics) of 2021 were:
March: Nick Mortimer - Exploring Continent Eight
April: Dr Clement Lagrue - Limestone Ecosystems
May: Keren Mackay - A Social History from Ototara
June: Mike Gray - A Vanished World 'Rediscovered'
July: Henry Gard - Waitaki Valley - A Paleontologist's Paradise
September: Puketapu Community Trust - Ko Puketapu te mauka
October: Marcus Richards & Manu Berry - A Marriage of Science & Art
November: Amber Daniels - Macraes - A history from the start of time
Did you know that most of our public talks have been recorded and are available to watch on our YouTube channel at your convenience? Check out our Public Talk playlist here.
A big thank you to all our speakers for taking the time to come to Oamaru and present about their area of expertise.
The Geopark public talk series will re-commence in February 2022 - Every third Thursday of the month! So far, all talks have been based in Oamaru - But not next year. We will organise talks for all bigger towns in the Geopark. Stay tuned for the upcoming speakers and sign up to our newsletter so you don't miss important dates and announcements.
Did you attend any of our public talks? Then we would love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Please complete our short survey so we can get the speakers and topics that you are interested in. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FC57DXP