Join us for an evening of climate conversation and action with Professor Ian Lowe AO and the launch of a unique botanical installation by local artist Rose Feely. 

“The future is not somewhere we are going but rather a place we create by our own actions — or inactions — now.” Professor Ian Lowe AO 

Designer and conservationist Rose Feely of Eucalypt Roses is taking over the Gun Cotton Coffee Roasters Cafe with another of her explosive botanical installations. Always working with the unique character of the space, Rose builds her installation pieces in response to the featured architecture and local biodiversity. Her work 'Emergence See' is a creative comment on how important it is to plant endemic tree species in our suburban landscapes to contribute to the ecological health of our surrounding ecosystems. A human-made cockatoo nesting box is central in the work to remind us that our neighbourhood birds need nesting hollows at least 1m deep or a tree hollow at least 150 years old to support breeding populations.

Climate change and land use change are the biggest pressures on our local ecosystems and we all play a role in supporting our local wildlife. Rose above all believes creative thinking is one of the most valuable mindsets in living alongside a changing climate. 

Professor Ian Lowe AO is former Head of School of Science and currently Emeritus Professor of Science, Technology and Society at Griffith University in Brisbane. He is also an adjunct Professor at Sunshine Coast University and Flinders University. The author of 20 books and more than 500 other publications, Professor Lowe’s contributions to environmental science have won him a Centenary Medal, the Eureka Prize for promotion of Science, the Prime Minister’s Environment Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement, the Queensland Premier’s Millennium Award for Excellence in Science, and the University of NSW Alumni Award for Achievement in Science. Professor Lowe was named Humanist of the Year in 1988 and was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2001. He has also been a referee for the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change and attended the Geneva and Kyoto Conferences of the parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change and was also a member of the delegation to the 1999 UNESCO World Conference on Science.

The evening will also feature the latest works of Vivien Eardley, winner of the AWAF 2019 Emerging Artist and the Sustainable Nature Category. Vivien's piece is called Fae of the Forest and is created using mainly foraged materials (mostly from her own property and all entirely biodegradable) cat’s claw creeper vine, banana leaves, tiger grass leaves, lomandra and jute vine. The Australian Wearable Art Festival (AWAF) is a unique showcase of the best wearable art that Australia has to offer. It provides a unique platform where artists and designers create art that can be worn on a runway. 

This project is proudly supported by Sunshine Coast Council’s grants program

Tickets - $25 (includes canapes and a drink)

 Professor Ian Lowe AO    Natalie Frost and Rose Feely