Alcoa is a global industry leader in bauxite, alumina and aluminium products with a vision to reinvent the aluminium industry for a sustainable future. Alcoa’s Australian operations represent one of the world’s largest integrated bauxite mining, alumina refining and aluminium smelting systems. In 2023, Alcoa’s two bauxite mines and three alumina refineries in Western Australia produced approximately 50% of Australia’s alumina.

Join us for a fascinating insight into Alcoa’s environmental rehabilitation efforts as we tour their bauxite mining operations and surrounding rehabilitated jarrah forest (Eucalyptus marginata) areas.

The Alcoa tour will visit the company’s Huntly Bauxite Mine (located about 95km south of Perth) to view active mining areas along with various stages of post-mining restoration (4-16 years old) and insights from members of the Forest Research Centre team about Alcoa’s efforts to build an understanding of landscaping practice, topsoil management, seed germination and growth, and plant cultivation.

Duration: 9.5 hours
Maximum capacity: 50 people
Cost: $35.00 per delegate
Inclusions: Transport to and from Alcoa Huntly, morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea
Requirements: Participants must wear long sleeves, long pants and sturdy, closed-in shoes (preferably boots). Alcoa will supply additional personal protective equipment

Lesueur National Park is one of Western Australia’s botanical treasures – renowned for its extraordinary diversity of wildflowers and native flora. The 28,987ha national park (ca 250kms north of Perth) is home to more than 900 species – over 10% of the flora of the Southwest floristic region, including 110 endemic species and several threatened species.

Leaving Perth, we will pass examples of Banksia and tuart woodlands on limestone soils. Once at Lesueur, embark on a walk that winds through Kwongan heathland, offering panoramic views of the landscape and opportunities to spot rare orchids, grevilleas and banksias. The park’s unique limestone and laterite hills, including Mt Lesueur, provide a stunning backdrop to this floral wonderland. For more information on Lesueur National Park see: https://exploreparks.dbca.wa.gov.au/park/lesueur-national-park

Duration: 11 hours
Maximum capacity: 50 people
Cost: $35.00 per delegate
Inclusions: Transport to and from Lesueur National Park, morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea
Requirements: Closed in shoes suitable for walking on sandy paths are recommended, along with adequate sun protection (long sleeved shirt, hat, sunscreen, etc.) and water

The University of Western Australia (UWA) Shenton Park Field Station is a large-scale agricultural and ecological restoration research facility located amongst natural Banksia woodlands and paddocks, 7km from the main UWA campus. The 20ha field station is home to rainfed and irrigated plot land, netted areas, greenhouses, and temperature-controlled spaces for field testing of crop, pasture, horticultural or native plants. Many varieties of cereals, clovers and pastures have been bred and released from the facility. More recently, native seed technologies have been under development to improve scaled use in direct seeding programs. This tour will showcase major programs including the UWA Centre for Engineering Innovation: Agriculture and Ecological Restoration (CEI: AgER) and UWA’s Annual Legume Breeding Australia (ALBA) program.

During the tour CEI: AgER Centre staff will demonstrate the use of patented seed-based devices. The Flash Flamer for instance removes unwanted appendages from bulky and fluffy native seeds, improving seed handling and flow through direct seeding devices. The custom-built direct seeder, the “Megasweeper”, has been designed to handle the harsh rocky soils and sloped landforms of mining environments. Capable of improved seed bed preparation, seed delivery and placement, this machine offers new approaches to seeding difficult terrain.

UWA’s ALBA program is a joint venture between UWA and the world’s largest forage breeding company DLF Seeds to deliver new annual pasture legumes for farmers of southern Australia. The tour will cover these programs including the screening program for hardseededness to suit different environments and farming systems.

Duration: 5 hours
Maximum capacity: 50 people
Cost: This field trip is complimentary for registered delegates
Inclusions: Transport to and from UWA Shenton Park, and a light lunch
Requirements: Participants must wear closed-in shoes

The tour will finish with a social function and formal launch of Emergence Ecotech, a new spinout company offering unique services to the rehabilitation and restoration industry using custom designed seed processing and precision seeding machinery.