Services

Paul Foreman

Paul Foreman is a highly regarded and skilled field botanist and ecologist with over 23 years of experience in land management and nature conservation across a range of sectors and in a range of technical, strategic and management roles throughout Victoria and many other parts of Australia. Paul has an undergraduate degree in Forestry from the University of Melbourne and completed a Botany Masters of Science in Northern Plains Grassland ecology at La Trobe University in 1996.

Project evaluation

Critical to the success of any conservation strategy or program is assessing its effectiveness in delivering on its original goals and, in particular, the resulting longer term ecological benefits. This process of formal and objective evaluation, drawing on all aspects of the project (from the original vision and objectives, the strategies and plans, the on-ground decision making of the practitioners and the results of any monitoring), provides vital feedback to project managers, policy makers and investors.

Because of his strong grassy ecosystem ecology expertise (including burning and stock grazing as conservation management tools), Paul has most recently helped evaluate a major sustainable grazing project by undertaking targeted field assessments, landholder and extension staff interviews and examining management plans/agreements to objectively test key project assumptions and advise on improvements.

Services include: advice on the design and implementation of biodiversity conservation projects, with emphasis on grassy ecosystems in agricultural landscapes; field-based assessment of existing projects against stated aims and broader biodiversity conservation goals and recommendations for improvements at the property and project level.