Join Reef Check Australia and friends on the second Tuesday night of each month in your lounge room/office/comfy chair, for an evening of discovery, inspiration and appreciation of our local marine, coastal and catchment environments.

This month we will hear from Dr. Carley Kilpatrick from the Queensland Government

Carley Kilpatrick is a Senior Conservation Officer with the Great Barrier Reef and Marine Parks division of the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service & Partnerships. Since 2000, she has been dedicated to help enable the recovery of the Critically Endangered grey nurse shark. Carley was instrumental in protecting 4 critical grey nurse shark aggregation sites in Qld which saw her receive a Qld Australia Day award for Conservation in 2004. She completed her PhD on the grey nurse shark in 2009 at the University of Queensland, where she remains an adjunct Lecturer. Her publications have helped direct conservation management and research efforts abroad. Most recently, in 2018, her Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service team won a Qld Innovation Award for their project that investigates interactions between divers and grey nurse sharks. Carley is also a dedicated mother to two little wildlife ambassadors.

About the Talk:Grey Nurse Sharks in QLD

Grey nurse sharks are a particular focus for the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, because the east coast population is Critically Endangered and thought to contain only around 2000 individual sharks (around 400 breeding females). Four critical aggregation sites for the species are located within Qld state marine parks (either Moreton Bay or Great Sandy Marine Park). The presentation will provide some general information about grey nurse sharks and will then delve a little deeper into what we know about their use of Qld waters (including ‘the’ site off the Sunshine Coast). Current research and monitoring efforts underway in Qld will be highlighted and to finish off options for how you can help our grey nurse shark population will be discussed.

Virtual doors (zoom) opens at 6.25pm for a 6:30 pm start.

Stay after the event for networking and nibbles (BYO obviously!) - get your burning questions answered by Dr. Kilpatrick and continue your thoughts, ideas and sea-minded discussions with your local community, all from the comfort of your couch!

Bring a mate and share in the discovery!


At Reef Check Australia we’re all about inspiring our mates and we love to read your thoughts! So, share your favourite parts about the night and tag us! Reef Check Australia #coasttocoral

This initiative is hosted by Reef Check Australia, and proudly supported by oh so many groups including the City of Gold Coast, Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd, Sunshine Coast Council's Environment Levy partnerships grant, The June Canavan Foundation and Townsville City Council.

Future talks take place on the second Tuesday night of each month, with a new, interesting and engaging speaker.

For more information contact seqevents@reefcheckaustralia.org