Pub event spreads science know-how

Held on February 6 at the Brunswick Hotel in Adelaide, the event will focus on the topic 'Sustaining life: can humans, wildlife and agriculture coexist?' A panel of three speakers - University of Adelaide Emeritus professor and Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics researcher Peter Langridge, Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources sustainable agriculture officer Jodie Pain and Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity director Andrew Lowe - will give short presentations on the topic, before receiving questions from the floor or, in this case, the bar.

The event is designed to promote the understanding of science amongst the general public, presenting information in a manner that is not intimidating to those without specialist knowledge.

After moving from the United States 2.5 years ago, Emily - a PhD student studying the ecology of mosquito-borne diseases in SA - and her husband Andrew Flies decided to organise the event based on similar concepts seen overseas.

"It's been done before in various forms all over the world as a way of bringing people together to discuss science," Emily said.

She said the speakers for February's event would bring their own unique perspectives to the discussion.

"We're going to be starting with Peter giving us a broader overview about the problems and issues with food security, then branching into his area of expertise, plant genetics," she said.

"Jodie Pain takes the research that's being done and then helps educate farmers about how to implement those strategies. She'll branch into how biodiversity can be beneficial to agriculture."

Andrew Lowe will wrap up the presentations, focusing on the importance of biodiversity, and how it is being tracked in SA.