Lord Howe Island ” An Evening Down Under” by Ian Hutton

On October 2nd Tropical Botanical Garden and Kauai Community College will present a free public lecture by acclaimed Australian naturalist Ian Hutton who will share the similarities between Lord Howe Island and the Hawaiian Islands. Forty percent of its roughly 300 species are unique to the island. Lord Howe is one of eleven World Heritage areas in Australia.

The plants are a fascinating blend from Australia, New Caledonia, and New Zealand. Eighteen species of land birds breed in the forests and fourteen species of seabirds breed on its shores and interior. Lord Howe Island has the most southerly coral reef in the world, with a fascinating blend of tropical and temperate marine life.

Ian Hutton has a BSc with majors in plant ecology and climatology, and has been awarded an Order of Australia Medal for his services to conservation and tourism. He has produced 10 books about the island, and his notes, drawings, photographs, and plant specimens are shared with other researchers at the National Botanic Gardens, Canberra and at the Royal Botanic Garden in Kew, England. Hutton became the first person licensed by the Lord Howe Island Board to conduct guided reef and botanical tours, and he was the driving force in creating voluntarism opportunities in invasive plant removal.

The lecture is one of many collaborations between the National Tropical Botanical Garden and Kauai Community College. Both NTBG and KCC share a common goal of quality education to truly change lives. NTBG is a not-for-profit institution, headquartered in Kalāheo. KCC, which is part of the University of Hawaii system, operates a large campus in Līhu‘e.