{"id":519,"date":"2026-08-05T16:10:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T06:10:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/australasia\/?page_id=519"},"modified":"2026-08-13T12:26:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T02:26:28","slug":"award-4-albert-morris-award-for-outstanding-ecological-restoration","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/australasia\/sera-awards\/sera-awards-2026\/award-4-albert-morris-award-for-outstanding-ecological-restoration\/","title":{"rendered":"AWARD 4 \u2014 Albert Morris Award for Outstanding Ecological Restoration"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Albert Morris Award for Outstanding Ecological Restoration<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Presented jointly by SERA, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aabr.org.au\/\">Australian Association of Bush Regenerators<\/a> (AABR), and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.anpc.asn.au\/\">Australian Network for Plant Conservation<\/a> (ANPC), this award honours the memory of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitbrokenhill.com\/Discover\/Heroes-Larrikins-Visionaries-Trail\/Ecology-Sustainability\/Albert-Morris\">Albert Morris<\/a> \u2014 a pioneering botanist whose work with the Barrier Field Naturalists&#8217; Club in the 1930s helped reverse desertification around Broken Hill using natural regeneration. The green landscape surrounding Broken Hill today is a direct legacy of that work.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">This award recognises restoration projects grounded in natural regeneration, which deliver genuine benefits to both biodiversity and the broader community \u2014 carrying forward the spirit of Albert Morris&#8217;s original vision.<\/p>\n<h5><a href=\"https:\/\/icebergevents-sera-2026.eventsairsite.com\/sera-awards\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #008000\"><strong>APPLY HERE<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/h5>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Prize: <\/strong>Trophy and Recognition<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Who&#8217;s eligible:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Any individual, organisation, agency, or community group whose restoration project relies on natural regeneration techniques and can demonstrate benefits to both ecological and social outcomes, located in Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, or the Pacific Islands.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>What you&#8217;ll need to supply:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A written project summary with a clear focus on the natural regeneration approach used (word limit \u2013 700 words)<\/li>\n<li>Evidence of biodiversity benefit (species recovery, habitat condition, monitoring data)<\/li>\n<li>Evidence that the restored <em>ecosystem<\/em> will offer beneficial ecosystem services and other social benefits relevant to, recognised and appreciated by the local and regional community<\/li>\n<li>Photographs of the site for use in SERA&#8217;s promotional materials and, if shortlisted, the awards presentation<\/li>\n<li>Details of stakeholder or partner engagement, including any involvement with AABR networks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">If shortlisted, you&#8217;ll be contacted directly and asked to prepare a short video showcasing your project, to be shown at the awards presentation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>How to apply: <\/strong>Submit via the <a href=\"https:\/\/icebergevents-sera-2026.eventsairsite.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">conference portal<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Preparing your application: what judges are looking for<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Your 700-word project summary and supporting evidence will be assessed against the following criteria.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Natural regeneration focus<\/strong><br \/>\nThis award is specifically about natural regeneration. Be explicit about how your project relies on and demonstrates natural regeneration as the primary method of recovery, rather than active planting or intervention-heavy approaches.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Biodiversity benefit<\/strong><br \/>\nShow measurable benefit to biodiversity \u2014 species recovery, habitat condition, or monitoring data that demonstrates ecological improvement.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Social\/community benefit<\/strong><br \/>\nThis award looks beyond ecology alone. Demonstrate the ecosystem services and social benefits your project delivers to the local or regional community \u2014 recreational, cultural, economic, or wellbeing outcomes that are recognised and valued locally.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Planning and implementation<\/strong><br \/>\nDescribe the quality of your project&#8217;s design and delivery \u2014 how it was planned, and how that plan was carried out.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Stakeholder &amp; partner engagement<\/strong><br \/>\nWho&#8217;s involved? This includes community engagement as well as any connection to AABR networks or other restoration partners.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>X factor<\/strong><br \/>\nIs there something about your project that captures the spirit of Albert Morris&#8217;s legacy \u2014 natural regeneration delivering benefits to both land and community? Make the case for it here.<\/p>\n<h5><a href=\"https:\/\/icebergevents-sera-2026.eventsairsite.com\/sera-awards\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #008000\"><strong>APPLY HERE<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Albert Morris Award for Outstanding Ecological Restoration Presented jointly by SERA, the Australian Association of Bush Regenerators (AABR), and the Australian Network for Plant Conservation (ANPC), this award honours the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":0,"parent":496,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-519","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/australasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/australasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/australasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/australasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/118"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/australasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/australasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":568,"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/australasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/519\/revisions\/568"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/australasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/australasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}