Plant Health Australia (PHA) has recently introduced an online course Biosecurity Surveillance: Protecting Australia’s Forests developed with funding provided by Forest and Wood Products Australia (FWPA) and the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF).

The course is available on PHA’s Biosecurity Online Training (BOLT) platform and explores the role biosecurity plays in keeping Australia’s forests healthy, as well as the signs and symptoms for common forestry pests and diseases and how to report them. Aimed at those with an interest in and who regularly work with trees, the course is designed to:

• increase biosecurity awareness
• encourage reporting of suspect pest sightings
• break down communication barriers between the general public and forest health experts
• complement other forest projects including Forest Watch Australia and MyPestGuide^TM Trees.

The course recognises that everyone has a role to play in protecting the Australian forests from new pests or diseases. Additionally, surveillance activities act as an early-warning system and will help to minimise the impact and spread of pests and diseases on the forest industry.

Access to the course is free and should take only one hour to complete. It contains short, graded questions to confirm the learner’s knowledge and reinforce key points of information.

or if you have any questions or feedback on the course, please contact the PHA Training team at training@phau.com.au.

Remember: Report any unusual forest pests or symptoms to the Emergency Plant Pest Hotline on 1800 084 881 or by using the MyPestGuide^TM Trees application (available from the google play and apple app stores).