Conservationists urge Tasmania's orchid photographers to tread lightly on threatened species

Workshop, propagation program and a scent detection dog aim to protect more than 200 native species

By LineZotpaper

Published19 October 2026

Read Time4 min

Sources2 outlets

The Landscape Recovery Foundation is asking Tasmania's native orchid photographers to balance their passion with care, warning that repeated visits to the same sites, amplified by social media, can damage plants, seedlings and the soil fungi orchids depend on. With more than 200 orchid species recorded in the state and 77 listed as threatened, the foundation has run a workshop for photographers and published guidance covering everything from staying on formed tracks to keeping rare locations off social media.

Native orchids are prized photographic subjects, but the enthusiasm they inspire carries risks, according to the Landscape Recovery Foundation. "It's not the visit of one person, it's the visit of multiple people to the same place and I think social media plays a big role in this, particularly when we post photos," said Dr Magali Wright of the foundation.

Finding the plants takes skill and patience. "They're very variable but they're also really cryptic and so you have to really know your landscape and your place, so it's like a special discovery," said chief executive Josie Kelman.

Tasmania has more than 200 recorded orchid species, of which 77 are listed as threatened under state legislation. Most threatened populations grow in dry forests and woodlands, grasslands and coastal areas, all of which have suffered "significant loss and modification" since colonisation, according to the flora recovery plan for Tasmania's threatened orchids prepared by the state and federal governments.

The foundation recently held a workshop for photographers to explain the impact visitors can have on the environment, and published a set of recommendations. They include staying on formed tracks, avoiding repeated visits to the same sites, not posting the locations of threatened orchids on social media, using a long lens and tripod so plants can be photographed from a distance, and keeping equipment and footwear clean and dry to avoid spreading weeds and diseases.

The public interest, Dr Kelman said, also helps conservation. "It's very hard to encourage people to act if they don't understand what's there or how they can be part of things. You have to fall in love with something before you want to make an effort to do something to conserve it."

The foundation grows species including black-tipped spider orchids and sagg spider orchids. One of its successes is the critically endangered golfers leek orchid (Paraprasophyllum incorrectum), known from two sites in the Tasmanian midlands. "We've been working out how to grow it for the last eight years and I think we've finally got it right," Dr Wright said.

Orchid seeds must be colonised by a fungus before they germinate, and finding the right fungus is difficult. "For years we grew it on an oatmeal jelly and this last couple of years we've been trying things like quinoa and polenta and brown rice. The fungus and the orchid combination seems to quite like that." Seedlings are being grown for planting out in native grasslands over the next couple of years.

A scent detection dog is helping map where orchids grow. Miki, a cocker spaniel trained with Canines for Wildlife, found 73 orchids that the team had walked past last year, "including tiny seedlings that were growing in poa tussocks", Dr Wright said. Miki can find both the golfers leek orchid and the threatened Tunbridge leek orchid (Paraprasophyllum tunbridgense), and will join further field surveys in the Tasmanian midlands next month with a second dog.

Dr Kelman said orchid conservation was the project that drew the most interest in the foundation's work. "They are beautiful flowers in the environment, they're unusual. If you think about the engineering world, we've got bridge enthusiasts or the train buffs, so for the plant world it's the orchid enthusiasts."

Analysis

Why This Matters

Tasmania's orchids are highly vulnerable: 77 of more than 200 recorded species are listed as threatened under state legislation, and most threatened populations grow in habitats that have been significantly lost and modified since colonisation.
The same public fascination that builds support for conservation can also harm the plants, especially when social media draws repeated visits to the same spots and repeated trampling damages plants, seedlings and soil fungi.
The response combines education, propagation and new survey tools, offering a test case for protecting rare plants that people actively seek out.

Background

Orchids are one of the largest and most diverse plant families in the world, and Tasmania's species include many small, inconspicuous plants that are easy to overlook even in open country. Their conservation is complicated by their biology: orchid seeds will not germinate unless they are colonised by the right soil fungus, so disturbed or compacted ground can break the chain. The state and federal governments' flora recovery plan for Tasmania's threatened orchids identifies dry forests and woodlands, grasslands and coastal areas, all significantly modified since colonisation, as the main homes of threatened populations.

Key Perspectives

The Landscape Recovery Foundation: It treats public interest as a double-edged sword. Posting photos online can concentrate visitors on fragile sites, and the damage compounds with every visit. At the same time, the foundation argues conservation depends on public attachment: as Josie Kelman put it, people must fall in love with something before they will act to conserve it.

Wildlife photographers: For photographers, orchids offer a special kind of discovery that rewards patience and knowledge of the landscape. The workshop is aimed at them, and the guidance gives enthusiasts a way to keep photographing responsibly, from long lenses and tripods to staying on formed tracks, without giving up the pursuit.

Critics and skeptics: There is no organised opposition to the effort, but the limits of persuasion are clear. The foundation's advice is voluntary, and the same social media dynamics that concentrate visits could spread interest in rare species faster than restraint catches on. Orchid populations also remain exposed to the wider habitat loss identified in the recovery plan, which photography etiquette alone cannot reverse.

What to Watch

The outcome of next month's field surveys in the Tasmanian midlands, where Miki and a second detection dog will search for the golfers leek orchid and the Tunbridge leek orchid.
Whether the propagated golfers leek orchids establish when they are planted out in native grasslands over the next couple of years, the first real test of eight years of propagation work.
Whether the foundation's photographer guidance reduces pressure on known threatened sites, or whether social media continues to draw visitors to the same locations.

Sources

Helping snap brilliant photos of orchids all part of conservation work · Just In
Helping snap brilliant photos of orchids all part of conservation work · Latest Science news

Checked

12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 10 supported.

Show each claim

SupportedConservationists are urging Tasmania’s orchid photographers to tread lightly around threatened species.Just In: “The Landscape Recovery Foundation recently held a workshop for people interested in photographing the different species to help them understand the impact photographers can have on the environment.”
Partly supportedA workshop, propagation program and scent detection dog all aim to protect more than 200 native orchid species.Just In: “Miki, a cocker spaniel, has been trained to find two species of threatened leek orchids.”
SupportedRepeated visits, amplified by social media, can damage orchid plants, seedlings and fungi needed for germination.Just In: “Repeated trampling can damage orchid plants and seedlings, compact soil and reduce fungal activity needed for seedling germination.”
SupportedTasmania has more than 200 recorded orchid species, including 77 listed as threatened under state legislation.Just In: “But with the joy of photographing orchids comes dangers to the more than 200 species recorded in Tasmania. Of those, 77 are listed as threatened under state legislation.”
SupportedDr Magali Wright said, “It's not the visit of one person, it's the visit of multiple people to the same place and I think social media plays a big role in this, particularly when we post photos.”Just In: ““It's not the visit of one person, it's the visit of multiple people to the same place and I think social media plays a big role in this, particularly when we post photos,” Dr Wright said.”
SupportedJosie Kelman said orchids are “very variable” and “really cryptic”, making a find feel like a special discovery.Just In: ““They're very variable but they're also really cryptic and so you have to really know your landscape and your place, so it's like a special discovery,” Landscape Recovery Foundation chief executive Josie Kelman said.”
SupportedThe state and federal governments’ recovery plan says threatened-orchid habitats have undergone “significant loss and modification” since colonisation.Just In: “all of which have been subject to “significant loss and modification” since colonisation, according to the state and federal governments' flora recovery plan for Tasmania's threatened orchids.”
SupportedKelman said, “It's very hard to encourage people to act if they don't understand what's there or how they can be part of things. You have to fall in love with something before you want to make an effort to do something to conserve it.”Just In: ““It's very hard to encourage people to act if they don't understand what's there or how they can be part of things,” Dr Kelman said. “You have to fall in love with something before you want to make an effort to do something to conserve it.””
SupportedWright said the foundation had spent eight years learning to grow the golfers leek orchid and believed it had finally succeeded.Just In: ““We've been working out how to grow it for the last eight years and I think we've finally got it right,” Dr Wright said.”
SupportedWright said the golfers leek orchid had been grown on oatmeal jelly and more recently with quinoa, polenta and brown rice.Just In: ““For years we grew it [golfers leek orchid] on an oatmeal jelly and this last couple of years we've been trying things like quinoa and polenta and brown rice. The fungus and the orchid combination seems to quite like that.””
SupportedWright said Miki found 73 orchids the team had walked past last year, including tiny seedlings in poa tussocks.Just In: ““Last year Miki, a cocker spaniel came down to Tasmania and found 73 orchids that we had walked past … including tiny seedlings that were growing in poa tussocks,” Dr Wright said.”
Partly supportedKelman said, “They are beautiful flowers in the environment, they're unusual,” and compared orchid enthusiasts with bridge enthusiasts and train buffs.Just In: ““[Orchids] are beautiful flowers in the environment, they're unusual,” she said. “If you think about the engineering world, we've got bridge enthusiasts or the train buffs, so for the plant world it's the orchid enthusiasts.””