Are you looking for a Guest Speaker or Presenter?
I regularly give talks, presentations and practical demonstrations to a range of educational facilities, community groups, government departments and private enterprises. These have recently (prior to Covid-19) included a community preschool, a literary group and a birding circle.
Main topics include:
- Book writing & natural history publications (what sells, what pulps and is all of the hard work worth it?)
- Freelance writing for magazines, such as Australian Geographic (free and paid articles and regular columns)
- Photographic techniques & experiences (what to photograph, how to process it, where to sell it and how much are your images worth)
- My personal journey (people who have influenced me, places I have travelled to, opportunities I have taken and and the experiences I have had along the way)
- Motivational (how I live and work with chronic illness, suffered from debilitatating stress and anxiety issues and acheived my childhood dreams)
- Environmental Surveys (how they work and the most memorable ones I have been involved with)
- Scientific Research (a behind the scenes look at institutions like the Australian Museum, NPWS and Sydney University)
- Wildlife Conservation (what we should ALL be doing and how we CAN make a difference)
I hold a current Working With Children Check (No. WWC1029041E, Expiry – 18/03/2027) and have had a recent Police Check (Ref. WWC1029041E, Conducted – 08/07/2020).
Upcoming Events:
Past Talks & Presentations:
Skinks, Legless Lizards & More
I have recently had the pleasure of talking on ABC Ballarat and assisting with web content on some of Australia’s lesser known reptiles. More details to come…
Wild Rambings: Wollongong Camera Club @ 7.30pm on 13 September 2022
PG: Speaker – Peter Rowland (WWW – Wildlife photography, Writing and Working with Lightroom) @ Figtree Heights Public School. Tickets. Sep 13 @ 7:30 pm.
I will talking about my travels around Australia and some of the challenges of photographing wildlife in remote areas, and variable climates. I will also chat about the books, particularly the Australia’s Birdwatching Megaspots. Being a photography talk, I will focus more on the images used within the books, and will share the stories behind some of the more memorable photographs and locations.
I will also talk about how I use Lightroom, my editing processes, cataloguing system and Digital Asset Management.
Wollongong Camera Club aims to promote enjoyment and skill in photography, videography, audio visual production, and post processing. Our programs include regular guest speakers, field trips, workshops, exhibitions, competitions and critiques.
FREE EVENT – Book Here
(Hosted by Wollongong City Libraries via EventBrite)
Thirroul Library @ 5.30pm on 30 June 2022
[Julie Clifford] “Join wildlife photographer, natural history writer, and Australian Geographic Magazine columnist Peter Rowland at Thirroul Library as he chats about his new book Wildlife of the Australian Rainforests: A State-by-State Guide.
During the event Peter will also demonstrate how to build a nesting box to attract Crimson Rosellas to your backyard.
Refreshments will be served.”
Collins Booksellers Thirroul will be there on the night with copies of my bool available for purchase.
Wild Rambings: Birdlife Melbourne @ 8.00pm on 22 November 2021
My talk covere my early childhood, growing up in the south of England, making nestboxes, hides and bird feeders, and how stumbling across an old slide projector and my great, great grandfather’s slide collection ignited my passion for wildlife photography. Fast forward a few years to my work-experience (and employment) at the Australian Museum of Natural History, and how that started me on my journey as a natural history author.
There were a few stories about my trips around and throughout Australia, especially the first one, a bit about some of my more recent books and my regular column for the Australian Geographic Magazine.
Chris Farrell is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Wild Ramblings by Peter Rowland
Time: Nov 23, 2021 07:30 PM Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Don't Panic! Author Talk at the Wollongong Library
[Wollongong City Library – 28 January 2021]
My talk covered my early childhood, growing up in the south of England, making nestboxes, hides and bird feeders, and how stumbling across an old slide projector and my great, great grandfather’s slide collection ignited my passion for wildlife photography. Fast forward a few years to my work-experience (and employment) at the Australian Museum of Natural History, and how that started me on my journey as a natural history author.
There were a few stories about my trips around and throughout Australia, especially the first one, and then I chatted about some of my more recent books and how I became the Bird Nerd columnist for Australian Geographic.
I also gave people an insight into the book-writing industry, how I go about developing an idea and the process involved in turning that initial idea into the book on the (library) shelf.
A fun chat about bowerbirds with Elliot on the first episode of the Human Nature Podcast
[Elliot Connor] “Episode 1 of the Human Nature podcast is now out!! I had a wonderful time recording it on Sunday with Peter Rowland and co. and hope you enjoy it just as much.”
You can listen to more podcasts on Elliot’s channel here.
Jamberoo Community Pre-school
Had a great day with the teachers and children at Jamberoo Community Pre-school!
The children and I made a pardalote nesting box for their pre-school’s garden. Each child took turns to help me put the box together and screw each of the pieces of timber in place. When it was complete we placed it in the tree.
We also made some native bee houses using recycle timber boxes, bamboo, drilled pieces of wood and bundled up sticks. Once they were finished we attached them to the fences in different areas of the garden.
We ended the day by chatting about Australian animals, my books and the trips I have been on to photograph the different animals that feature in them. The children also had a lot of fun stories of their own. They also had some great questions and sat quietly while I answered them all.
It was a great, fun day!
Australia’s Birdwatching Megaspots – an evening with the Illawarra Birders
[Penny Potter – Illawarra Birders] “Peter Rowland discusses his research and travels around Australia over the past 25+ years, and how this has culminated in his latest bird book Australia’s Birdwatching Megaspots, written in partnership with Chris Farrell and with the invaluable assistance of other field researchers, photographers and designers. The talk will be accompanied by some of the images used in the book, and a short video.”
If you live in the NSW Illawarra region and are looking for a great birding group to join, you can check them out here.
Blarney Books
A fun night with the Port Fairy community at Blarney Books & Art, chatting about Australia’s birds, the release of the Australia’s Birdwatching Megaspots book and answering questions from the audience.
Chris Farrell and I are very proud of the Australia’s Birdwatching Megaspots book, which will be a great assistance to show people from both Australia and around the world 55 of Australia’s Birdwatching Megaspots (200 plus species) and areas of interest around Australia via GPS coordinates and details descriptions. We are also thankful of Birdlife Australia’s and WWF Australia endorsements documented on the back of the book but would like to have the book reviewed in the next Birdlife magazine.
