The conference will bring together more than 1,000 delegates from around the world to explore the role of ecological restoration as a means of responding to current and future causes of environmental degradation and as a tool for addressing the myriad 21st century challenges we face – environmental, economic and social. The 4-day scientific program will feature world-renowned keynote and plenary speakers, thought-provoking symposia, pre-conference training courses, field trips, and a range of concurrent sessions.

The conference theme is: Towards Resilient Ecosystems: Restoring the Urban, the Rural and the Wild. This theme is intended to facilitate a dynamic exchange of knowledge, ideas, and perspectives among colleagues working in highly urbanized areas, ex-agricultural sites, and natural (“wild”) environments, or environments approaching that end of the spectrum. SER2015 will deliver the theme of resilience through four key strands – science, culture, arts and education – which, together, help encourage an expanded approach to restoration ecology that integrates quantitative, qualitative and creative forms of research and practice. In this way, the conference theme and its applications will provide for a rich and truly international set of opportunities for robust debate, social discourse and creative interaction to deepen our knowledge and expand the field of ecological restoration.