– When: Friday 5 August 12:30pm AEST, online via Zoom – Register now –

Have you ever wondered what sort of diverse projects ecologists work on outside of academia? Are you unsure what an ecological practitioner is? Or how researchers and practitioners work together?

Join members of our Practitioner Engagement Working Group as they chat with the winners of the 2021 Ecological Impact Award about managing invasive rodents on Norfolk Island, the unique fauna they are striving to protect, and why collaborations between researchers and practitioners are vital for effective conservation management.

Submit practitioner ecology-related questions before the webinar for panellists to discuss and answer during the session to info@ecolsoc.org.au.

Panellists include:

Dr Samantha Lloyd – Sam is Principal Scientist with Healthy Land and Water, where she is Manager of the Queensland Fire and Biodiversity Consortium. She has two decades experience in research, consultancy, teaching and project management in ecology, entomology, bushfire and natural resource management. Following completion of her PhD (pollination ecology) in 2006, Sam held a number of roles, including entomologist for the New Zealand Fire Ant Control Program and manager of the Moreton Bay Oil Spill Environmental Restoration Program. Sam has a keen interest in science communication – she is science and nature reviewer for Children’s Books Daily and is also currently writing her first children’s science book with CSIRO Publishing.

Dr Sacha Jellinek – Research Fellow with a joint position at the University of Melbourne and Melbourne Water. He is interested in the links between people and nature and identifying the best ways to monitor and restore natural ecosystems using habitat restoration. He has worked widely in Australia and in southeast Asia on terrestrial and marine environments. Sacha currently works in the Waterway Ecosystem Research Group at the School of Ecosystem and Forest Science and is the Science and Applications Vice President at the Ecological Society of Australia. He was awarded the 2021 ESA Members Service Prize.

Lincoln Kern – Lincoln is the founder of Practical Ecology and has been providing expertise in flora and fauna survey, environmental planning, bushland restoration, bushfire risk analysis and planning law, environmental and noxious weed control, revegetation and general land management services with the business since 1993. Since starting work in the Victorian ecological restoration and environmental industry in 1990 Lincoln has developed Practical Ecology as one of the leading environmental consultancies in Victoria.

Melinda Wilson – Mel is the Natural Resources Manager of the Norfolk Island National Park. Alongside a small team, her role is to use best practice and innovative techniques to conserve and protect the large number of endemic, threatened island species that exist within the park from a range of threats including rodents, cats, weeds and feral birds. Mel also co-ordinates with research partners including universities and government organisations, to encourage the development and implementation of relevant projects within the park. Before returning to Norfolk Island, Mel was based at Uluru – Kata Tjuta National Park in the Northern Territory for 10 years. Along with PhD student Allie Nance, Mel was awarded the 2021 Ecological Impact Award.

Allie Nance – Allie is a NRM Ranger at Norfolk Island National Park. She is also completing her PhD looking at the nesting success of endemic songbirds on the island, which includes understanding invasive rodent populations and designing innovative control methods. Allie’s research has already led to changes in the way that rodents are monitored and controlled on the island. It has also been incorporated into the current review of the Norfolk Island Region Threatened Species Recovery Plan. In 2021, Allie was awarded the Ecological Impact Award in partnership with Norfolk Island National Park Natural Resources Manager Mel Wilson.