I am a Bachelor of Science graduate, with majors in zoology and ecology, and am now undertaking an honours project within conservation science. After being exposed to many areas of ecology during my undergraduate, I have realised that my interests lie with conservation science and improving existing methods of management for successful implementation and protection of our beautiful natural areas.

My honours thesis explored cost-efficient prioritisation of restoration projects to recover threatened ecosystems. It extended existing Project Prioritisation Protocol methods by incorporating threatened ecosystems (higher-level biological organisations than previously used species-level), in a cost-effectiveness analysis with competing objectives, and a fixed budget, for the City of Gold Coast. Which is more preferable: protecting or restoring ecosystems, and increasing cover or increasing quality? I’ll get back to you on that! Hopefully I will develop optimal solutions to enable decision-makers and land managers to make informed decisions about implementing the required management actions.

Honours student, University of Queensland, 2017