School of Environmental Sciences
Dr Catherine Allan
BAgSci Melb, MNatRes NE, PhD CSU
Position Senior Lecturer, Environment, Sociology and Planning
Campus Thurgoona Campus
Office Room 148, West Wing
Phone (02) 6051 9781
Fax (02) 6051 9897
EMAIL CATHERINE ALLAN 
Member of ILWS
I began my professional career helping farmers reclaim drifting sand dunes in the South Australian Mallee, then moved to supporting groups in Victoria with activities as diverse as managing their creek frontages to maintain populations of Trout Cod, to fostering group management skills to maintain their Landcare groups. A common thread throughout my agency employment was working with, and learning from, the people who manage the land. My love of nature has grown as I have learned more about ecosystems, but I have also come to understand that people are an exiting, intricate and (usually) dominant element of natural resource management.
My research interests include regional scale adaptive mangement, and the related topics of land management planning, project implementation, program evaluation and social learning. I am particularly interested in qualitiative research approaches, including participatory and collaborative research which empowers communities. I also empoy analysis of social discourse to better understand the rural societies in which we live.
I am the administrator of OzAM, the email list of the Australian adaptive management network.
Teaching Summary
- Social dimensions of environmental management
- Natural Resource Management
- Social Research methods for natural resource management
Research Students
- Gillian Earl (PhD)
- Prue Laidlaw (PhD)
Interests
- Native vegetation management, especially of native grasslands
- Reading and re–reading the works of Jane Austen and JRR Tolkein
- Sustainable living