School of Environmental Sciences
Dr Rik Thwaites
BSc(Hons) UMelb, PhD CSturt
Position Senior Lecturer, Ecotourism
Campus Thurgoona Campus
Office Room 149, West Wing, SES Building
Phone (02) 6051 9993
Fax (02) 6051 9897
EMAIL RIK THWAITES 
Member of ILWS
I believe that I bring a diverse range of interests and experiences to my teaching and research at Charles Sturt University. My major interests are in sustainable development, and the social dimensions of the nexus between conservation (including protected areas), communities (including Indigenous communities) and tourism. I teach in the fields of ecotourism, recreation and social science research methods.
Having trained as a geologist, I worked for some years as a glaciologist with Australian Antarctic Division, and later as a freelance photographer and photojournalist, and environmental consultant. I came to Charles Sturt University for PhD studies in the social sciences, in which I looked at the application of the Biosphere Reserve concept to a large area of grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China, and the factors influencing the sustainability of use of those grasslands.
Teaching Summary
With my diverse background, I have taught many different subjects, including Australian environments (GEO105), Recreation leadership (REC167), Shoreline recreation (PKM363), Outdoor recreation management (PKM261), Science and society (SSC501) and Social science research methods for natural resource management (SCI415). My main teaching responsibility lies in the ecotourism field, in which I teach three subjects: Principles of ecotourism (REC200) which explores the underlying principles and philosophies of ecotourism; Advanced principles of ecotourism (REC305) which considers these principles in greater depth and the experience of their application in real situations; and Ecotourism project (REC306) which provides students at undergraduate level the opportunity to explore in some depth a topic of interest.
I am a strong believer in the approach of linking educational content with students' own experiences, through case studies, stories, role plays and building experience through field trips ('situated learning'). I find this approach leads to a greater capacity for critical thinking in problem recognition and solving. Field trips in recent years have included many sites across our region from the Victorian ski fields to Barmah Forest on the Murray, and further afield to the Great Ocean Road and Otways National Park in Victoria and the Jervis Bay region of NSW. Later year students have undertaken projects all over Australia, but have also had the opportunity to undertake research in tourism destinations and communities overseas, including on a field trip to Fiji.
As well as my teaching responsibilities, I am also course coordinator for the Bachelor of Applied Science (Ecotourism), and the postgraduate ecotourism programs – Graduate Certificate(Ecotourism), Graduate Diploma (Ecotourism), Masters of Applied Science (Ecotourism).
Research Students
- Morgan Kurrajong (PhD)
- Larry Perry (Honours)
- Emily Sharp (PhD)
- Gaye Sutherland (Honours)
- Yalmambirra (PhD)
Interests
- Conservation
- Being outdoors, walking, swimming, cycling
- The Australian bush
- Photography
- Travelling and learning from other cultures
- Being with my kids