News and Events
The Institute for Land, Water and Society publishes an electronic newsletter "Connections" which features informative stories about ILWS members and their research projects four times a year.
The Institute also conducts regular workshops, conferences, forums, public seminars and information evenings. The aim of these events is to disseminate scientific knowledge, enhancing the capacity of partners and the wider community to contribute effectively to processes addressing rural and regional sustainability.
Researcher awarded an ARC Future Fellowship
ILWS researcher Associate Professor Gary Luck has been named an ARC Future Fellows by the Federal Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr. A/Prof Gary Luck, is an ecologist basd at CSU at Albury-Wodonga and among 200 outstanding national and international mid-career researchers named in the first group of prestigious Future Fellows. He'll lead projects over five years worth $686,400.
Associate Professor Luck’s Fellowship will facilitate his work on Integrating the conservation and ecosystem-service value of Australia’s Catchments. He has an interest in a broad range of topics including developing conservation strategies for native fauna in agricultural landscapes, examining the role of vertebrates in providing ecosystem services and understanding the importance of changes in population diversity to service provision. He is also interested in biogeographic patterns in species assemblages and their relationships to human settlement patterns, and human impacts on biodiversity. He has studied or worked at five universities including a two–year postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University in California.
ILWS members receive Vice-Chancellor Awards for Excellence
Congratulations to all who received a Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence including our two ILWS recipients, A/Prof Gary Luck from the School of Environmental Science who won the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence; and Dr Jennifer Sappey from the School of Social Sciences and Liberal Studies who won one of two Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence.
Gary was nominated by Prof Nick Klomp, the Dean of the Faculty of Science for his “outstanding contribution to the research profile of Charles Sturt University.” Gary, who joined CSU in 2003, is an ecologist with research interests in the conservation and management of endangered fauna in agricultural landscapes, the relationship between human demographics and biodiversity, and the role of species in providing ecosystem services. Within the research field of biodiversity conservation he has contributed to new knowledge on ecosystem services, and conservation near human settlements. Since 2006 Gary has secured external grant funding of over $1.1m (including three ARC grants). Seven of his top 10 publications are in journals with an ERA ranking of A* or A and he is a major contributor to international research collaborations including a European Union 6th
Framework Program project. He has supervised seven PhD students (two completed and five on-going) and makes significant effort to mentor early career researchers.
Jenny, a lecturer in sociology at Bathurst, is a member of the Institute’s Economic and Regional Development group. In 2007 to 2008 she was the team leader of an ERD project Mapping the Aged Care Industry and Ageing Issues in Central West NSW, as part of the Institute’s commitment to researching demographic change. Jenny teaches in the areas of spatial inequality and social identity which encompasses issues such as ageing, gender, ethnicity and differences in access to economic, social and environmental resources across regions and international. “There is a strong nexus between this teaching and our ILWS research with a common theme running throughout – the significance of consumption, difference and inequality on issues of long term economic, social and environmental sustainability,” says Jenny who was recognised for supporting the needs of her School, providing ongoing leadership to her colleagues, her commitment to education and her cutting edge approach to blended learning.
Annual Report 2007/8
Read about our achievements in the Annual Report 2007/08 which is now online.
20 years of Rural Society
It's 20 years since Rural Society, the journal of research into rural and regional social issues, began life as the Rural Welfare Research Bulletin. Since 1989 the articles published in Rural Society have covered some enduring themes such as rural justice, multiculturalism, women in the workforce, gender equality, rural transport and access to services. Read more....
Advisory Board gathers in Canberra
Pictured are members of the Institute’s Advisory Board and ILWS Management Team who met at the National Water Commission’s headquarters in Canberra on Tuesday, May 12.
They are (left to right) Jonathon Howard, Skye Wassens, Ken Matthews, Shayne Williams, Cathy McGowan, Samantha Edmonds, Anna Lukasiewicz, Wendy Craik, Max Finlayson, Allan Curtis and Mark Morrison.
Director reappointed to RAMSAR panel
International recognition for his expertise in wetland management has led to the reappointment of Institute director Professor Max Finlayson to the Scientific and Technical Review Panel for the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands from 2009 to 2012. Professor Finlayson will be specialising in the effects of climate change on wetlands and water, and the social and economic effects on people who rely on them.
Antartic experience
Institute member Dr Rosemary Black, who lectures in ecotourism and interpretation, has recently spent two months at sea working as an assistant expedition leader with Australian-based Aurora Expeditions. The story on her experiences certainly generated plenty of interest from media. Read more
Collected rainwater under scrutiny
While rain water may be free, drinking it may not be risk free,according to researcher Dr Andrea Crampton, a microbiologist with the institute. Even though drinking water supplied to cities and towns is treated and routinely monitored for bacteria and other potential contaminants, the water drunk by most rural residents living on properties is not monitored and detection and prevention is left in the hands of the consumer. “Drinking water harvested from roofs, bores, dams or rivers could pose health risks to those who rely on it,” said Dr Crampton, who is part of a research team currently testing water from self-managed sources for bacteria and other contaminants. As part of the study, which is running around Wagga Wagga in April and May, participants will be sent a water test kit consisting of a survey, collection bottles, instructions and cooler bag with ice pack to keep water cool. Participants will also be contacted for a telephone interview. Anyone interested in participating in the study and having drinking water tested for free please contact Dr Crampton on (02) 6933 4032 or send an email.
Focus on trust during bushfires
People around Wangaratta including the King Valley who were affected by the 2006-07 bushfires can have their say on their experiences of the fires through a survey being mailed to every fire affected household in the area. Charles Sturt University (CSU) PhD student Emily Sharp, a member of ILWS, who is studying the role of trust in developing and implementing fire management strategies, has already done in-depth interviews with 38 people affected by the fires as well as 12 agency staff. She is investigating what factors influence trust between communities and government agencies before, during and after a fire. “People’s experiences of the fires depended on many factors, including where they lived, how much vegetation was around them, the topography, how much experience of fire they had had beforehand, and their confidence in their fire plans.” The survey, to go to up to 650 residents in mid April, will take 25 to 30 minutes to complete. Ms Sharp hopes her research will improve community/government agency relationships.
Valuing our natural places
People in and around Maryborough and Castlemaine in Central Victoria will soon be able to have their say on how communities value natural assets. ILWS researcher and PhD student Ms Eloise Seymour is hoping for over 500 replies to a mail survey she is sending out which will give her feedback on how people value local environmental assets such as the local Box-Ironbark Forests, the Moorlort wetlands, and the Loddon River between Baringhup and Vaughan Springs. “The Moorlort wetlands have been dry for 10 years due to the drought but local farmers have said how important they are for bird migration and how spectacular they used to be. Survey participants should consider how they value wetlands now and in the past,” Ms Seymour said. The survey, which should take 20 minutes to complete, will be sent to people living in small towns, regional centres, on farms and with special interests such as field naturalists. “The survey results will help develop better ways for environmental organisations in Australia to decide what natural places should receive government funding and resources,” Ms Seymour said. Her research is funded by the Future Farm Industries Cooperative Research Centre and is part of ILWS. Survey results should be distributed to respondents by August 2009.