Q: What “day to day” type activities that you do?
My day to day varies quite a bit. Currently, I’m constructing some fences to exclude herbivores from a post-fire environment. I’m also finalising my field survey methodology so I can start collecting my own data, which is exciting! When I’m not in the field, I’m usually reading, writing, coding, or planning other parts of my PhD project.
Q: What pathway did you take to get into the research?
My pathway was pretty traditional. I completed an undergraduate degree in arts, where I studied history and development studies. Afterwards, I enrolled in a Master of Environment, thinking that I wanted to work in environmental education or behaviour change. However, I stumbled across a fire behaviour subject run by FLARE and loved it! During my masters, I started working for a bushfire planning consultancy, before deciding that I wanted to continue down the research path. My arts background often surprises people, but I think it’s provided an additional lens for me to look at my research through!
Q: Has there been any unexpected achievements along the way?
I didn’t have much statistics training in my undergraduate or master’s degree, so I was surprised at how quickly I learnt to make a graph in R. Admittedly, it didn’t look great to begin with, but I was so excited when I saw my first GAM pop up on the screen! I know there will be more coding challenges ahead, but at for least now, it doesn’t seem as scary.
Q: What is the most interesting thing that you have done during your studies?
During my first semester, I was fortunate to have some tutoring opportunities at the university, where I assisted students with GIS and BAL assessments. I really enjoyed applying and passing on some of the knowledge I gained from my professional experience as a bushfire consultant, but in an educational setting. I also got to burn some plants and building materials in Creswick’s fire laboratory – spoiler alert, the Agapanthus did not ignite.
Q: How can you assess whether a research environment will suit you before you join it?
Initially, I contacted my potential supervisors ahead of time just to have a general chat about FLARE and potential research areas. Within this meeting, both of my now supervisors discussed the type and extent of supervisory support they could offer and were quick to stress the importance of work life balance and wellbeing. To me, these are all important aspects of a PhD, so I left both meetings feeling like FLARE would be a good fit. I also did some volunteer fieldwork within the group, which gave me the opportunity to chat with some staff, and other PhD students. I definitely recommend contacting current or past students to get additional insight. This helped me immensely when deciding to apply.
