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HAWKESBURY INSTITUTE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

SUCCESS SHOWCASE – QUARTER THREE 2014

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

National Science Week Workshops – 18 & 20 June 2014The University partnered with Penrith South Public School as part of National Science Week to bring science to the students! With interactive, blended learning-based sessions on food and agriculture by the UWS PICSE team and always-enjoyable sessions with the snakes and lizards, National Science Week proved inspiring and engaging for over 90 students.

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Dr Chris Cazzonelli asks ‘What keeps scientists up at night?’ – 20 June 2014 Dr Chris Cazzonelli was part of a National Science Week panel of scientists presenting their research in an interactive forum at the City of Sydney library. In his talk, Chris describes frankly the highs and lows of life in science, in a talk that proved popular and engaging.

The Future of Food Through Science

– 1 July 2014The UWS PICSE team

and scientists from HIE treated a group of 18 high school students to special

workshops over a week on the topic of food security

and food science. Students examined DNA from crop

plants, learned about crop production and explored

career options through the B Natural Science program.

It was a great week, and builds interest in

undergraduate courses in agriculture and food.

Touring EucFACE with the National Youth Science Forum – 3 July 2014 The National Youth Science Forum is a touring science program for bright students. During the program, students are treated to tours of excellent scientific and industrial facilities, and on this tour of the Hawkesbury Institute’s facilities, students saw firsthand research underway the EucFACE and the Hawkesbury Forest Experiments.

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Bayer CropScience Forum – 14 August 2014Bayer CropScience is one of the world’s largest chemical and seed companies, with a number of mutual research interests in insect ecology, chemical interactions and plant physiological technologies. HIE and Bayer explored opportunities for potential collaborations and toured EucFACE.

INDUSTRY SOLUTIONS

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Showcasing HIE to Langley Fertilisers –

12 August 2014A number of fertiliser

companies are adopting technologies that maximise benefits from the biological

interactions that occur in soils. This forum was an

opportunity to showcase HIE’s science to a progressive

company and as a result, ongoing discussions around collaborating are underway.

Showcasing HIE with the Australian Centre

for International Agricultural Research

– 20 June 2014 UWS has a number of

connections with ACIAR and this special forum was an opportunity to

showcase the Institute’s unique facilities and

develop collaborations with colleagues across UWS

and delegates from ACIAR.

ARC Linkage Collaboration In Trees And Drought Research – 27 June 2014Trees define our landscapes and are crucial for ecosystem services including biodiversity, carbon sequestration and prevention of soil erosion. Drought is a major threat to tree survival across Australia and is being exacerbated by rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns due to climate change. This project led by Macquarie University aims to calculate the risk of drought mortality for key tree species across New South Wales in current and future climates.

Forestry Leaders Workshop –

24 September 2014HIE brought leaders from

Australia’s forestry industry to showcase HIE’s research

in forestry sciences, an area in which HIE is rated at well

above world standard (ERA2). Delegates from Forest and

Wood Products Australia and the forestry industry shared research

and insights into a changing industry. This event has led to

ongoing development of research and funding opportunities.

Cotton Under Climate Change Workshop – 9 September 2014The Global Centre for Land-Based Innovation at HIE is collaborating with researchers in the cotton industry to develop cotton industries that are adaptable to future, more variable climates. This workshop brought researchers from CSIRO, Cotton Seed Distributors, growers and the Cotton Research & Development Corporation to showcase mutual research interests and develop ongoing avenues for future research collaborations.

Soil Biology Masterclass – 8 & 9 October 2014Following a successful pilot in 2013, HIE ran its first full Soil Biology Masterclass with a great turnout of diverse industry professionals, growers, and agricultural consultants. The Masterclass explored the broad topic of soil biology which can be managed to enhance plant productivity and the resilience of farming operations.

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STAFF & STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS

Sarah Facey Wins Best Poster AwardSarah Facey was awarded the only prize at the Triennial International Symposium on Insect-Plant Interactions, held in Neuchatel, Switzerland in August 2014.

Lisa Bromfield wins Wiley Ecological AwardHDR student Lisa Bromfield has been awarded the Wiley Ecological Award for her project ‘Individual strategies to cope with environmental change: A test of the pace-of-life syndrome hypothesis’, an important achievement as Lisa progresses towards her HDR candidature.

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Catarina Martins AwardCatarina won Best Poster Prize at the 20th World Congress of Soil Science for her poster entitled “Impact Of Warming And Reduced Precipitation In A Temperate-Boreal Ecotonal Forest” in Northern-Minnesota, USA. This is a great achievement for Catarina as there was a huge number of posters in her session ‘Mechanisms Controlling Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Soils’.

Tracey Steinrucken’s Three Minute Thesis Success ContinuesAfter two years of winning the HIE divisional Three Minute Thesis rounds and then the UWS divisional round, Tracey heads to Perth to compete in the National Finals. This is a great result for Tracey’s work on the weedy Parkinsonia.

Tim Sutton Highly Commended By Wiley Ecological CommitteeHis project “Ecology & Evolution Of Fig Pollinator-Parasite Interactions” was highly commended by the award committee.

Prof David Ellsworth joins ARC College Of ExpertsThe ARC College Of Experts plays a key role in identifying research excellence, moderating external assessments and recommending fundable proposals. It also assists the ARC in recruiting and assigning assessors and in implementing peer review reforms in established and emerging disciplines as well as interdisciplinary areas. Prof Ellsworth’s prestigious appointment reflects his reputation, achievements and accomplishments in ecology and forest sciences.

HDR GraduationsDr Honglang Duan and Dr Jennifer Morrow have both graduated in the recent September ceremonies. Dr Duan has taken a lectureship at Nanjing University in China, while Dr Morrow has joined HIE as a postdoctoral fellow to continue her work on sex determination of the destructive Queensland Fruit Fly, Bactrocera tryoni.

Adam Frew Sugarcane Research ScholarshipAdam has been awarded a

two-year Sugar Research Australia HDR scholarship to investigate how

soil fungi may be used to control the cane grub, a beetle whose root-feeding larvae damage sugar cane and reduce

its yield and productivity.

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CONTACT DETAILSHawkesbury Institute for the EnvironmentUniversity of Western SydneyLocked Bag 1797Penrith NSW 2751 Australia

Bourke StreetRichmond NSW 2753 AustraliaPhone: +61 2 4570 1125Email: hieinfo@lists.uws.edu.au

HIE

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2014

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HAWKESBURY INSTITUTE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT SHOWCASES AT THE 2014 ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY CONFERENCE

HIE was lead sponsor of the conference and this enabled us to connect with delegates over coffee, provide engaging giveaways and showcase our iconic research to an interested audience.

ESA represented an excellent opportunity to build new linkages and collaborations, like our partnership with the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney investigating extreme heat events on native flying foxes (pictured is Dr John Martin of the RBG and Dr Justin Welbergen of HIE).

Dr John Drake concludes his presentation chaired by Dr Andrea Leigh of UTS on HIE’s experiments conducted in the Whole Tree Chambers, EucFACE and field sites.

Researchers at HIE presented engaging and highly-commended talks on their research which stimulated numerous discussions around impact, collaborations and studentships.

From their air, the incredible landforms of central Australia are revealed, highlighting the powerful role that water plays in shaping our ecology.

Alice Springs is an ecologist’s haven, and the tour enabled delegates to take part in field trips to learn more about the unique ecosystems of the arid centre.

The Ecological Society is the peak body for research into ecology, biodiversity, climate, modelling, and a wide range of environmental and agricultural research topics.

Its annual conference is a widely anticipated event and in 2014 was held in the beautiful outback town of Alice Springs. The conference brought more than five hundred researchers to Alice Springs, prompting many to comment how the ‘plane was full of ecologists – all broad-brim hats, outdoor gear and cameras’.

HIE provided major sponsorship of ESA and exhibited with a large display set against the backdrop of the iconic MacDonnell Ranges. Presenters from HIE included:

• Mr Courtney Campany – “Effects Of Belowground Space Limitation On Performance Of Eucalypts Seedlings” Nutrient Limitation Or Sink Inhibition”.

• Dr Paul Rymer – “Thermal Limits To Range Expansion Of Invasive Species: An Experimental Approach”.

• Dr John Drake – “Too Hot To Handle? Physiological Acclimation To Climate Warming In Eucalyptus Tereticornis.”

• Dr Justin Welbergen – “Canaries In The Coalmine – Impacts Of Extreme Heat Events On Flying Foxes”.

• Ms Caroline Fromont – “Hidden Diversity And Host Specificity In Fig-Psylloid Parasitoid Interactions.”

• Dr Sabine Nooten – “Golf Courses As Biodiversity Reservoirs In Urban Landscapes.”