Environmental Change: Fires, Floods and Country
This years annual conference was held from Monday, 28th November to Friday, 2nd December 2022 at the Bay Pavilions, Batemans Bay.
The program included a Welcome Mixer, Student Events, Dine and Network event, ‘Under the Sea’ themed Conference Dinner and Field Trip.
The AFSS acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land and waters on which society members gather and acknowledges and pays respect to their Elders, past, present and emerging. We honour the past, respect the present and look towards a prosperous and reconciled future
2022 Early Career Excellence Award Recipient
Dr Ryan Burrows
University of Melbourne
Dr Ryan Burrows is a freshwater ecologist with particular expertise in ecosystem ecology and monitoring programs. His Ph.D research unravelled how clear-felling of wet Eucalypt forests impacts Tasmanian headwater streams. As a post-doc in Sweden, he investigated the impacts of forest management and climate change on Arctic and Boreal freshwaters. He has since worked on projects investigating the ecological consequences of human-induced groundwater extraction, the declining coastal water quality of the Great Barrier Reef, and threats to the world’s non-perennial rivers. Ryan currently works at the University of Melbourne and Melbourne Water as part of the Melbourne Waterways Research-Practice Partnership. In this joint position, he translates research into outcomes at Melbourne Water by developing and applying tools, policies and systems to support the Healthy Waterways Strategy implementation, monitoring, adaptive improvement and reporting.
2022 AFSS Hilary Jolly Medal Recipient
Belinda Robson
Murdoch University
Belinda Robson is the Editor in Chief of Freshwater Biology and an Associate Professor in the Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems at Murdoch University in Western Australia. She has been a member of AFSS for 30 years and served as a state rep on the society executive for Tasmania, Victoria and WA and also as VP, President and IPP. She received the ASL ECE Award in 2004 and the Hilary Jolly Award in 2021. Her research focuses on disturbance and restoration of freshwater ecosystems, including the effects of wildfire, drought, environmental flows and riparian revegetation across both rivers and lakes. Since the early 2000s her research has examined the impacts of global warming on invertebrate communities in streams and wetlands and on methods for adaptation to climate change for freshwater animals living in a drying climate.
Biaime Lecturer
Jason Wilson
Commonwealth Environmental Water Office
Jason Wilson is a 52 year old Aboriginal man (Murri) of the Kennedy-Morgan and Peter’s Families. He’s Grandfather’s country language is Gomilaroi (Barwon River and North-west NSW) and he’s Grandmother’s Country language is Youalaroi(Narran River and North-west NSW) In the Northern Murray Darling Basin Australia.
The primary objective of he’s past and present work is to incorporate Aboriginal Values into water initiatives within the Commonwealth and NSW Governments. He has dedicated his life to stop the ‘intergenerational cultural, spiritual and economic genocide’ and provide equity for Aboriginal People. He has worked in Fisheries both NSW State and Federal levels.
He has assisted in empowering the Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations and Northern Basin Aboriginal Nation.
He currently works for the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office as a Local Engagement Officer, and currently enjoy Chairing the Narran Lakes Joint Management Committee with Office of Environment and Heritage tackling Climate Change Adaptation.
He loves sport, travel, fishing, great food, friends, also having a yarn and capacity building the broader Aboriginal community, finally he loves he’s Country and Family.
Lungfish Lecturer
Stuart is a senior member of the Australian Rivers Institute at Griffith University and, until July 2022, was the founding Director. His major research interests are in the ecology of river and wetland systems with a particular focus on the science to underpin river management. Stuart has extensive experience working with international and Australian government agencies and with industry on water resource management issues. He has been an active member and chair of state and national science advisory committees, including Healthy Land and Water, the Murray Darling Basin Authority, and the Lake Eyre Basin Ministerial Council. Stuart is currently a board member of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and has previously served as an Australian National Water Commissioner and as a Director of Land and Water Australia. In 2019, he was appointed to the Earth Commission, hosted by Future Earth, and in 2022 was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.
Lungfish Lecturer
Avril Horne
University of Melbourne
A/Prof Avril Horne is a water policy specialist, with a rare combination of experience across economics, hydrology and policy. Her research focusses on developing tools and systems to assist efficient and adaptive environmental water management, allocation mechanisms and institutional arrangements for environmental water and reallocation policies between water sectors. Most recently her work has looked at decision making for environmental water under deep uncertainty.