Tell us a fun fact about yourself!
I play violin in a pirate band.
What are you most passionate about?
Helping people live more comfortably with the flora and fauna around them. I’m a big bat nerd and have a super soft spot for animals that get a bad rap based on misconceptions – for the record, bats don’t swoop you or get tangled in your hair, we only have one carnivorous bat in Australia and it lives in caves in SA and NT (and it’s pretty adorable). They are nothing to be afraid of!
What do you love about what you do?
I get to try to make spaces better for everything that lives there. I love meeting people in the community and finding out about their experiences with wildlife, I love trying to solve problems around fences and pest control to get the best outcome for everyone, and I particularly love showing people samples of poo and making them guess what animal it’s from.
What is your experience in the industry?
I’ve got a Bachelor of Science in Biology and did an honours thesis on the roosting habits of microbats in urban reserves, so I had lots of opportunity to ponder the nuances of how native mammals manage to persist in residential areas. After that I did a Masters in Science Communication where I got to travel regional Australia delivering pop-up science exhibitions and shows in town halls and basketball courts. Worked at a University for a bit trying to convince high school students to study more maths (Oi you! Study maths for as long as you can! It’s not as scary as you think and opens up more opportunities later!). Between all of that and helping my lab mates monitor bandicoot and rat populations around Sydney, I was super ready to do this job at the junction of ecology and communications.
Who is the best person you’ve worked with?
This is so tricky – I can genuinely say the folks at Cranbourne Gardens are a delight to be around. I did particularly enjoy working with artist Darryl Cordell (and the other artists and puppet makers and our project team that enacted the vision) to bring to life Nibbles, the Big Bandicoot. That’s a work experience I’ll never forget.
What would your last meal be?
A really good seafood laksa followed by some sago gula melaka.
What is your most memorable moment?
When my partner proposed last year in a spooky heritage-listed carpark.
What was your favourite subject in school?
Extracurricular music. There’s a joy in singing in groups that just can’t be matched.
What event past or present would you like to witness?
A really big volcanic eruption, but from a very safe distance.
Which three guests, dead or alive, would you invite to dinner?
John McPhee – a creative nonfiction writer who has covered the most diverse set of topics, but thoroughly and immersively. I read his book ‘Oranges’ (guess what – it’s about oranges) last year and apart from one or two outdated pieces of terminology, you would never have guessed it was published more than fifty years ago.
Hedy Lamarr – she accomplished such diverse things, I’d love to listen to her and try to follow how she thought.
My great-great grandmother – She ran a hotel by herself on New Zealand’s wild west coast in the 1940s. I reckon she’d have a few stories to tell.
What are you currently listening to, watching or reading?
Listening to Wax Quizzical, a podcast where three comedians, two of them in character, complete a newspaper quiz. It gets very, very silly and features lots of local Melbourne talent.
Watching The Great. A tongue-in-cheek “mostly untrue” romp with excellent costumes.
Reading The Future of Food, by Amanda Little. A really interesting exploration of current promising technologies and how they may (or may not) solve the food security problems we
face.
How would you describe your fashion sense?
Aggressively green.
Have you had a pet that has made an impact on your life?
Growing up in a dairy-farming town in New Zealand, we had an annual school agricultural day where everyone would raise an animal, train it, and bring it to school to compete. The experience of hand-rearing a few lambs has definitely had an impact – early mornings trudging through the rainy paddocks in pyjamas builds character.
If you had to compete on MasterChef, what dish would you cook?
A seasonal fruit upside-down cake. It decorates itself and tastes marvellous.
Where is your dream holiday destination?
Everywhere! Top of the list at the moment is Bako National Park in Borneo. They have proboscis monkeys and an excellent selection of bats.
What were you like as a kid?
The annoying one that corrected everyone’s spelling and grammar all the time. Don’t worry, I learned to let it slide!
What is your favourite colour and why?
Grassy green! Like the leaves of Lomandra longifolia, a great habitat plant for bandicoots.
Do you consider yourself an extrovert or an introvert?
Extrovert, as evidenced by frequent use of jazz hands in inappropriate contexts.
What was your first job?
Working in kids activities at a maritime museum. I got to help kids build ships and telescopes out of cardboard, blow giant bubbles while dressed as a jellyfish, and run invention workshops. My current job is amazing, but I do miss the glow-in-the-dark jellyfish costume.
What are the three most used apps on your phone?
I’m a millennial and I’ve caught the Wordle bug, so at the moment it’s Safari, Messenger and Reddit.
