State of biodiversity
by Jon Brooks
For 29-year-old Brett Haby, a career in environmental conservation wasn’t so much a choice as a calling. And thanks to UniSA, he was able to answer that call.
"I grew up in a place with a beautiful natural environment on the Georges River in Sydney, so I loved fishing as a kid and had plenty of exposure to snakes and reptiles – it fuelled a desire to work in my current field," Haby said.
Graduating from the Biodiversity and Parks Management degree in 2001, Haby is now an Education Services Officer at Cleland Wildlife Park, and regularly holds education sessions, tours and displays for South Australian and international students from various universities, schools, TAFE and the wider community.
"Studying at UniSA really opened my eyes to the level of biodiversity here in South Australia. By participating in surveys at Innes National Park and Brookfield Conservation Park, I learnt to appreciate our State’s amazing bird life, one of the more dominant groups of wildlife in our parks and reserves," he said.
Haby now breeds threatened native parrots and is friend to all Australian animals, no matter whether they’re cute and cuddly or the stuff of many people’s nightmares.
"In my snake awareness sessions, the main thing I try to get across is that while Australia has many potentially dangerous snakes, 99 times out of 100 they’re going to want to avoid us rather than defend themselves – unless provoked.
"They’re genuinely beautiful animals and once you get to understand them a little bit, most people can see their beauty and appreciate their role in our interconnected ecosystem."
Thanks to the work of people like Brett Haby and institutions like Cleland Wildlife Park (part of the Department for Environment and Heritage) that message is starting to get through.
"Cleland is a great resource for South Australia. It’s a showcase for our bio-diversity, providing an opportunity to get up close and personal with our wildlife, helping to spread the message of conservation," Haby said.
"When I started working at Cleland eight years ago, if I asked a group of students, ‘who had killed a snake?’ half the younger males would have put their hand up. Now, it’s far less than that," Haby said.
"People are learning that snakes play a really important role in our ecosystem and to a large part it’s our schools that are responsible for that shift.
"It’s happening in the wider community too. We’ve got local farmers who are building better habitats for native wildlife, including insectivorous bats and reducing our reliance on pesticides - which is great."