Division of Information Technology, Engineering and the Environment
School of Natural and Built Environments
School of Natural and Built Environments
Year of Graduation: 2003 (undergraduate degree), 2004
(honours)
Current Employer: Waterwatch Northern Adelaide and Barossa
Current Job Title: Waterwatch Education Officer
Honours: I completed an honours degree in 2004. The title of
my thesis was ‘Feeding Native Wildlife and Human-Wildlife
Interactions: the Attitudes, Opinions and Behaviours of Visitors to
Flinders Chase National Park, South Australia.
Most memorable experience on the degree program:
The most memorable experiences I had while completing my degree
were the various field camps and activities. Fieldwork was vital to
completing the degree as these experiences helped to consolidate the
technical content covered during lectures. Field camps and
activities were also a great opportunity to learn a wide range of
new skills and to do things we had never done before such as
canoeing, hiking, camping, wildlife and vegetation surveys and
visiting remote locations such as Danggali Conservation Park. Field
camps also enabled the students and lecturing staff to bond as a
group; and created lasting friendships.
How has your degree helped you in your current role?
The skills and knowledge I acquired during my degree have helped me
immensely in my current role. Particularly the written and verbal
communication skills I learnt, as well as the technical information
I gained in each course.
What do you do on a daily basis?
My role within the Land Management Program is; to organise and run a
range of education courses, workshops, field days, and seminars on
various land management issues for small land holders in the Mt.
Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Plains and the Murray Bridge Region. I also
provide technical land management advice to land holders in these
regions, conduct free property visits with land holders and prepare
written reports for land holders based on individual property
visits. Some of the land management issues covered include weed
identification and control, pasture management, soil management,
watercourses, dams and water resource management, native vegetation
management, revegetation, land capability, property planning, bush
foods, snakes awareness, wildfire planning, feral animal control and
wildlife management.
What do you enjoy most?
I enjoy a number of aspects of my role, but I particularly enjoy
going out to conduct site visits with land holders on their
property. I enjoy being outdoors and having the opportunity to see
how different people are managing their land. I enjoy helping people
to improve their land management practices and hearing their success
stories.
What helped you get this position?
Although I did not have as much experience as other applicants who
applied for the position, the interview panel thought I was
enthusiastic and believed I was capable of completing the role
successfully. Having a degree in natural resource management was
essential in order to be considered for the position. The prior
experience I had through various volunteer work, training workshops,
and casual employment, also helped me to win the position.
What is the remuneration for this occupation?
I am not paid in line with PSA salary rates however the closest PSA
salary rate to my current remuneration level is class PSO 01 step
06.
How many positions have you had since graduation?
I have held two positions since I graduated from the undergraduate
degree in 2003. My first position was as an environmental consultant
for a proposed development in the South East and I am currently in
my second position as a Land Management Adviser with the Land
Management Program.
Can you describe your first recruitment process?
I was required to submit an application for my current position. My
application included a cover letter, my resume, claims against the
selection criteria and a copy of my academic transcript. I was then
offered an interview and asked to prepare a ten-minute power point
presentation to conduct during the interview on land management
issues facing land holders in the Mt. Lofty Ranges. There were four
people on the interview panel including my team leader, a Land
Management Program employee, a member from our management committee
and a Rural Solutions SA employee. The interview went for half an
hour, twenty-minutes of questions and ten-minutes for my
presentation.
Can you remember any questions you were asked at interview?
I was asked to; outline my employment history, highlight my personal
and technical skills, describe my approach to solving conflicts in
the workplace and managing my workload.
I was also asked some hypothetical questions such as:
If you have been asked by a landholder to conduct a property
visit (i.e. a walk over the property) to give advice and assistance
on general land management issues, what would be your approach?
If, whilst doing a property visit (i.e. a walk over the property)
the landholder asked your advice about setting up a new and
profitable enterprise e.g. olives or soft fruits or any other, what
would your approach be?
What advice can you give to students currently studying?
My advice to students currently studying Biodiversity, Environmental
and Park Management is to do as much volunteer work as they can.
Volunteering is a great opportunity for students to meet various
people currently working in environmental management and to improve
on and learn new skills. The environmental field in South Australia
is fairly small and therefore it is important to get yourself known
to give yourself the best opportunity for future employment. I would
also encourage those students who are thinking about completing an
honours degree to apply for a place in the honours program. It is a
hard year but you learn a range of new skills that you cannot obtain
during the undergraduate degree. I believe it is best to choose an
honours topic that you are really interested in researching because
you live and breathe that topic for an entire year, sometimes
longer!
