Conservation and Environment

About the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research

Awards | Research Themes | Seminar Series | Staff

The Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research (ARI) is a leading centre for applied ecological research, with an emphasis on flora, fauna and biodiversity issues. ARI's main focus is on providing strategic research and management advice to answer key questions affecting ecologically sustainable land or water management and resource use policies. The Institute has over 80 research staff with expertise in the ecology and taxonomy of flora, fauna and freshwater species and an excellent knowledge of ecosystem processes and interactions. See our Brochure and Annual Business Reviews for more information on the Institute and our research capacity. ARI Director A new Director has recently been appointed to ARI. Dr Sze Flett brings more than 25 years of experience in research, practice change, science program and policy development and management. As a researcher, she has led multidisciplinary teams in a wide range of research programs in crop protection, integrated pest management and environmental management systems, working in horticulture, pastures and field crops. She is a specialist in the epidemiology of soil-borne Phytophthora diseases. She has published extensively in refereed scientific journals and books, conference presentations and industry journals. From 2000-2002, she has undertaken additional roles in key project management and policy development including Victoria’s Biotechnology Strategy and AgBiotechnology Strategy. Since 2003, as the statewide manager for the Department of Primary Industries’ Sustainable Landscapes portfolio, she has led the department’s delivery of catchment-based Natural Resource Management extension services to private landholders. Dr Flett has a PhD in Plant Pathology, Executive Masters in Public Administration and Graduate Diploma in Business Administration. Her research interests include the management of plant disease complexes in agricultural systems, understanding behavioural change natural resource management and community engagement in biodiversity and ecosystem management. Page Top

Awards
2006: The work of Fiona Coates and Mike Duncan was honoured in the Land and Biodiversity Category of the National Banksia Awards. The Victorian threatened orchid recovery project: "Back from the Brink: Saving Victoria’s Threatened Orchids" aimed to restore one of the world’s great temperate terrestrial orchid floras of which over one-half of the 380 are threatened. The project covered 80 species of highly threatened orchids, has protected over 150 populations, and has saved four critically endangered orchids from extinction. The project is a partnership of the Department of Sustainability and Environment Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, Australasian Native Orchid Society Victorian group, Parks Victoria, Melbourne Zoo, University of Melbourne, Victoria University and RMIT University, and is backed by a network of over 40 agencies and community groups across Victoria, interstate and overseas. More information on threatened species projects can be found on the Threatened Species and Communities page.
2005: The work of Dr Lindy Lumsden, John Silins and Andrew Bennett (Deakin University) was honoured at the Department of Primary Industries annual Science Awards by receiving the David Ashton Biodiversity Award. The award is for excellent science, completed in the last three years, that improves the outcomes for the natural environment and/or the understanding of biodiversity. Lindy and her team have been studying insectivorous bats across rural Victoria. They have discovered that bats play a much larger ecological role than anyone had imagined, probably eating more insects than birds and other predators combined. They have also shown that most bats can cope with changing land use – provided that remnant vegetation is protected. Bats depend on old and dead trees for shelter during the day. Lindy travels across rural Victoria demonstrating to farmers that they, and the environment, benefit from bat conservation. Now she is working to measure the potential of bats in integrated pest control. She hopes to show that conservation measures to protect bats will also help farmers fight insect pests and reduce dependence on chemicals. More information about Lindy's projects can be found on the Rural and Urban Landscapes page.
2004: The Carp Research Team headed by Ivor Stuart has won two major awards including the Eureka Prize for water research, presented in Sydney in August 2004 and the David Ashton Biodiversity Award presented in Melbourne in March 2004. Ivor Stuart's team researched the behaviour of exotic fish species, such as carp, and designed the innovative carp 'jumping cage' system. As a result of their observations on the habits of both carp and native fish the team developed a cage system, which exploits the jumping behaviour of carp moving through waterways. More information on their project can be found on the Invasive Species past projects page.