Nick and Sylvia recognised for their important conservation work with aquatic species
A little earlier in the same week that NGT received a National Award from SERA, two NGT staff were also recognised for their dedicated conservation work with our native aquatic species. It sure was a big week for our little NGO!
NGT’s Nick Whiterod (far left), with other 2018 Churchill Fellows (showing the diversity of fields that recipients represent) from left to right Jasmine Jan, Ben Trewren and Jennifer Roy.
Sylvia Zukowski with her award certificate for the 2018 Aquatic Conservation Prize
Firstly on Tuesday, September 25th, Nick Whiterod was announced as the recipient of a Churchill Fellowship – the Richard Rischbieth Fellowship – to study the natural environment of SA, through The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust – AU. These prestigious and highly competitive Fellowships (only 4100 have been awarded across Australia in the 53 years since the Trust was established), allow for overseas travel to investigate inspiring practices that will benefit Australian communities.
Nick’s Fellowship will see him travel to Europe and the USA for two months in 2019 to explore world-leading reintroduction strategies to assist threatened South Australian aquatic species.
That same week, Mark, Nick and Sylvia from NGT attended the annual Australian Freshwater Sciences Society (formally the Australian Society of Limnology) conference at Glenelg in Adelaide, presenting on wetland restoration and the conservation of Murray Crayfish respectively.
On Wednesday, September the 26th, at the conference dinner, Sylvia Zukowski was awarded the best presentation in freshwater conservation at the conference!
The award, supported by John Wiley and Sons, the publisher of the journal Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, was presented by Professor Phil Boon who is the Chief Editor of the journal. The prize included a 12 month subscription to Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems and a $200 voucher towards a Wiley book of choice.
Sylvia’s presentation was titled: “Take the long way home: minimal medium-term recovery in a large freshwater crayfish impacted by significant population loss”
