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Heidi Zimmer
Scientist (Terrestrial Ecology)
Arthur Rylah Institute, Melbourne
Bachelor of Environmental Science with Honours
“It is wonderful to apply knowledge I gained at uni to solve real world problems.”
I first became involved with the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) through the DSE Cadetship Program, which I entered into at the beginning of my first year at university (2003). I had work placements in DSE during most university holidays throughout my degree, at locations including Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research (ARI). My current position is as a scientist in the Terrestrial Ecology group at ARI, where I am currently working on the Long Term Ecological Grazing Project. The aim of the project is to provide empirical evidence on the influence of grazing management on vegetation attributes of native pastures on the Victorian Volcanic Plains (VVP) – native grasslands were once a major vegetation type in Victoria, and have now been reduced to a small fraction of what they once were (because of grazing and cropping).
Through the spring and summer I will be mostly doing field work all across Western Victoria (the VVP) - measuring recording vegetation attributes of the native pastures (e.g. species richness and abundance, pasture productivity). I will also be involved in data analysis, interpretation and “writing up” after the field work period. I really enjoy working in the outdoors! It is wonderful to apply knowledge I gained at uni (especially during my Honours year) to solve real world problems.
What I most enjoyed at university was my exposure to such a range of units, ideas and discussions. With majors in geography and plant sciences, as well as the core environmental science units I feel like I now have the tools and the knowledge to think critically about environmental issues. I also loved the field trips (Broken Hill for Landscape Processes and Human Evolution, Cinque Terre (Italy), for Cultural Landscape, Environment and Sustainability, and of course the Grampians and Aireys Inlet field trips for Plant Sciences), and especially Thailand, where I travelled to during my Honours year, for my project on forest stand dynamics. The relationships I developed throughout my time at uni and also the staff mentoring were very valuable to me.
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