Skip to content | Change text size
 

Ruth Duncan

Hydrologist
Department of Primary Industries

Bachelor of Environmental Science (Honours)
Areas of study: Geography and environmental science and Environmental and conservation biology

Ruth Duncan"My role includes investigating the impact from agriculture on the water quality of Port Phillip Bay and Western Port."

In my position I am investigating sustainable options for managing salinity within irrigation regions to prevent further degradation of water quality in the Murray River. This is a challenging area of research and an opportunity to actively contribute to finding a favourable balance between agricultural and environmental systems.

Recently, I have been lucky enough to present our research findings during an international conference in China, an awesome country and experience. My role also includes investigating the impact from agriculture on the water quality of Port Phillip Bay and Western Port. Interviewing a range of experts in the catchment, from landholders to scientists, has provided a holistic and comprehensive view of the problem. Use of this more qualitative data will be used in construction of a cause-and-effect network to provided a sound understanding of both the environmental and management systems and will be used to eventually inform where real gains can be made by improved agricultural management practices.

I enjoyed many things at Monash, the people, the ideas and the variety of the environmental science course (especially the field trips: arid hydrology at Fowlers Gap Research Station (NSW) and sustainable development in the Nkomazi, South Africa). However, the experience that has influenced my career the most is a studentship completed at the Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Queensland as part of the CRC for Catchment Hydrology. The position was based in Brisbane, ensuring a most enjoyable summer break! The project evaluated the performance of a physically based water quality model in the Maroochydoore catchment, was well supported and organised and became an honours project on my return to university.

The time spent working in the studentship was perfect for the development of the scientific and personal skills essential for honours and future employment. The honours project was an excellent way of bringing together and applying skills learnt over three years to investigate and solve a real problem - essential for moving into the field research in natural resource management.