Giving back to our seas

Hobart is a long way from Alberta, Canada, but for University of Tasmania PhD student Kianna Gallagher it is just the ticket for a project investigating the relationship between humans and oceans.

Kianna is particularly interested in how people can act with reciprocity towards the oceans, a give and take that can benefit both people and nature. Examples include the State’s emerging kelp industry that could occur alongside projects to restore kelp forests. She will also explore the long-standing relationship between humans and abalone.

“Tasmania is a very conducive environment for research,” said Kianna, who highlights the daily interactions she has with researchers working in the natural environment. She notes too the history of environmental conflict in the State.

“I’m looking at the opposite of that conflict by focussing instead on how we can look at positive ways forward,” she said, adding that she hopes to break down some of the black and white thinking about human interactions with nature.

“The narrative has been to plot environmentalists against fishers, for example, but the core of my PhD research is to highlight that the two are often not mutually exclusive, that you can be a fisher and a steward of that environment,” she said.

A crucial source of support for Kianna’s research has been the Richard Ernest Glazebrook Environment Scholarship, an endowed award established thanks to a gift in Will from passionate environmental advocate the late Richard Glazebrook.

Richard was an active campaigner dedicated to Tasmania's natural environment and an advocate for Aboriginal people. It was Richard’s wish to support a scholarship that assists postgraduate students researching environmental justice in decision making about developments planned for the State. Equally, he wanted to support evidence-based scientific research into development impacts on Tasmania’s natural ecosystems and threatened species, including research into remedies to negative environmental impacts. This has been achieved by working with his trustees to honour his intentions.

Kianna is the inaugural recipient of the scholarship (2023– 2024), which she said has enabled her to focus on her research without the additional worries of finances, especially given the additional expenses that come with moving countries as an international student.

The focus of Kianna’s research during the scholarship will be on the social and ecological considerations for the emerging kelp industry in Tasmania. It’s just one of the case studies she hopes her PhD will reveal are shining lights for a better way to interact with our oceans and the broader natural world.