Lumen Winter 2023 - Flipbook - Page 13
Bushfire Impact Kangaroo Island - Tom Hunt
People power –
how you can help
A critical role of the University is to help convene the societal debate, and
develop solutions to the problems we are facing. It’s no use researchers spending
time and effort if they are developing irrelevant solutions or develop potentially
useful solutions that then sit on the laboratory shelf and are not adopted.
Regional groups have the capacity to develop locally applied solutions that
can ultimately overcome global challenges. Using this ethos, the Environment
Institute works with local communities and partners to develop solutions and
has helped support a new mode of community engagement over the past year
through the Dynamic State initiative (dynamicstate.com.au).
Case study: Many of our food crops
depend on feral honey bees and Australian
native bees for pollination. But these
crucial pollinators are at risk. Agricultural
landscapes tend to offer little food for them
when crops are not in flower. What’s more,
Varroa mite incursions could wipe out feral
honey bees altogether.
To safeguard pollination services, our
group led the Secure Pollination through
Revegetation project. We created a DNA
barcode library to identify pollen collected
by bees, worked with industry partners
to design and implement revegetation
strategies for agricultural landscapes, and
explored the link between plant diversity
and pollinator diversity.
By bringing together a diverse range of scientists, artists and entrepreneurs,
as well as community and local government leaders, we have developed a
framework to tackle global issues.
Members of the Environment Institute are
passionate, bold and interdisciplinary.
Why not get in touch with a research idea, collaboration or if you’d like to
help us by volunteering your time and skills. We value creativity and a healthy
attitude toward balancing life and work. We strive for diversity and aim to
create a positive work environment that fosters the personal and professional
development of our team.
Please contact us at: environment@adelaide.edu.au
LUMEN – WINTER 2023 13
