Academic
I’m a Professor of Urban Ecology in the School of BioSciences, where I lead the Urban Ecology and Conservation Research Group, and the Director of the Office for Environmental Programs at The University of Melbourne. I led the NESP Hub for Clean Air and Urban Landscapes (CAUL) from 2018 to 2021.
My research interests include:
- the ecology of urban environments
- practical ways to conserve nature in cities
- impacts of multiple stressors on freshwater communities
- the ecology and conservation biology of amphibians
- field-survey methods
- ecological ethics
Author
In addition to my academic publications, I’m a writer of fiction and creative non-fiction. I completed the Associate Degree of Professional Writing and Editing at RMIT University in 2024.
Professional affiliations
Academic: I’m a member of the Ecological Society of Australia, the British Ecological Society, the Freshwater Biological Association, the Association for Interdisciplinary Meta-research and Open Science, and Frogs Victoria.
Author: I’m a member of Writers Victoria, the Australian Society of Authors, Sisters in Crime and the Australian Crime Writers Association.
ACTIVITIES
Fiction: Royal telephone
A fiction piece from October 2024, published in the first digital issue of Visible Ink. Read about the doings of brothers Keith and Trevor in the small town of Wongadilly – and an unexpected visitor who comes to their aid.
Content Warning: some coarse language.
Perspective: The value of question-first citizen science in urban ecology and conservation
This 2023 paper highlights the value of question-first citizen-science projects for providing insights into the ecology and management of urban wildlife, using case studies on (1) beneficial insects (pollinators, predators and parasitoids) and (2) possums and gliders in Australian cities and towns.
Text book: Ecology of Urban Environments
In 2016, I published Ecology of Urban Environments (Wiley Blackwell). Designed as a text book for upper-level undergraduate and Masters students, it also provides an accessible introduction to urban ecology for researchers, urban practitioners and policy-makers. The Chinese edition, translated by Heyi Wei of Jiangxi Normal University, was published in 2021 by Wuhan University Press.
Fiction: Interview with a granite boulder
My first piece of published fiction appeared in Overland 239 (Winter 2020). The eponymous boulder, Ken, brings much wisdom and perspective to the big issues of our time.