Four students have been awarded Harry Butler Institute Scholarships as part of a program that supports projects championing the co-existence of community, business and biodiversity.
The Honours Scholarships are a legacy to Harry Butler, an Australian naturalist and environmental consultant who worked extensively with industry partners in the north west to preserve biodiversity in areas subject to commercial development.The winners of this year’s Harry Butler Institute Scholarships, Luisa Ducki, Jorja Claybrook, Nathaniel Anderson and Ebony Skey, were awarded at a ceremony held at Chevron this week.
The scholarships provide both financial support and the opportunity to work directly with industry partners like Chevron, who are a key supporter of the Institute.
“On behalf of Murdoch University, I thank Chevron for honouring the legacy of Harry Butler through investment in environmentally sustainable development and research conducted by the Harry Butler Institute,” said Vice Chancellor Eeva Leinonen.
Harry was an exceptional educator and valued any opportunity to mentor and encourage learning. These scholarship and prize programs are an extension of this desire.
The program is designed to inspire, promote knowledge sharing, encourage two way learning and foster partnerships between business and academia to find solutions. Students benefit from the interaction with industry and real-world challenges. Industry participants become inspired and motivated to remain curious, invest in science and remain in touch with latest developments.
“These events echo the way Harry used to teach and mentor, with the students presenting short, sharp summaries that encourage the exchange of translational research,” said Peter Landman, Chevron Chair of Biosecurity and Environment at Murdoch University.
“The support from Chevron and Murdoch University is very much appreciated in keeping Harry’s legacy alive and well.”
Recipients of the scholarships presented summaries of their honours thesis, which are due in October. Feedback from industry on the applicability and relevance of the research is timely for the students who are in the process of writing up their final research papers.
Chevron Harry Butler Student Prizes were also presented to acknowledge Murdoch’s best students in subjects relevant to the coexistence of business and biodiversity. These units are a subset of courses offered by Murdoch which overlap with Harry Butler Institute and Chevron interests.
The fill list of winners, with projects and subjects, is below.
Harry Butler Institute Scholarships
Luisa DuckiTrajectory Comparisons between soil biota and plant community composition in a post-mining chronosequence of jarrah forest, Western Australia.
Jorja Claybrook
Population dynamics and biology of Octopus in temperate nearshore waters of Western Australia.
Ebony Skey
Ecology and genetics of three species of small mammals (Ningaui timealeyi, Pseudomys hermannsburgesis and Pseudomys chapmani) at various spatial scales in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Nathan Anderson
Ecophysiological approach to understanding mechanisms impacting resilience to disturbance (drying climate) in the jarrah forest.
Chevron Harry Butler Student Prize
Jessica Cacetta (Environmental Management)Nancy Richardson (Principles of Environmental Impact Assessment)
Ellie Green (Coastal Marine Management)
Ryan Povah (Coastal Marine Management)
Pia Coventry (Environmental Policy for the 21st Century)
Rhys Carey (Solar Thermal and Biomass Engineering)
Amy Rachow (Ecology)
Yeo Ying Yuan (Applied Photovoltaics)
David Grayden (Renewable Energy Systems Engineering)
Daniel Hay-Hendry (Environmental Technology for Sustainability)
A key part of both sets of awards is to provide the opportunity for students to get exposure to industry, with the event at Chevron providing students the chance to develop their networks.
Learn more about research at the Harry Butler Institute.