FENNER SCHOOL SEMINARS

Fenner School Seminar Series

• Thursday 19 June 1-2pm
  Habitat connectivity, productivity and bird conservation

Sandra Berry, Senior Research Associate, ANU WildCountry Research and Policy Hub, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University.

• Monday 23 June at 5:30pm
  Water, carbon and nitrogen fluxes from Australian sugarcane crops

Dr Tom Denmead CSIRO

More information at: http://fennerschool.anu.edu.au/news_events/seminars/

HUMAN ECOLOGY FORUM

Friday June 20th. 12 - 2pm, Room 101, Forestry Building.

Andrew MacKenzie (Faculty of Design and Creative Practice, University of Canberra); Re-imagining suburbia. The suburban landscape is predominately a twentieth century phenomenon. Likewise, much criticism has occurred in the last century, if not the last fifty years. Early planning literature in Australia suggested the detached dwellings should be the dominant suburban form as it was in keeping with notions of respectability and social progress (Hoskins 1994). In the USA, critics such as Mumford observed that the role of developers and housing construction companies had far greater influence than the planning aspirations for aesthetically pleasing healthy communities. As a result the aesthetic ideals originating from the Garden City and City Beautiful movements were supplanted by monotonous rows of houses with very little character. Today’s suburbs have been variously linked to a range of social ills from environmental pollution caused by increased stormwater run off to childhood obesity. However valid these concerns are, little is understood about how the suburban landscape is perceived or valued. Few studies have explored how residents interpret changes to the character of their suburban landscape and what effect this has on the way planning and design incorporate these landscape values held by the community. This study presents an opportunity to interpret how different social actors’ values and aspirations have affected the character of the suburb.

More information at: http://hec-forum.anu.edu.au/

MORNING TEA

Jenny Stott and Nicki Munro are the hosts this week - in the John Banks Courtyard.

DIARY DATES

Friday 04, July 2008

Launch of the Garnaut Climate Change Review Draft Report

Professor Ross Garnaut - Professor of Economics in the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies Australian National University

http://www.npc.org.au/assets/files/documents/speakers/RossGarnaut040708.pdf

PUBLICATIONS

Cook, D.C. and Matheson, A.C. (2008) An estimate of the potential economic impact of pine pitch canker in Australia. Australian Forestry 71(2), pp. 107-112.

Green, R., David Waite, T., Melville, M.D and Macdonald, Ben. (2008) Effectiveness of an open limestone channel in treating acid sulphate soil drainage. Water Air Soil Pollut (191), pp 293 – 304.

Green, R., David Waite, T., Melville, M.D and Macdonald, Ben. (2008) Treatment of acid sulfate drainage using limestone in a closed tank reactor. Water Air Soil Pollut (191), pp 319 – 330.

Trappe J.M., Claridge A.W., Claridge DL and Liddle L. (2008) Desert Truffles of the Australian Outback: Ecology, Ethnomycology and Taxonomy. Economic Botany.

NOTICES

2008 Australian Agricultural Industries Young Innovators and Scientists Awards. The 2008 Australian Agricultural Industries Young Innovators and Scientists Awards has extended the application closing date to 5pm EST 14 July 2008

The Mathematics of Water Supply and Pricing AMSI/MASCOS Industry workshop and ICE-WaRM Industry Short Course. 14 - 16 July 2008, Holiday Inn, Surfers Paradise, Queensland. This 3-day long event will consist of three short courses, invited lectures and contributed talks on the mathematics of water supply and pricing.

http://www.amsi.org.au/water.php

Applications for the 2009 General Sir John Monash Awards close on 31 August 2008. The General Sir John Monash Awards are Australia's prestigious scholarships supporting postgraduate study at the world's best universities overseas. Award Winners are expected to become leaders of their fields and of the nation.

http://www.monashawards.org

Laurel Hill Mentors. Peter Kanowski is looking for a couple of mentors for the annual pilgrimage, 7 - 11 July, all expenses paid and a contribution towards other field trip costs. Please register your interest with Cathy Gray at Fenner reception by 18 June, 2008.

ABSENCES: THIS WEEK & FORTHCOMING

Brendan Mackey. Until July. OSP, USA

Geoff Cary. 10 June - 7 July.  Recreation and long service leave

Hartmut Holzknecht & Kulala Mulung. 6 - 18 June. ACIAR Project fieldwork, PNG

Jacki Schirmer. June 2 - 16. Attending fisheries workshop, conducting focus groups in Vic and SA and attending ISSRM conference in US

Libby Robin. Until 1 August. OSP, Copenhagen (based at Research Centre. Danish National Museum) and at the Stockholm Resilience Centre; attending the Resilience Conference (April) and presenting as part of a panel on IHOPE

Lisa Robins. 6 June – 19 July. In Canada presenting a paper at the Canadian Water Resources Association Conference in Gimli, Manitoba (Capacity development for watershed management: Insights from Canada and Australia). Lisa will also have meetings with the Gordon Water Group of Concerned Scientists (Toronto, Victoria and Vancouver), Bow River Basin Council (Calgary), Quebec's Coalition of Water Organisations (Quebec), Quebec Ministry (Montreal) and staff in several departments at UBC (Vancouver)

Matthew Brookhouse. 25 April - 22 June. Poland (TRACE conference), Wales (Swansea University) and Germany (Jülich)

Peter Kanowski. 6 - 18 June. ACIAR Project fieldwork, PNG; 21 - 30 June, IUFRO & Forest Dialogue workshops, France & Switzerland

Richard Greene and Christine MacRae (REM graduate form 2007). 16 June. Visiting the Lachlan CMA in Cowra on Monday 16th June to discuss a project on measuring soil carbon levels in agricultural soils.