Outreach
As an avid science communicator and advoate for equity in STEM, I try to participate in and organise as many outreach events as I can! Listed below are a few of the events I have organised, facilitated, or taken part in.
Roving Scientist, Beaker Street Science Festival (August 2023)
I travelled to Hobart to engage with the public, including adults, kids and university students, about my research and shared knowledge of plant survival strategies and interactions.
Host & Event Organiser, Outside Academia Panel at UNSW (July 2023)
Led a panel discussion with PhDs who left academia to share their career journeys and the opportunities that are available to PhDs who choose to not take the traditional academic career path.
Roaming Scientist, Indigenous Youth Leadership Day (July 2023)
Engaged with Indigenous highschoolers through a tour of the UNSW glasshouse showcasing our research and teaching them about the types of plants we grow.
Invited Panelist, UNSW Women in Maths and Science Champions Program (May 2023)
Discussed strategies for developing an online profile, showcasing your research, and contributing to scholarly conversations on social media.
Presenter, Pint of Science Festival (May 2023)
Presented my research on the ecology of invasive species to .a public audience at the Botany View Hotel as part of the Pint of Science Festival
Invited Presenter, Sydney Comedy Festival (May 2023)
Presented my research on plant invasions over 2 sold-out shows for the Sydney Comedy Festival. I worked with a presentation coach and professional comedian to increase both the talk’s humour and my own confidence in presenting to large non-academic audiences.
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Panelist, SciX Program (January 2023)
I was invited to share my career path and challenges in an EDI context to high school students participating in the SciX program at UNSW.
Invited Speaker, Future Science Talks (November 2022)
I presented my research in a relaxed pub venue in a publicly accessible format and engaged the audience with Q&A.
Skype A Scientist (July 2020 – Present)
I’ve presented a class on plant cells and organelles to Grade 9 students from Canary the School (Hyderabad, India), engaged with Grade 6 students from International College Hong Kong about evolution, and delivered a Q&A style session with kindergarten students at Newburgh Primary School (UK) about plants.
Invited panelist, International Universities Climate Alliance (May 2022)
I engaged in an industry panel discussion to inform the financial services sector of the key issues Earth is facing from climate change with specific focus on biodiversity and the built environment.
Australian representative for the Asia-Pacific Youth Forum (April 2022)
I was selected to represent Australia for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s Youth Forum “Voices of Youth: Developing competencies and skill for a better environment in a brighter future” held in Thailand but attended virtually. I engaged with international leaders in sustainability and conservation to find solutions for global issues such as pollution, overconsumption, and climate change and addressing that these issues disproportionately affect people in developing economies. We also discussed ways to integrate environmental advocacy into classrooms, workplaces, households, and policy.
President of the Society for Conservation Biology – Sydney Chapter (March 2020 – August 2021)
I am a current board member for Sydney SCB since late 2018
Throughout my time at Sydney SCB I have:
– Organised and hosted regular conservation events/bushwalks
– Composed, edited and distributed our monthly newsletter
– Organised monthly meetings for board members
– Liaised with a multi-national group of Oceania committee members
– Maintained and regularly uploaded content to our website and social media pages
Ambassador for Indigenous Engagement, Evolution & Ecology Research Centre (July 2020 – June 2021)
Throughout my role as ambassador I hosted Dr. Emilie Ens who gave a seminar to our research centre on how we can move from tokenistic gestures to Indigenous led research in ecology. I have also collaborated with teachers at EA Southee Public School to help develop their science lessons and led a lab activity for Indigenous high school students.
Lab Activity Coordinator, NRL Indigenous Youth Summit (May 2021)
I coordinated and led a lab activity for participants of the NRL Indigenous Youth Summit at UNSW. I explained the form and function of flowers, and helped students identify different structures using microscopes. We also chatted about their future aspirations and encouraged those that did plan on further study, to come to UNSW!
International Women’s Day Panelist, Prairiewood High School (March 2021)
To commemorate International Women’s Day, I sat on a panel of diverse women to answer questions on how we choose to challenge gender inequality in our life/workplace. There was great feedback from both staff and students.
Chairperson, Honours Information Night (September 2020)
I chaired a panel of current and former honours students via zoom. We each gave our own insight and advice to prospective honours students, while I also ensured everything ran on time and each participant had ample time to speak.
#BatteryLow by Arludo, Sydney Science Week (August 2020)
I participated in a livestream broadcast that brought different scientists together to play videogames and talk science. School groups and the general public were among the 500+ viewers on the day.
Podcast Interview, South Sydney High School (May 2020)
I was featured on a podcast led by students from South Sydney High School. We discussed my research, my pathway into science and advice for prospective science undergraduates.
Speed Meet a Scientist, Sydney Science Festival (August 2018)
I participated in Speed Meet a Scientist, where I discussed my research with the public and answered broad science questions at Woollahra Library.
