Project lead of large scale and complex landscape restoration and recovery actions for threatened species and ecological communities. Specific focus areas include feral cat control and eradication programs, island conservation and land management, resident and migratory shorebird conservation and reintroduction management on Eyre Peninsula islands and fenced area populations.

Heather is an ARC Industry Fellow, working on the holistic restoration of arid landscapes, particularly the Eucalyptus mallee woodlands of SA, VIC and NSW.

Yasmin Gee is a third year PhD candidate at the University of New England. Yasmin completed a Bachelor of Science (Wildlife Conservation Biology) at the University of Adelaide with First Class Honours. Her research explores the relationships between vegetation communities, livestock grazing and insect communities on private conservation land.

Shaina Russell is a Senior Scientist in the Conservation Science team at NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water. Her PhD and postdoc focused on cross-cultural approaches to research of Aboriginal priority places and species. She now works in a team implementing and enabling science and research to support the NSW Government’s Saving our Species program and her current research focus on the role of mesic refuges for threatened species resilience and persistence in the arid zone.

Lucy Gilchrist is a PhD student at the University of Sydney, where their research is focused on identifying habitat refuges for small vertebrates in arid NSW. Lucy has previously studied a Master of Environment at the University of Melbourne focused on conservation and restoration, as well as community engagement and education. They are interested in applying interdisciplinary approaches to the decision-making processes for biodiversity management with a particular interest in arid and semi-arid landscapes.

Dr Hugh McGregor is a field ecologist for the Nature Foundation, a conservation-focused not-for-profit based in South Australia. He has a background in research on feral cats, and mitigating their impacts. He now specializes in understanding and conserving arid-zone fauna.

Thomas is an ecologist currently undertaking a part time PhD in restoration ecology at Federation University and working as a Principal Project Officer at NSW DCCEEW in biodiversity stewardship. Thomas has experience in environmental and terrestrial ecology surveys, leading conservation management, restoration and monitoring projects.

Dr Sacha Jellinek has a joint position as a research fellow at the University of Melbourne School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences and Melbourne Water. He is apart of the Waterway Ecosystem Research Group and studies the effects of revegetation activities and climate change on flora and fauna communities. He has a strong interest in assessing the effectiveness of conservation actions on natural ecosystems nationally and internationally.

My name is Arielle Perkett, and I am an Honours student at the University of New South Wales, studying plant ecology under the supervision of Professor Angela Moles. My research interests lie in habitat fragmentation and the ecological dynamics between isolated remnant vegetation and larger, more connected habitat patches. I am also passionate about exploring how food systems intersect with native vegetation, with a particular interest in transitioning toward agricultural models that produce more food per square kilometre while using fewer resources. My broader goal is to contribute to more ecologically balanced and sustainable land-use strategies—restoring Australian ecosystems in ways that support biodiversity, improve habitat connectivity, and ensure safe, resilient environments for all species.

I am an Ecology and Earth Science Honours student at the University of New South Wales. I have specific research and career interests in conservation ecology, land management and mine remediation. My Honours research investigates which Australian plants living at old mine sites can hyper-accumulate heavy metals. My project focuses on predicting which species are most likely to be heavy metal hyperaccumulators through morphological traits, phylogenetic signals and trends with multi-metal uptake. With the goal to inform how Australian plants can be further used as sustainable tools in contaminated land remediation.

After studying Zoology and Conservation Biology at the University of Western Australia, Hannah began working on mammal reintroduction projects in arid and semi-arid South Australia. Hannah then completed a PhD on a brushtail possum reintroduction to the Flinders Ranges with the University of Adelaide. Following that, Hannah worked on a prey-naivete project with the University of New South Wales, before moving to the south coast of Western Australia and working as the Regional Ecologist for the regional Natural Resource Management organisation. Currently, Hannah works part-time as a PostDoctoral researcher for the University of New South Wales, working specifically on a chuditch research project in Western Australia, and also does some consulting work with local groups around monitoring and education, mainly of western ringtail possums.

Katherine Moseby is a Conservation Biologist with the University of New South Wales. She conducts applied research into arid zone ecology, predator/prey dynamics and threatened species reintroductions.