Women's Earth Alliance

 Hi!

I'm a PhD student at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, researching the very interesting crossover fields of religion and ecology.

A little about me: 

I initially studied for a degree in surveying 20 years ago and later worked within the commercial horticultural and agricultural sector in South Australia and Tasmania. I co-owned and managed a business in the music industry for five years, worked in the wholesale fashion industry in Melbourne and also worked in market research in Darwin. I’ve been a volunteer worker in numerous social and environmental non-government organisations throughout Australia, New Zealand, South America and India, and travelled to over forty countries. One of the highlights was being an Earthwatch volunteer on an expedition in the Peruvian Amazon, assisting the researchers in obtaining data on hummingbirds. Another highlight was volunteering in community based disaster relief in India after the tragic earthquake of January 26, 2001 in Gujarat. When I returned to Melbourne in late 2001 after being ‘on the road’ for almost five years, I chose to return to study, beginning at Swinburne where I studied renewable energy technology and natural resource management. I obtained my Bachelor of Environmental Science degree at DeakinUniversity and was able to study a Masters of Environmental Science unit in ecopsychology at MonashUniversity during my 3rd year undergraduate study. My interest in religion and sustainability began with a project investigating the Buddhist community which I subsequently extended and adapted to include the Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities in my Honours year. During this time I also worked as a technician at a water testing laboratory, as well as a tutor at Deakin and privately, and had done more volunteer work with councils and local ‘Friends of’ groups. I was awarded a Deakin University Postgraduate Scholarship which has allowed me to further investigate the area from a state perspective to a national one.

A little about my research: 

A key aspect of effective environmental management is to understand people’s attitudes and behaviours. These, in turn, can be strongly influenced by our belief systems which link in with our social, cultural and religious backgrounds. I’m fascinated in the influence religion has had over the development of civilisations and as we move through the 21st century, we are faced with some very confronting issues about sustainable development, economic growth and climate change. The influence the religious community can have in addressing these issues is something that is not well understood but has been viewed as a potential force that can have a significant impact in the way we continue to live. It has been recognised that the religious community has the capacity to operate at the widest range of social levels and is a largely untapped resource for the enacting of policies and strategies addressing the various aspects of sustainability.

So, my research, which is one of the first of its kind in Australia, is to investigate how engaged the religious group is with the wider community. It thus provides a valuable starting point in identifying gaps in the publicized attitude and the actual behaviour of the faiths with respect to the environment. I’ll be looking at five ‘themes’ of sustainability, namely, biodiversity protection, water conservation, energy efficiency, waste management and cultural property heritage within the context of education, advocacy, facilitating action, networking and engaged ethics as a means of effectively identifying where faith groups are on the environmental agenda. To do this I’ll be conducting surveys, interviews of members of the faith and secular community as well as undertaking site visits of places that are demonstrating positive outcomes. Thus, in a broader sense, understanding the position of a faith on a range of environmental issues will help in establishing a solid foundation in the sustainable development of a community and thereby facilitate a better integration of the needs of society for present and future generations.

For further information, check out:

http://www.deakin.edu.au/scitech/research/hdr-profiles/buscard.php?cardID=33

And for something else (but as we all know, it's all connected):

Apart from my studies, I'm an avid musician; I've been playing a variety of instruments (predominantly guitar) for 30 years and have released a number of recordings on independent labels. The latest project with long-time friend and collaborator, Kye Thomas, is called The Backson Society and you can check out our MySpace site:

http://www.myspace.com/thebacksonsociety