Research Team
Higher Degree Researchers
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Professor Rob Wallis Previously the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Regional & Rural) at Deakin University (retired) and Interim Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Ballarat (until July 2009), Professor Wallis has published over 150 articles in a range of fields covering marsupial physiology, vertebrate ecology, wildlife management, environmental education and rural and regional engagement. He is located at the Horsham Research Precinct, Horsham Campus. |
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Dr Michelle Graymore Michelle Graymore is a Research Fellow with the Horsham Campus Research Precinct. Her research is focused on understanding what makes sustainable and resilient regional and rural communities, in particular climate change adaptation. This has included in included measuring and reporting on regional sustainability, developing water use behaviour change strategies for rural and regional areas and understanding attitudes, knowledge and behaviours of landholders towards various environmental management issues. She has also worked on projects developing tools for community engagement in decision making about water allocation. Michelle has worked on many collaborative projects with a range of regional stakeholders including state and local government, water authorities, industry and community organisations. |
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Dr Imogen Schwarz Dr Imogen Schwarz holds a degree in health promotion (hon - Deakin University), and a PhD (social science)from the University of Ballarat. Imogen's research investigates the socio-economic impacts of (water infrastructure) change on rural dryland communities including farmers and small business people. |
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Christine Hallinan Christine Hallinan is located at the Horsham Campus Research Precinct. Her research interests are in health care sustainability; rural health care access; health policy and program evaluation; general practice evaluation; health promotion and preventative medicine evaluation. Her research focus is also centered on evaluation research that relates to population health and community development programs, in particular programs that are delivered in regional and rural locations. |
Higher Degree Researchers
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Dawn McBride In 2005, Dawn McBride commenced her PhD which examines the consequences of hydrological change to Black Box wetlands brought about by decommissioning of a major stock and domestic supply system in Western Victoria, Australia. This system will be replaced with the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline - an underground piped water system. Dawn's research considers the ecological and human dimensions of change. Governance, community and farmer management actions, responses and responsibilities, in addition to the ecological values of selected wetlands in the Yarriambiack Creek Floodplains are key areas of her research.
Project Title: Decommissioning the channels: Social and ecological values of ephemeral floodplain wetlands |
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La Vergne Lehmann After completing an honours degree in Ecotourism at Flinders University, Adelaide in 1999, La Vergne Lehmann moved to the Wimmera to take up a position as tourism officer with the Hindmarsh Shire Council. More recently she has taken on the role of course coodinator for Conservation and Land Management and VET in Schools at Longerenong College, near Horsham. La Vergne and her family also run a sustainable bush retreat accommodation near the Little Desert National Park at Dimboola. Hence her interest in sustainable tourism practices - particularly after nearly a decade in drought. In early 2007, La Vergne started her PhD with a research focus on valuing water in dryland tourism areas. Her main hobby is being a taxi, driver, cook, cleaner, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy to her and her husband's 7 children.
Project Title: Valuing water in dryland areas for tourism |
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Jonathan Starks Jonathan Starks commenced his masters in 2007, which builds upon a Birchip Cropping Group project funded by Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) titled 'Bio-Diversity in a Piped Rural Water System.' The de-commissioning of the channel/dam network in the Wimmera and Southern Mallee will result in rapid and permanent changes to the availability of water for wildlife on farms. The loss of biodiversity, and particularly frogs, that will occur as a result of the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline could be irreversible. This project aims to trial the capacity of wildlife ponds on farms to support frog populations and potentially broader biodiversity values, determine the ability of frogs to disperse from existing water sources into wildlife troughs, and re-establish frogs in areas where they are no longer present.
Project Title: Frogs on farms: Maintaining healthy frog populations on farms within a piped water delivery system |
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Helena Mala Jetmarova Helena commenced her PhD in mid 2009 with the Centre for Information and Optimisation (CIAO), University of Ballarat. Helena's research interests include hydraulic modelling of pipeline systems; and optimization of water quality in complex pipeline systems with multiple water sources.
Project Title: Optimization of Water Quality within Complex Pipeline Systems |