19-09-2003

The environmental monitoring potential of Australian bustards and the management of coastal tea-tree outside of its indigenous ranges will be investigated by the Land & Water Australia sponsored winners of the 2003 Science and Innovation Awards for Young People.

Western Australian Anna Traeger and Mark Ziembicki from the Northern Territory are among 18 young people to win the awards which will be presented by the Hon Warren Truss, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry in Canberra today [Thursday 18 September 2003].

"Land & Water Australia is proud to be the major sponsor of these awards for the second year" said Bobbie Brazil, Chair of Land & Water Australia.

"Mark and Anna are two young people with enthusiasm and dedication to Australia's rural areas".

Mark Ziembicki will use the bustard (a large nomadic bird) as an ecological indicator of landscape health in relation to fire management, grazing intensity, agricultural development and land clearing.

He intends to incorporate Aboriginal knowledge and the impacts of hunting into the study which aims to illustrate the need and potential for linking natural resource management at local, regional and national levels.

Anna Traeger will investigate the procedures determining suitability of biological control of environmental weeds with a focus on Australian native weed species.

Australian native plants can become problem weed species outside of their home ranges. Anna will be looking at two case study species, the coastal tea-tree (Leptospermum laevigatum) and Blue Bell Creeper (Sollya fusiformis), examining the potential for biological control using natural enemies in both indigenous and invasive ranges.

The Science and Innovation Awards for Young People in Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry are now in their third year. Applicants must be between 18 and 35 years old and present an outline of a scientific or research-based project that can be completed within 12 months.

"Land & Water Australia congratulates Anna and Mark, and is proud to continue to support young scientists in natural resource management," Mrs Brazil said.

For more information on the awards or to contact this year's winners, call Sonia Fedorow on 02 6272 4271 or
0411 241 460. A full list of award winners, and details of their projects can be found at www.affa.gov.au/scienceawards .


ENDS

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