Cause for reflection on UN’s Biodiversity Day

 

 

Vic Hub scholarship researcher champions soil literacy, celebrates international achievements

2024 scholarship awardee update

 

By Berenice Della Porta

2024 Vic Hub Drought Resilience Scholarship Awardee and

PhD Candidate, Applied and Environmental Microbiology Group, La Trobe University

 

 

You can learn more about the 2024 Vic Hub Drought Resilience Scholarship Awardees here

Find out more about Berenice’s scholarship work 

 

It has been a busy and rewarding few months, with several opportunities to share my research and connect with the broader soil science community both in Australia and New Zealand.

In November, I was invited to present at MEEM 2024, the biannual microbial ecology-environmental microbiology conference held in Melbourne. My talk focused on integrating soil biology into current soil health metrics, an area that is gaining momentum as we look for more holistic ways to assess and manage soil health.

December was another highlight, as I travelled to Rotorua, Aotearoa New Zealand, to participate in the Soil Judging competition. I was paired with the Monash University team led by Assoc. Prof. Vanessa Wong, and together we took part in fieldwork and soil-assessment activities, culminating in a proud moment with the team trophy.

This event was not only a chance to test our skills in the field but also to build connections with soil scientists from across Australia and New Zealand.

 

Greater soil literacy

I also presented at the Soil Science Australia-NZ Conference in Rotorua, NZ, and at the Ecological Society of Australia (ESA) conference held in Melbourne. The ESA conference was particularly memorable, with more than 1,300 attendees and the opportunity to present my research in the large Plenary room. It was the largest stage I have spoken on so far!

My presentation highlighted the need for greater soil literacy among ecologists. Soils underpin the health of all terrestrial ecosystems, yet soil training is still limited in many conservation and restoration fields. I argued that, just as soil training is common in agriculture, we should promote similar training for ecologists, conservation biologists and land managers. Too often, soils are dismissed as being “too hard to deal with”, which is a missed opportunity.

I am committed to promoting soil literacy and building capacities across disciplines, and I hope my research can contribute to this goal. In particular, I explained how my research explored rapid in-field soil assessments, comparing them to costly lab tests. The encouraging results suggest they could be valuable tools for ecologists and land managers to monitor soil health.

Celebrating Women and Girls in Science

February brought another opportunity to engage with the community at the ‘Meet an Enviro Scientist’ event at the Nangak Tamboree Wildlife Sanctuary at La Trobe University, held to mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. It was inspiring to meet the next generation of scientists and share insights from my work.

Personal milestones

On a personal milestone, I completed all my lab work in November 2024 – a significant achievement given the scale of my project and the range of soil physicochemical, microbial and molecular measurements involved! It was a relief to reach this stage and I look forward to complete the analyses of the results.

Finally, I was invited to be a co-author on the manuscript “Nature positive by 2050: How do we transition the agricultural sector?” which is currently under review. This collaboration reflects the growing recognition of the importance of soil health in achieving broader sustainability goals.

Thank you to everyone who has supported and collaborated with me over the past year. I look forward to continuing to work together to improve soil literacy and resilience across our communities and industries.

 

Captions: Berenice at the ‘Meet an Enviro Scientist’ event at the Nangak Tamboree Wildlife Sanctuary at Vic Hub partner La Trobe University, held to mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.