If you’ve ever seen a fire start in the bush, you’ll know that it can go from a small flame to a big fire very quickly. But it takes the right combination of pieces, such as the types of plants that are around and the right weather, to turn into a bushfire. Figuring out how these pieces fit together is a type of science called ecology, and it’s like solving a big puzzle.
The type of ecology I study is about fires, and I want to know how different Tasmanian plants burn. When they’re set on fire, will the plant have a big, hot, flame like a bonfire? Or will it burn out quickly like a birthday candle. In a bushfire, plants can decide whether a fire will be big, small, fast, or slow. I test this in a lab using a plant barbeque. This type of barbeque doesn’t cook sausages, but it lets me set fire to plants in a safe and controlled environment.
I grew up in country Victoria, and bushfires have been around me for my whole life. Studying bushfires can help prepare our communities for fire season, and deal with those really hot and dry days a lot better.
In school, I wasn’t interested in science at all, and thought I might design buildings instead. But I chose ecology because it gave me a chance to spend time outdoors looking at trees, birds, insects, and my favourite animal, wombats.
Even though I study fire, when I’m not in the lab, you’ll usually find me swimming in the cold ocean water.
