News & Events 25 May 2010
Environment awards for Tasmanian Honours students
A focus on weeds and rubbish has resulted in $1000 each for two Tasmanian Honours students.
The work has won Chris Slavin of Launceston and Elinor Ebsworth of Hobart an Alcorso Foundation Honours Environment Scholarship for 2010.
The Environment Scholarships are awarded to Honours students at any school of the University of Tasmania. The awards aim to:
- increase public awareness of our personal responsibility to care for and live in harmony with our environment
- encourage individuals to give priority to ethical considerations in relation to the natural environment
- encourage cross cultural and international exchange of environmental ideas between Tasmania and Italy
- encourage environmental law reform and researchincrease public awareness of the issues of sustainability, natural resource management so that the needs of future generations can be met, or
- safeguard the life support capacity of air, water, soil and ecosystems.
Chris Slavin is an undergraduate student at the Australian Maritime College in Launceston who is looking at the types and sources of marine debris in northern Tasmania.
"Once litter enters the marine environment it impacts on our environment and social values," Chris says.
"Environmental issues include entangling, choking and strangling marine animals and contribute to the movements of introduced species through rafting.
"Social impacts include the reduction of pleasure due to unsightly beach litter and the costs of cleaning our beaches as well as the human health risks posed by some materials."
Elinor Ebsworth is a student at the School of Geography and Environmental Studies in Hobart. Her focus is on biotic resistance to Cotoneaster invasion.
"Cotoneaster was introduced to Australia as an ornamental garden plant but has since escaped to become an environmental weed," Elinor says.
"However, the spread of Cotoneaster in Tasmania isn't as drastic as WA, ACT and NSW.
"I suspect that pademelon browsing might suppress invasion into bushland in Tasmania given that they are known to browse on shrubs and are extinct in many areas of mainland Australia."
This year the Alcorso Foundation will also increase its financial commitment to environmental projects in Tasmania with a $5000 grant to support Climate Action Tasmania.
The money will go towards building public awareness of Climate Action Tasmania's vision of 100% renewable electricity in Tasmania by 2020.