Name:Olivia
Title/role: Hydrologist and systems modeller
Location:Department of Primary Industries, Rutherglen

Description of work undertaken
Olivia is involved in two agricultural science research projects:

• Developing new crops for farmers based on native trees and shrubs with the aim of preventing dryland salinity
• Investigating the impact farming has on catchment health

• Looking after trees at a research farm and running some trials with a variety of native tree species
• Attending meetings with the national project team to hear about what they are doing and tell them about her work
• Visiting areas around Victoria to map farms and record farm
• management practices eg. how much fertiliser a farmer uses
• Meeting with catchment managers across Victoria and finding out about river health in those areas

Course studied
Olivia studied a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture at the University of Sydney, and spent an Honours year getting her hands dirty in Soil Science.

Advice to students
Students up to year 10
Try and focus on the subjects that you enjoy, as ultimately these are subjects you will perform better in. Do not worry too much about 'career' paths at this stage, enjoyment should come first and then you will find your way.

VCE students
It is hard to know exactly what you want to do when you are studying in your last years of school. There are so many options that arise later on down the track (especially in science) and most people eventually find their 'niche' a couple of years into their degree. So just start with the basics. Try your best at all subjects and do not worry about deciding on the 'exact' career for you just yet.

Tertiary students
Olivia took a year off to travel after university and found this helped her to focus more when she was ready to look for a job. She looked all around Australia for a job and was not afraid of rural areas - being young is a great time to see Australia while working. Even if your family is in the city - there are always planes to take you home occasionally!

What careers have other graduates from your course entered?
The career range is hugely diverse. From banking to beef breeding to pharmaceutical research to zoology. Graduates are also scattered across Australia and some who work in research have spent time working overseas.

Water and Food: futures thinking

LandLearn is pleased to announce the new resource 'Water and Food: thinking futures'. This resource contains three sections: Water and Food: thinking futures, Water use and management in Shepparton Irrigation Region - fieldwork and Teaching Resources.

Water use management in Shepparton Irrigation Region - fieldwork is primarily a resource for students and teachers of Unit 3 VCE Geography, but is also suitable for Year 9 & 10 Geography, Science and Civics and Citizenship domains.

This resource provides notes and supporting resources for fourteen sites between Nagambie and Barmah Forest.

It is designed so that it can be used in the classroom to provide a virtual fieldtrip if visiting the region is not appropriate. LandLearn can help you conduct this fieldwork and can be contacted at landlearn.program@dpi.vic.gov.au

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