Aaron Eger is a PhD researcher whose work revolves around kelp forest restoration. He is a kelp expert in the making and a great science communicator. I had a chat with him last week to hear about all the amazing work he's doing. What led you to your current PhD research work? While I was doing my master’s in Canada, I saw an ad on Twitter about a PhD project with Adriana Verges. At the same time I was thinking about staying put and continuing my Masters work on seagrass conservation in Vancouver. While I really wanted to put down some roots in Canada, I eventually decided that coming to Sydney was a unique opportunity and learning experience and went with UNSW. When I arrived, I was really determined to connect with local groups and was put in touch with the Nature Conservancy in Australia. This connection has then since helped me develop relationships with other stakeholders and develop new products in my research. Tell us about your work in kelp restoration? My main project is building a database of kelp restoration projects across the world with information on different projects and to analyse different factors which helps show what makes a project successful. This work is then coupled with economic assessment of the value of kelp forests. Both projects entail lots of on the ground data collection from various people which has led to a larger initiative: Kelp Forest Alliance. This is a consortium of people who are involved with kelp restoration around the world and using it as a platform to put out information we’re creating as well as using this network to generate more information. Kelp forest restoration is a relatively new field, with little previously published information. Previously, work was done across the world, but in isolation; so whatever new knowledge that was being generated was not being shared. Therefore I’ve been working to collect and connect these different information sources and it has been an exceptionally positive experience; everyone wants to share and collaborate. Seeing how the information you are producing is making a difference and being asked for advice on conservation efforts has been super rewarding. Why should we restore kelp? Simple answer would be to keep our oceans happy and healthy! It’s very relevant, especially in Australian fisheries. For example, juveniles of Rock lobsters and abalone grow in kelp forests. Kelp forests are also popular dive and recreational sites. There is also ongoing research into carbon sequestration as kelp are high in productivity. What’s a day in the life of Aaron like? This varies quite a bit – I spent most of the first year of my PhD calling/emailing a lot of people to talk about their kelp restoration projects. It was a positive experience, everyone was super enthusiastic to talk about their work, and to be part of a larger network. Once I had data, my work was mostly code based and analytical. Then there’s writing papers, lots of collaborations, attending workshops and meetings, and occasional field work. In general, it’s mostly meeting and desktop based, lots of data wrangling and coordination. What do you enjoy most about your PhD? I really like connecting with people who are passionate about the environment from all around the world. Everyone has their own relationship with the ocean and reason for wanting to conserve it and it has been really enlightening to see the problem from so many different perspectives. A lot of times, a PhD is thought of as a solo journey but this work has really been based on personal connections, which has made it a very enriching experience. What do you find challenging about it? Most of my work is dependent on collaborating with other people. As people are busy, the herding can sometimes be tricky, there are different schedules, personalities, time zones, and deadlines to consider, but the work that comes out of it, more than justifies the effort. How do you maintain work life balance? I had a serious amount of burn out during my Master’s program so when I started my PhD, I set myself some hard boundaries. The PhD would be a really important part of my life that got a lot of attention, but it wouldn’t be the only thing. And while there is always more work to be done, I try hard to keep everything within working hours, including not checking emails on the weekends. What are your post-PhD plans? I am getting really excited about the kelp forest alliance group that we are creating. So far, we have hosted workshops with kelp experts in Australia, North America, South America and Europe and are working to capture that knowledge into a guidebook on how to do restoration. We are also building a website that will be the identity of the group and will host the data base that I’ve created for my PhD. The website would also act as a data entry portal as well so that information on new efforts can be added to the existing database. This way, we hopefully don’t have to repeat all this work in 10 years’ time. If there is a way to make it work, I would be super keen on managing this project and continuing to promote kelp forest restoration around the world.
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AuthorBudding climate scientist from Sri Lanka, currently pursuing a PhD on heatwaves, at the Climate Change Research Centre (CCRC) at UNSW, Sydney. Believes in using effective science communication to bridge the gap between science and society :) Archives
June 2021
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