Royal Society of South Australia July Meeting and Scientific Presentation

Hello members,

Please join us on Thursday July 11th to hear our speaker Associate Professor Danielle Clode (Flinders University) presenting on Koakas.

Please note that the talk will start at 6:30 pm but nibbles and refreshments will be available from 6:00 pm, with opportunities for pre-meeting discussions and networking. A small donation to the RSSA is greatly appreciated to partake in this and support the RSSA in continuing to provide these pre-meeting treats.

This event will be held in-person in the Royal Society rooms, but we will simultaneously live-stream the meeting via Zoom for those not able to attend on the night.

To attend either in person, or online, you must register here. The zoom link will be sent to you on registration. Please feel free to share this event with your institution or networks.

If in-person tickets are sold out, please be aware that we are unable to admit more people than our room capacity. If online tickets are sold out, please contact admin@rssa.org.au and we can supply the zoom link to you.

For more information on the location of the RSSA rooms, please visit https://www.rssa.org.au/contact/

Associate Professor Danielle Clode

Talk title: Koalas - A life in trees

Abstract: Koalas are something of a paradox – simultaneously beloved internationally, our best studied marsupials and recipient of vast sums of conservation funding, and yet many aspects of their biology remain mysterious and popular knowledge of them is riddled with myths and errors. While koalas have been declared endangered in their core east coast habitats in New South Wales, Queensland and ACT, they struggle with overcrowding and overpopulation in Victoria and South Australia, including the largest and most abundant Australian population in Mayo (Adelaide Hills and Kangaroo Island). Danielle Clode’s latest book utilises a creative writing approach to explore and explain some of these paradoxes by synthesising research from across Australia and across disciplinary silos into a broad view of the past, present and future of koala populations.

Bio: Danielle Clode, Associate Professor at Flinders University, is an award-winning author of natural history books, essays, historical fiction, and best-selling children’s books. Danielle's work covers a broad range of science and humanities topics with her work including biographies on pioneering female naturalists and the voyages of Australia's early French explorers, with the latter having been screened as a documentary on SBS TV in both English and French. After studying psychology and politics at Adelaide University, Danielle completed a doctorate in zoology at Oxford University, before returning to Australia to pursue her work as a freelance author, researcher, editor, and teacher. Danielle's experiences cover publishing across the primary to tertiary education sector as well as both the health and environment sectors through her research consulting work for both government and non-governmental agencies. Danielle's most recent book, Koalas - A Life in Trees, was published by Black Inc. and features a deep dive into the current research on Koalas and their complex relationship with humans.