John Holliday Student Conservation Award

Industry & Investment New South Wales (I&I NSW) is aware of the diverse range of research that is being done each year by university post-graduate students, and encourages the communication of the results of this work to assist managing fisheries resources and aquatic habitats in NSW.

Each year I&I NSW offers the John Holliday Student Conservation Award to encourage post-graduate students to share their research findings with I&I NSW on topics of interest to the fisheries of NSW. This year the Award offers the winning entrant a $2,500 award. The Award is named in honour of the late Dr John Holliday, a Senior Conservation Manager with the Department who died after a long illness and who pioneered the Department’s involvement in aquatic habitat and fish conservation issues.

The award is open to post-graduate students that are currently enrolled at an Australian University who are undertaking fisheries-orientated research work in NSW. To be considered, the applicant must be completing research/studies relevant to the Award Program (see below) and administered through an Australian University.

Applications must be submitted by 31 December 2010.

Information for applicants

The former NSW Fisheries introduced the John Holliday Student Conservation Award in 1999. The Award aims to encourage post-graduate students to share their research findings on topics of interest to the Department.

All post-graduate students (Honours, Masters, PhD students or other post-graduate students) who are currently enrolled and are completing studies/research in areas relevant to the Award Program (see below) are eligible to enter.

Research areas relevant to the Award Program

Research topics that are eligible for consideration under the John Holliday Award Program include:

• Studies examining the abundances of fish and/or aquatic macroinvertebrates, species diversity and/or species interactions in marine, estuarine and freshwater aquatic habitats in NSW;
• Studies examining the impacts of water use and water pollution on fish aquatic invertebrates and/or fish habitats in NSW;
• Studies examining the impacts of man-made structures (e.g. dams, weirs, bridges, causeways, culverts, pontoons, jetties, river stabilisation works, floodgates, drains, canal estates etc.) on species diversity, fish passage and/or fish habitats in NSW;
• Studies examining the habitat requirements of fish and/or aquatic invertebrates at various stages of their life cycle in NSW;
• Studies examining the impacts of introduced or translocated aquatic species on the biodiversity of native aquatic flora and fauna in NSW; and
• Studies to improve our understanding and management of threatened and protected fish species in NSW.

The John Holliday Student Conservation Award 2010 will consist of a cash prize of $2,500 and a Certificate of Achievement. The Student Conservation Award will be conferred in early 2011.

How to enter the Awards?

To enter the John Holliday Student Conservation Award, you will need to submit one hard copy and one electronic copy of a report summarising your research to date which is relevant to the above topics. The submission should be no longer than 2000 words in length and should be in standard scientific report writing format.
It should therefore include the following sections;

• Title
• Summary (in lay language)
• Introduction
• Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• References
• Appendices

The entry must include a covering letter stating the entrant’s name, student identification details, address, contact phone numbers and email address (if available).

The hard copy should be mailed to:

NSW DEPARTMENT OF PRIMARY INDUSTRIES
John Holliday Student Conservation Awards
Dr Steve Kennelly, Chief Scientist I&I NSW
Cronulla Fisheries Research Centre of Excellence
PO BOX 21
CRONULLA NSW 2230

The electronic copies should be emailed to Lisa Lean at:

Email: lisa.lean@dpi.nsw.gov.au

When are entries due?

Entries can be submitted at any stage during the academic year up until 5:00pm on Friday, 31 December 2010.

What will happen to my entry once submitted?

The summary of each entry will be compiled in a summary report entitled “I&I NSW Student Conservation Award 2010”. Your contact details will be included in this compendium unless you wish to remain anonymous.

Judging the Awards

The judging panel for the Award program consists of the I&I NSW Chief Scientist, I&I NSW Research Leader (Aquatic Ecosystems), a representative of the commercial fishing industry and a representative from a NSW conservation group. The panel assesses the applications and recommends a winner to the Minister for I&I NSW.

Further information

For further information on the DPI - John Holliday Student Conservation Award please contact:

Lisa Lean
Email: lisa.lean@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Ph: (02) 9527 8482