Agricultural, Environmental and Biological Sciences Masterclasses
Join UWA experts for a series of free masterclasses on topics related to agricultural, environmental and biological science.
Masterclass schedule
Advances in technology and science are transforming our world at an incredible pace. Hear how we are tackling global, regional and local issues, from food security to restoring and maintaining balance in our natural environment.
Wednesday October 14 – 4pm (AWST) Authenticating honey from the apiary site to shelf
‘Paddock to plate’ is the mantra for tracing the authenticity of agriculture produce. For honey, the paddock is difficult to define; honey bees cannot be fenced so their forage is diverse bush and their range is defined by weather conditions and available flora.
Join Dr Liz Barbour and Dr Bryan Boruff from The University of Western Australia as they explain the science behind the new system the Cooperative Research Centre is developing to ensure all Australian honey is authenticated by state and region.
- About Dr Liz Barbour
- About Dr Bryan Boruff
Wednesday October 28 – 7.30pm (AWST) The role of agricultural and environmental biotechnology for a sustainable future
The protection of genetic resources in agriculture is an important aspect of biodiversity conservation. With the climate emergency exacerbating natural disasters, we have a very short time to catalogue and record unique biodiversity. Recent advances in DNA sequencing and gene editing technology have ushered in a new era of agricultural and environmental biotechnology.
Join Associate Professor Parwinder Kaur from The University of Western Australia as she explains how understanding and adapting genetic networks can lead to increased food production, yield quality and iron content in crops to feed future generations.
- About Associate Professor Parwinder Kaur
Wednesday November 4 – 1pm (AWST) Carbon farming to combat climate change
Globally, the agricultural sector is exposed to acute risks from climate-change impacts through reduced rainfall, temperature changes, and extreme weather events. In Australia, the Federal government has identified ‘carbon farming’ as a potential way to reduce climate-change risks.
Associate Professor Marit Kragt from The University of Western Australia will showcase studies from Australia and Norway to demonstrate how different agricultural management practices can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and store carbon in soils or vegetation. She will discuss the costs and benefits of such practices for farmers and society.
- About Associate Professor Marit Kragt
Wednesday November 11 – 1pm (AWST) Solving global problems using remote sensing
Since Landsat was launched in the 1970s, many global problems have been answered using remote sensing and spatial data. This technology has demonstrated how human development and a changing climate is impacting ecosystems and economies, and there is global demand for people skilled in spatial analytics and remote sensing who can understand, use and manipulate spatial and remotely sensed data to answer the big questions.
Join Associate Professor Nik Callow from The University of Western Australia to understand the critical advances in drone technology, cloud computing platforms and nanosatellites; how and where the boundaries are being pushed; and where the jobs of tomorrow are.
- About Associate Professor Nik Callow
Our research
We are a research intensive school that spans the broad disciplines of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Agricultural Science and Environmental Science.
