Roxanne Zybenko-Keane, Ecological Society of Australia Equity & Diversity and Early Career Ecologists Working Groups

In 2020, I wrote about working in ecology with Chiari Malformation and Syringomyelia for the website, Lonely Conservationists, inspired by another ecologist with chronic pain experiencing similar difficulties in the profession. As disability is sparsely spoken about, I share my experience, its impact in workplaces, education and finding a job, interactions with employment and health services, other personal frustrations, strategies helping me pursue my goals and suggest how the ecology sector could start to be more inclusive for people with disabilities.

Chiari Malformation is a compression of the cerebellum into the brain stem and spinal cord, impacting the normal function of these structures, affecting cerebrospinal fluid circulation and creating other conditions like hydrocephalus. Syringomyelia is cysts in the spinal cord. After four posterior fossa decompression surgeries, several shunt revisions and a spinal cord untethering until the age of five, I’ve lived a healthy life with minimal symptoms, earned a Bachelor of Environmental Science, met the inherent fieldwork requirement, and worked/volunteered in the field since 19 without incident. 

It’s not easy. Climbing steep slopes, traversing uneven ground and carrying heavy equipment over long periods create some pain and difficulty with endurance and balance. While I’m mostly independent, assistance in the field usually meant sharing tasks within a team, extra supervision and opportunities for rest. These weren’t difficult to access at university and working with the Green Army and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.  Although, I still have concerns about potential career barriers living with a disability.

Most entry-level positions are field based, be it park rangers, field officers, bush regenerators, and the like. To apply, a medical assessment for certain physical criteria can be involved during recruitment. Despite previous experience in the field, resilience to withstand pain and discomfort and management of my health, I’m discouraged from applying or explaining my situation to a recruiter as it’s not a simple conversation. Also, if I could ask for adjustments, what is permissible or practical?

I’ve considered options with less fieldwork. Only, those positions are often in clerical, communications, data analysis, environmental mapping, policy and marketing areas. Having worked in a similar capacity and it not suiting me in terms of expertise, values and engagement, I chose to seek more practical work, using available resources and support services.

These have mixed results. Disability Employment Services help with the cost of fuel, resources and equipment for work and education, studying project management at TAFE, and providing general counselling, but funding is finite. I also see a physiotherapist for fitness advice and a psychologist to help build capacity and resilience. While incredibly helpful, these aren’t a panacea for a young, university-educated woman from a country town in a highly specialised and diverse field.  

Nevertheless, I persist. This career is strongly linked to a source of solace and joy through trauma, visiting Taronga Zoo, Sydney SeaLife, and Symbio Wildlife Park as a Sydney Children’s Hospital outpatient. And still is. 15 years later, I recovered from sepsis twice, resigned as a Landcare project officer and joined a koala rehabilitation centre as a volunteer carer. I’m a lot happier and resolute in working closely with animals in the long term.  

Subsequently, my goals have moved from field ecology and land management, toward zoos, sanctuaries and rehabilitation centres, where I imagined I’d be during primary school. The environment is more predictable, movement would be easier and safer with the right training, and the need for animal contact is met. I become a koala carer and have returned to study zoology for this reason. The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) also funds wildlife education organisations offering training and experience in zookeeping to participants. Although not on the scheme or living where they are available, knowledge of such programs supporting people with disabilities to work in my field creates optimism and the idea of a framework to deliver tailored career support transferable to ecology and environmental science.

I’m proud of my effort and progress, despite physical difficulty and the biases of some. However, there’s a limit to self-reliance.  In recruitment and employment, it would help to have flexible expectations of physical fitness, such as lifting capacity and at assessment, results be used accommodate disability or injury. These may be available in some situations, but it’s unclear. Most importantly, disability needn’t be secret or edited for a person to progress their career. Apart from my first job in the Green Army, I’ve never found work upon application; only through those who knew and supported me, while not cramping my independence. 

There’s an aphorism I love by the French novelist, Marcel Proust, “Griefs, at the moment when they change into ideas, lose some of their power to injure our heart.”  Being open about my lived experience, I hope future conversations are safer and encouraged, help to reframe our thinking about disability in ecology and actually address barriers for aspiring professionals.  

Roxanne Zybenko-Keane is a member of the Early Career Ecologists and Equity & Diversity working groups, a volunteer carer at Friends of the Koala in Lismore NSW and studying a Graduate Diploma in Science (Zoology) at The University of New England.

For information, resources and new perspectives, search Lonely Conservationists (https://lonelyconservationists.com/), Job Access (https://www.jobaccess.gov.au), IncludeAbility (Home | IncludeAbility), The Australian Network on Disability (https://www.and.org.au/) and Get Skilled Access (https://getskilledaccess.com.au/)