“The best qualities of leadership are listening to people and building a path forward that is inclusive of everybody else’s ideas.”

Professor French is Director of the Janet Cosh Herbarium at the University of Wollongong. She has spent almost thirty years investigating the impact of disturbances on ecosystems, with a broad focus on environmental weeds and threatened species. Her expertise has been sought by both state and national levels of government, and she has played significant roles in developing management strategies for species such as lantana and bitou bush.

Professor French won a Eureka Prize in 2008 for helping to lead the national Birds in Backyards program. She has been both Vice President and President of the Ecological Society of Australia and has been awarded the ESA Members Service Prize as well as the ESA Gold Medal.

In this podcast, meet ecologists from around Australia, discover more about their work, what their hopes and fears are for the future of our natural world, and why they think that ecology matters.

Find Ecology Matters wherever you get your podcasts or play it directly from our website.