Telling the World about the
Outback
Karen Eva-Stirk
|
Communications Officer, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Alice Springs, Northern Territory |
Karen has had a varied career in central Australia, beginning with a stint with Bill King’s Tours as a camp cook on their four wheel drive expeditions all over the outback.
I had finished my Diploma in Food Science and Technology and was working as a lab technician but found it really wasn’t the place for me. The lure of the outback and visiting areas which were, to most Australians, inaccessible was too strong a temptation.
This love of the outback and the conservation of the biodiversity of the region has always been an influence in the pathways I have taken in my working life.
After leaving AAT Kings I joined the Alice Springs Regional Tourist
Association, now the Central Australian Tourism Industry Association, as their
Marketing Officer and travelled around Australia and overseas promoting
central Australia. I won a Qantas tourism award and spent a year in Japan
studying the language and culture as well as working for the Northern
Territory Tourist Bureau.
After the birth of my first child Rebecca I left the Association and freelanced in a variety of jobs, working them in with the birth of my second child Anthony. With the support and encouragement of my husband John I was able to juggle work and motherhood. John knew after the first 6 months at home following Rebecca’s birth that I was not cut out to be a full time stay-at-home mother.
Then came a great opportunity of a position as Communications Officer for CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems. It was an ideal opportunity to combine the areas I loved best: marketing, communications and conservation of the rangelands.
The position is part time and for the most, works in well with my children’s school hours. The science being researched here is really world class and the scientists are a great bunch to work with, although some of them can be a little shy of the media.
Good effective public relations and good communication of research gets
information out to the community, and the community consists of people who
can, and are, making a difference to our biodiversity.
By working with, and utilizing, various avenues of communication from web
sites to media stories to briefings, my aim is to gain public understanding of
the research that is part of the Alice Springs lab. This also leads to both
business and government organisations being aware of the scientists’ work,
which helps immensely when applying for funding, grants or sponsorship.
To be a good communicator, you have to believe in your work and your scientists’ work, find it both challenging and exciting and most of all be passionate about it.
