Ever wondered who to contact about TERN in your state or territory? Or curious about what’s happening with ecosystem monitoring around Australia? Meet TERN’s Regional Ambassadors – your local champions for ecosystem research infrastructure across the country.
Above: Dr Caitlin Moore, University of Western Australia, is a TERN Regional Ambassador (image: Nicolas Rakotopare)
What Do Regional Ambassadors Do?
Most of TERN’s representation and engagement is steered by the team at HQ in Brisbane but TERN’s Regional Ambassadors are the friendly faces connecting ecosystem scientists, land managers, government agencies, and other stakeholders with TERN’s capabilities in their region. These are the people who are part of local communities and know the local issues. Think of them as your first point of contact for all things TERN – whether you’re looking to collaborate, access data, understand monitoring protocols, or explore opportunities to leverage TERN infrastructure in your area – they can help steer you towards the right resources or people, whether local or on the other side of the country.
These honorary ambassadors represent TERN at conferences, sit on committees, host visits, and keep their ears to the ground for regional opportunities. They’re also instrumental in sharing intelligence about state-based funding schemes and ensuring TERN’s presence is felt from the Top End to Tasmania.
When the Regional Ambassadors get together, whether in person (July meeting in Brisbane) or via video conference, they have a lot to share. (Image: Nicolas Rakotopare)
What’s Happening Around Australia?
The latest regional catch-up reveals a hive of activity across the continent. Here’s a snapshot of what’s unfolding in your backyard:
Northern Territory
Dr Donna Lewis and Professor Lindsay Hutley are making waves across multiple fronts. Charles Darwin University’s collaboration spans everything from STEM engagement through the RADICLE Centre to bushfire research at Kakadu. The NT Government’s interest is particularly strong, with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries keen on monitoring protocols for biosecurity applications.
There’s exciting industry engagement too – the cotton industry is enthusiastic about accessing data from a TERN site that has been gathering data since 2008. Recent land use changes make that baseline data crucial to ongoing land, carbon and water management. Meanwhile, the Net Zero CRC Partnership is gaining momentum with plans for new flux stations across NT grazing trials, examining different management treatments.
South Australia
A/Prof Ben Sparrow and Dr Katie Irvine are navigating interesting times. The merger of 2 state universities is proceeding with some operational adjustments expected in early 2026.
The team recently hosted an NCRIS community catch-up at TERN’s National Soil and Herbarium Collection facility and are actively involved with the Australian Citizen Science Association’s state chapter.
The upcoming Ecological Society of Australia conference in Adelaide offers another chance to showcase TERN in SA.
New South Wales
Prof Glenda Wardle is connecting TERN with policy through the ARC Training Centre DARE’s contract with NSW DCCEEW to produce terrestrial habitat quality products. This work is directly informing biodiversity indicators and state of environment reporting – raising awareness of TERN’s plot data quality in the process.
Collaboration with Bush Heritage Australia continues to strengthen, with TERN’s drone program planning flights over co-located plots. The team is also promoting the ecological herbarium concept at NSW Herbarium and encouraging camera trapping and acoustic data uploads through WildObs.
Western Australia
Dr Caitlin Moore reports that recent state government reinvestment in TERN is now underway. The TERN Ecosystem Survey team recently finished establishing the Jarrah transect along a climate gradient – nearly all plots are now in place.
An education win: all 56 students in a UWA environmental monitoring class – undergraduate engineers and final year Masters students – now know about TERN, with one state government partner student already reaching out about a Master’s project on the Jarrah transect work.
Tasmania
Prof Mark Hovenden is engaging with Natural Resources and Environment Department Parks on monitoring alignment with TERN ecosystem plots. There’s promising coalescence between TERN’s soils program and the Land Division in northern Tasmania, particularly around the high-carbon landscapes where TERN’s Australian Mountain Research Facility (AMRF) sites are based.
Exciting news: a major ARC Discovery grant obtained in partnership with Tasmanian Land Conservancy directly leverages TERN investment in AMRF Tasmania and will expand the facility. Most TERN sites in Tasmania (except one) are on TLC land, and discussions are underway about an umbrella agreement.
Victoria
Tayla Lawrie, through her role as TSX project manager, connects with a broad network of organisations across the country – state and federal government, NGOs, NRMs, and academia. At the University of Melbourne, she’s working with quantitative ecologists to get TERN discussed in lectures, building awareness among the next generation of researchers.
ACT
Dr Ben Macdonald is working closely with federal departments around the national soil monitoring program and how TERN data gets integrated into policy. A meeting is coming up to discuss proposed TERN outputs and policy needs – an excellent use case for connecting research outputs with policy.
He’s presenting TERN capabilities at the World Soils Day Breakfast Event in late November, attended by MPs and industry representatives, and recently showcased TERN’s sustainability metrics capabilities at the Indo-Pacific Symposium on Trade and Sustainable Agriculture.
Queensland/National
Dr Eleanor Velasquez, who coordinates the Regional Ambassador network nationally, highlighted that TERN has released updates to the Regional Ambassadors Terms of Reference (TRA-TOR). These now include a new function for Ambassadors to act as conduits for TERN educational resources within their institutions and networks.
Eleanor presented the latest TERN education products, including the recently minted TERN education strategy, and the modules and projects that were part of her talk at the October ARDC Digital Research Skills Summit 2025.
Another recent Qld activity was a presentation by Eleanor at the interface of science-art when there was an open day at the SERF site, which hosts the TERN Samford Peri-urban SuperSite. This was in collaboration with Dr Keith Armstrong of the Forest Art Intelligence project.
During The University of Queensland’s Research and Innovation Week, the TERN team was recognised with a 2025 UQ Research Culture award for contributions to a sustainable research ecosystem.
Get in Touch
Want to connect with TERN in your region? Regional Ambassadors are listed on TERN’s website. Whether you’re curious about data access, interested in collaboration, or have questions about ecosystem monitoring in your area, your local ambassador is ready to help.
These regional connections ensure TERN remains accessible, responsive, and relevant to the diverse ecosystem science community across Australia – because great research infrastructure is only as good as the connections it makes with the people who need it.