Earthwatch Institute proudly announces that Dr. Denis Saunders, a former Earthwatch principal investigator and current board member and science advisor, was honored in the recent Australia Day awards. One of the most prestigious in Australia, the award recognizes Saunders' "services to nature conservation, particularly through the study of Australian birds and the development of landscape ecology in Australia."
Saunders has had a long career with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), which culminated in his position as leader of the sustainable landscapes program. The major focus of his research work has been landscape ecology, and in 1999 he was awarded the International Association for Landscape Ecology's Distinguished Scholarship Award.
Saunders has been involved with Earthwatch for many years. From 1988 to 1993 he was a principal investigator leading some 20 Earthwatch teams, with over 150 volunteers, into the Western Australian wheatbelt to collect data on the significance of remnant vegetation patches for bird and mammal populations.
A passionate advocate for local involvement in research and conservation, Saunders used the Earthwatch teams as a way of engaging the local community's interest in issues that could only be resolved positively through the actions that they took on their land. By involving the local community, he gained support for restoring the landscape in ways that would provide habitat suitable for native fauna.
Saunders also saw Earthwatch volunteers as important allies in his research and in many instances, life-long friends. He sent them all annual updates on his research and he still keeps in touch with many of them. For many student participants, he became a true mentor, providing advice and following their careers as they went on to complete post-graduate studies and, in some instances, to undertake their own field research activities.
Since 1990, Saunders has been a member of Earthwatch's Scientific Advisory Committee, contributing generously to the development of our program of activities in Australia and the identification of research priorities. In 1997, he was invited to join the board of Earthwatch Australia and in this capacity has made further contribution to the overall governance and direction of the organization, participating in international meetings and site visits and speaking publicly on behalf of Earthwatch on many occasions.
Saunders has also contributed very actively to many other NGOs as well as to government agencies. He has been a board member of Greening Australia (ACT/NSW), a councillor for Birds Australia, a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of WWF, and has just recently been appointed a member of their executive board. He is a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, which has produced two very important reports recently on environmental sustainability for Australia. He has been a member of a number of federal government committees, including the National Biodiversity Council, the Biological Diversity Advisory Council, and currently the Australian Heritage Commission.
Earthwatch congratulates Saunders' on this highly deserved award acknowledging his outstanding contribution to science and conservation. He is a "civic" scientist, who believes strongly that scientists must communicate their work and engage with the broader public if we are to change the way we manage the land.
Earthwatch Institute is an international nonprofit organization that supports scientific field research by offering members of the public unique opportunities to work alongside leading field scientists and researchers. Earthwatch's mission is to engage people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment