Centre for Water and Spatial Science

Public forum: Urban development and high groundwater

This community event brings together researchers and locals to explore how high groundwater affects urban areas across the Swan region.

Professor Sally Thompson (UWA) will deliver the keynote, followed by case studies and open Q&A.

📍 Caversham Memorial Hall
🗓 Friday 19 June, 9:00am–12:30pm
📩 Registration essential: [email protected] with subject: Groundwater forum

UWA News UWA School of Agriculture and Environment UWA Engineering and STEM

🌱🌊 Mangrove & Marine Science Panels & Talks
📅Friday 19th June 2026, 8:10-10:45AM
📍 IOMRC Auditorium UWA

We're delighted to bring together leading researchers across marine and coastal sciences to discuss cutting-edge research and cross-disciplinary science.

With expertise spanning plant physiology, climate science, mangrove ecology, marine invertebrates, coastal geomorphology, and spatial ecology, we're sure it will be a fantastic opportunity to connect and collaborate!

Panel Session 1:
• Professor Catherine Lovelock - Mangrove Ecologist, University of Queensland
• Associate Professor Ruth Reef - Coastal Geomorphologist, Monash University
• Professor Marilyn Ball - Plant Ecophysiologist, Australian National University
• Dr Sharyn Hickey - Spatial Ecologist, The University of Western Australia

Panel Session 2:
• Professor Maria Byrne - Marine Biologist, University of Sydney
• Dr Shawna Foo - Marine Biologist, University of Sydney
• Associate Professor Eleanor Bruce, Coastal Geographer, University of Sydney
• Dr Claire Spillman - Principal Research Scientist, Bureau of Meteorology

Register to attend at: https://zurl.co/D6Tfj

See you there!

The UWA Oceans Institute The University of Western Australia UWA School of Agriculture and Environment
The University of Queensland Monash University Australian National University University of Sydney Bureau of Meteorology

Mangrove & Marine Science Panels & Talks​​ ​ Join us for Mangrove & Marine Science Panels & Talks taking place on Friday, 19 June 2026 at the IOMRC Auditorium (UWA).

How do Agrivoltaics - combining solar energy generation with agricultural production - work?

Take a look at our new science explainer about the use of solar panels in Australian farming systems, linking to a project using a commercial WA vineyard demonstration to show how agrivoltaics affect the microclimate under solar:

https://zurl.co/EZpnm

--- Vitivoltaics Demonstration ---

At Plume Estate in the Perth Hills, solar panels have been installed above grapevines to test how elevated solar arrays interact with vineyard microclimates, vine performance, grape yield and quality, and on‑farm energy production.

By monitoring soil conditions, climate, vine growth, yields and solar outputs, the demonstration is building real‑world evidence on whether agrivoltaics can help growers manage increasing heat and water stress while maintaining productive vineyards.

The site also allows researchers and industry partners to assess the economic feasibility, system design considerations, and practical trade‑offs of integrating solar into existing farm operations.

Delivered in Western Australia through the South‑West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub, in partnership with growers, industry and researchers, the project is part of a national effort to understand how agrivoltaics could support farm resilience, energy security, and sustainable production across Australia’s wine and horticulture sectors.

For more information about the project, visit: https://zurl.co/IakVX.

To register to attend a FREE visit to the demonstration site on 22nd April, visit: https://zurl.co/1YSZ9
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This study is part of the “Plant Production Agri-Voltaics” project led by University of Melbourne, funded by AgriFutures Australia. In Western Australia, the project is coordinated by the -west-wa-drought-resilience-adoption-and-innovation-hub South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub (SW WA Hub) in partnership with Plume Estate, Energy Group, and The University of Western Australia and receives funding from the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund.

UWA School of Agriculture and Environment Grower Group Alliance

GeoNight 2026

New Directions in Geography

A global celebration of Geography presented by
Curtin University (Geography) and GAWA

Speakers
Bryan Boruff, Universtity of Western Australia: Urban Canopy, redevelopment and heat island effects in Perth

Holly Kirk, Curtin University: New approaches for integrating urban biodiversity into urban regeneration

Chef Sunny de Ocampo, Eat Good Life: Geographies of the So**ed Seas featuring two styles of cured seafood - Kinilaw (Filipino cured white fish) and Kokoda (Fijian cured tuna)

Time: Tuesday 5 May 4.00-7.30 (with talks starting at 4.30pm)
Location: Level 1 Building 418
Reserve Your Ticket Now!
https://events.humanitix.com/geonight-2026-new-directions-in-geography

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Associate Professor Bryan Boruff is an environmental geographer based at the University of Western Australia, where he uses mapping and satellite technologies to study natural hazards and environmental issues. His research into urban heat islands has helped guide city planners on how different configurations of urban vegetation can be used to cool cities and protect residents from the health impacts of rising urban temperatures.

Chef Sunny is known for his seafood and he will be presenting a ‘Geography of the so**ed seas’ featuring two cured seafood dishes of the region that are not well-known in Perth. Sunny built his reputation in Perth's high-end dining scene, most notably as Executive Chef at Apple Daily in Print Hall and now is the Managing Director of EatGoodLife Catering and Consultancy where he delivers high-quality, customised dining experiences across Perth.

Dr Holly Kirk is a Senior Research Fellow at Curtin University's School of Design and the Built Environment in Perth, specialising in urban ecology and its application to city planning and design. Her work on ecological connectivity has informed biodiversity plans for the City of Melbourne, the Australian Capital Territory, and the Bentley Redevelopment Project.

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The University of Western Australia UWA School of Agriculture and Environment UWA Research UWA School of Earth Sciences Curtin University GAWA - Geographical Association of Western Australia

GeoNight 2026 - New Directions in Geography Join us for GeoNight 2026!

Event: New Directions in Geography

A global celebration of Geography presented by
Curtin University (Geography) and GAWA

Speakers:
Bryan Boruff, The University of Western Australia: Urban Canopy, redevelopment and heat island effects in Perth

Holly Kirk, Curtin University: New approaches for integrating urban biodiversity into urban regeneration

Chef Sunny de Ocampo, Eat Good Life: Geographies of the So**ed Seas featuring two styles of cured seafood - Kinilaw (Filipino cured white fish) and Kokoda (Fijian cured tuna)

Date: Tuesday 5th May, 4:00 - 7:30pm
Location: Building 418, University Blvd, Bentley Campus Curtin University

https://events.humanitix.com/geonight-2026-new-directions-in-geography

💧 Ecosystem recovery matters as much as rainfall 💧

Not all ecosystems respond to water stress the same way. Recovery can look very different from resistance.

Our research shows that ecosystem stability depends on BOTH resistance and resilience. Using satellite observations of plant photosynthesis across northern Australia, PhD candidate Huanhuan Wang and colleagues found that vegetation type strongly shapes how ecosystems respond to short-term water stress.

🌳🌵🌴 Woody savannas and arid shrublands tend to resist water stress but recover more slowly.
🌿🌾 Grasslands are more sensitive during dry periods, but bounce back more quickly when conditions improve.

Resistance masks long-term vulnerabilities: focusing only on resistance or impact of short-term water-stress, flash droughts, and sub-annual stress ignores a vital part of the story. Ecosystems face climate variability over time - so we also need to understand their recovery dynamics over time, too.

🛰️These new insights improve how we understand ecosystem stability - and demonstrate how satellites can support large-scale monitoring of climate impacts on land productivity.

Find out more by reading the paper here 👉
https://zurl.co/sDQSQ

UWA Research UWA School of Agriculture and Environment UWA Engineering and STEM

Redirecting

☀️ Plants convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into the organic carbon that sustains nearly all life on Earth. This process, photosynthesis, drives terrestrial carbon fixation and underpins global crop productivity.

📈 As the human population grows, improving photosynthetic efficiency offers one of the most promising routes to increasing agricultural production.

🌡️ But at the same time, agriculture is facing increasing abiotic stress from global climate change, including rising temperatures and more frequent heatwaves.

💡 In this public talk, UWA Gledden Visiting Fellow, photosynthesis expert Dr Amanda Cavanaugh will examine how carbon assimilation responds to heat stress and rising atmospheric CO₂, and discuss strategies to improve photosynthetic performance through genetic manipulation and natural acclimation responses.

🌿 Dr Cavanagh will consider how rising atmospheric CO₂ may alter the biochemical control within a leaf, and explore strategies to study the long-term response to this.

🌾 Together, these studies highlight the potential to harness both natural and engineered metabolic flexibility to prepare crops for the environmental conditions expected later this century.

Register to attend the talk 👉 https://zurl.co/ZSU4u

Dr Amanda Cavanagh is Director of the Plant Productivity Research Group at the University of Essex. Find out more 👉 https://zurl.co/7bsYJ

The University of Western Australia's Gledden Visiting Fellowships with the Institute of Advanced Studies support global research collaborations. Find out more here 👉 https://zurl.co/qiZrS

UWA School of Agriculture and Environment UWA Institute of Advanced Studies UWA School of Biological Sciences

Public Talk - Eating the Sun: the chemistry that feeds the planet Dr Amanda Cavanaugh, Director of the Plant Productivity Research Group at the University of Essex will discuss strategies to improve photosynthetic performance.

🍊 NEW SOFTWARE: CitrusNet

New deep learning tool improves citrus fruit detection across images captured from multiple agricultural imaging sources — including drones, mobile devices and simulated imagery.

Led by UWA Research PhD candidate Haochen Wang, the research addresses a major challenge in precision agriculture: ensuring accurate fruit detection when images vary in resolution, scale and sensor type.

The model, CitrusNet, combines Vision Transformers (ViT) and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to analyse both fine image details and broader context. This allows it to adapt to complex orchard environments where fruit size, foliage density and backgrounds can vary significantly.

Tested on a purpose-built dataset, CitrusNet achieved over 91% precision and 87% recall, outperforming existing state‑of‑the‑art models.

The research highlights the potential for more reliable crop monitoring and applications in agricultural robotics and harvesting systems.

The work was conducted during Mr Wang’s Masters studies in China, prior to commencing his PhD at UWA. It was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).

🔗 Read the full paper: https://zurl.co/OgRoh

UWA School of Agriculture and Environment UWA Engineering and STEM 江苏海洋大学

Engineers Australia Talk – Modelling Future River Releases in the Upper Canning River
Register now for this in-person talk!

📅 Tuesday 17th March 12:00pm - 1:30pm
📍 Engineers Australia Perth Office: Level 10, 77 St Georges Terrace

Speaker: Eleanor Sydney, Environmental Officer, DBCA Parks and Wildlife Service, Western Australia

Presentation: Drawing on a UWA Research thesis project that applied the Mesoscale Hydrologic Model (mHM) to explore future river management strategies under climate change. The study simulates how varying river release schedules interact with projected rainfall and temperature trends, examining the volumes of water required to sustain ecological health and cultural values over coming decades. The talk also places the Upper Canning River within a broader context, comparing flow management challenges with other Australian catchments and highlighting the practical implications for water planners and environmental managers.

For more info and to register 👉 https://zurl.co/uEdHl

UWA School of Agriculture and Environment UWA Engineering and STEM