Growing up surrounded by science

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Bruny Island

Bird ecologist Dr Catherine Young always said she wouldn't follow in her brother's footsteps, into environmental science. But growing up in South Africa with a mother who loved wildlife, she was surrounded by it, and it wasn't long before it beckoned her as well. Now, Catherine is based in southern Tasmania.

I always say I blame my mum, in the nicest way. I was born in South Africa and we grew up doing doing holidays on game parks. My mum's really into nature and wildlife.

We always had animals at home, orphans that we were rehabilitating and from birds to chameleons and everything in between.

Kp bodenstein South Africa — Chameleon, South Africa. Image: KP Bodenstein

So really it was from my mum at an early age, and then my brother is also in environmental science. He also works in conservation biology. I always said I wouldn't follow in my brother's footsteps, but it was just too good - and here we are!

At university I did an undergraduate degree, starting off in physical geography and then found that I was more interested in the ecology subjects. So I moved sideways into ecology, and then came across an honours project on bird research. My honours and my PhD are in behavioural ecology.

I'm a behavioural ecologist, so I did a lot of work on breeding behaviour and social behaviour. Then, when we came to Tasmania, that's when I found myself moving more into the conservation space.

David clode crimson finch — Catherine's PhD in behavioural ecology focused on crimson finches. Image: David Clode

My husband and I moved here from Canberra because he wanted to do a PhD on Tasmanian devils. So we ended up down here.

Really the conservation community in Hobart is so strong. There is actually a big group from the Australian National University (ANU) working down here in Tassie. I started working with them and got involved in Inala and that's how I moved more into conservation.

I wear a lot of different hats. My main job is working for an organisation called NRM South and through that I do project management. I also work as a tour guide for Inala Nature Tours, and I work for the Difficult Bird Research Group at ANU as well.

Difficult Bird Research Group Cat Young — Baby swift parrots. Image: Cat Young

Dr Catherine Young

Dr Catherine Young is an expert in bird ecology who works in bird research, on the...

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I always say I blame my mum, in the nicest way. I was born in South Africa and we grew up doing doing holidays on game parks. My mum's really into nature and wildlife.

We always had animals at home, orphans that we were rehabilitating and from birds to chameleons and everything in between.

I'm a behavioural ecologist, so I did a lot of work on breeding behaviour and social behaviour. Then, when we came to Tasmania, that's when I found myself moving more into the conservation space.

My husband and I moved here from Canberra because he wanted to do a PhD on Tasmanian devils. So we ended up down here.

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