Gillian Paxton

I am an environmental anthropologist specializing in understanding complex human-environment relationships and working with communities to acheive inclusive, just and ethical socio-environmental change. I have considerable experience in applied environmental social science to support community engagement, wildlife conservation, natural resource management, climate adaptation and the adoption of sustainable technologies. I have held several research positions with the Queensland Government and the CSIRO, where I have explored the cultural aspects of drought adaptation in the Queensland grazing industry, best practice community engagement and knowledge adoption in agricultural extension programs in the Great Barrier Reef catchments, as well as a variety of other issues.

In my current position as a l Research Fellow at the Cairns Institute I work in the Stakeholder and Traditional Owner Engagement Sub-program of the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP) and the Crown-of-thorns Starfish (COTS) Control Innovation Program. I conduct ‘deep dive’ qualitative social research to gain a nuanced understanding of Reef communities' perceptions of and aspirations for reef adaptation and restoration.

My PhD research combined feminist theory, Science and Technology Studies, multispecies ethnography and more-than-human geography to explore the politics that arises when synurbic wildlife, which is wildlife that flourishes in the ecological niches created by cities and urbanisation, becomes a mundane part of everyday life in the city. My thesis focussed on three common Australian native animals in the city of Brisbane: Eastern water dragons, Australian white ibis, and three species of flying fox. As well as a PhD in anthropology, I hold a Master of Environmental Science, and degrees in biology and sociology.