Nick Gellie

I am a PhD student at the University of Adelaide and work in the Adaptation for Conservation and Restoration research group. For my thesis, I am exploring ways to improve restoration outcomes through testing innovative provenance selection and incorporating evidence based adaptive management. My research includes (1) the investigation of plant local adaptation and how conceptual advances in this area can best be applied to seed collection for better restoration outcomes; and (2) developing cost effective metrics to monitor and compare the regain of biodiversity for a variety of contemporary restoration approaches.

An overarching theme of my project is also to help align the goals of restoration practitioners, researchers and policy makers so as to improve restoration into the future. One way that this is possible is by embedding experimental designs into broad-scale restoration projects and also value adding the performance of historical planting to refine current practice. Along with my colleagues we are successfully applying this strategy to exciting restoration work in both China and Australia. This inclusive approach, with less separation of the relevant stakeholders, has the potential to improve the scientific basis of restoration by allowing cutting-edge science questions and methodologies to be explored, tested and applied locally to facilitate a shift towards evidence-based policy decisions.

For my honors research at Flinders University of South Australia I worked in the area of plant physiology and have published work on mound spring flora of South Australia. Outside of my work life I also enjoy promoting, local science and the scientific process through community engagement. I am a foundation member of Science in the pub Adelaide. My colleagues and I have successfully provided a monthly forum on a diverse range of topical scientific issues to Adelaide audiences since 2014.