2025 Internships

Raised in rural Wiradjuri Country, New South Wales, Felix developed an interest in the natural world early in life. After graduating high school in 2019, he spent a year working as a deckhand on open-water pearling vessels in the Northern Territory, which solidified his environmental interests and led him to complete a Bachelor of Conservation Biology at the University of Wollongong.

During his internship, Felix has been able to learn and develop skills that address a broad range of ecological concepts in both field and office settings. He has specifically enjoyed utilizing fire to manage the land and playing a role in monitoring and controlling feral pigs in Cape Otway. He is grateful for this experience and excited to apply the newfound knowledge gained at the Conservation Ecology Centre in his future endeavors. Post-internship, he plans to return to Dharawal Country to conduct an Honours project on the effect of climate change on plant-soil interactions in an alpine setting.

Jack grew up in Melbourne (Naarm) and was always interested in animals and the natural world. Recently Jack graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor’s degree in ecology and conservation. Whilst completing his degree, Jack volunteered with a number of organisations, including a sea turtle conservation project in Costa Rica. Down in the Otways, Jack has learnt a lot about the role of fire in the landscape as well as feral pig management. He has enjoyed picking up bits of knowledge about the Otways such as bird IDs and signs of feral species and feels more in touch with the landscape.  

Molly grew up in Apollo Bay and the Horden Vale region. She left the beautiful seaside town to complete a Bachelor of Science at Monash University where she majored in Ecology, Conservation Biology, and Plant Sciences. Since completing her degree Molly has worked with the Threatened Species Conservancy where she has contributed to and managed conservation projects aimed at protecting a range of species including Harrow Wattles (Acacia acanthoclada) in the Mallee, Butterflies and Snails in the Otways, and Black Gums (Eucalyptus aggregata) in Woodend.

While Molly grew up in Apollo Bay and knows the area well, she is excited to explore the ecology of the Otways and give back to the community that gave so much to her. She is particularly keen to learn more about mammalian ecology, develop her trapping and animal husbandry skills, and solidify her identification skills with a range of species right at the CEC doorstep! The provided stipend will also allow Molly to fully invest her time into learning as much as she can during her internship position.

Miranda grew up in Melbourne and went on family holidays to the Otways, so has many fond memories exploring waterfalls, boogie-boarding and snorkelling in the region. She studied a Bachelor of Environmental Science (Wildlife & Conservation Biology) at Deakin University and completed an honours degree at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Her honours project was comparing the accuracy and cost of different methodologies to survey for koala density, including the traditional method of line-transect distance sampling with more emerging techniques including thermal-imaging drones and acoustic recorders. During her time on the Sunshine Coast she also worked as a conservation detection dog handler with the Detection Dogs for Conservation team, partnering with rescue dogs to help find koalas, quolls and their scat in the landscape.

Miranda is passionate about optimising survey methods for threatened species conservation and loves all things fieldwork. Whilst interning at the CEC, Miranda is looking forward to gaining knowledge and experience in fire and feral animal management, deepening her flora and fauna ID skills and contributing to effective on-ground conservation in the Otways.