Introducing our Threatened Fauna Ecologist

Posted 13 July 2021.

Ms Burford commenced her career in the Department for Environment and Water (DEW) working in various roles at Cleland Wildlife Park.

During this time she completed a PhD on microhabitat selection in the endangered pygmy bluetongue lizard and how appropriate grazing regimes may encourage their long-term conservation.

She then acted as an Australian Youth Ambassador in Northeast China, working on the Amur tiger conservation program, which focussed on mitigating human-tiger conflict

This work gave Ms Burford a passion for working on threatened species.

After her return from China Ms Burford worked as a Volunteer Support Officer with the previous Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Board for a few years before returning to Cleland Wildlife Park as a wildlife keeper.

Most recently Ms Burford has been working in the wildlife management program with the DEW, on various roles including assisting bushfire recovery efforts on Kangaroo Island.

Having worked on lizards, tigers and koalas, Ms Burford is now going to turn her hand to birds, they should be less dangerous than tigers!

Ms Burford said my first few weeks have been great and I have spent a lot of time coming up to speed with all the remarkable projects in the region.

“It’s great to hear about the community involvement around threatened species work and I look forward to working with the community and delivering some great outcomes for threatened species in this region,” Ms Burford said.

When not at work Ms Burford likes nothing better than to spend time and explore nature with her husband and her two boys.

The Landscape Ecology Team is supported by the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program and the landscape levies.