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Thursday, 27 March 2014

You can't get much more remote, in WA, than One Arm Point .

The little Aboriginal community, home of the Bardi and Jawi saltwater people, is at the tip of a peninsula that juts out into the Indian Ocean between Broome and Derby.

But it's the perfect place for a PhD scholar who is studying Indigenous perspectives of water management.

Michelle Walker is an external student, whose supervisors are in Perth (School of Earth and Environment), Albany and Kununurra (Centre of Excellence in Natural Resource Management).

There are more people working in the School of Earth and Environment than living in One Arm Point.

But thanks to computer technology and social media, Michelle has everything she needs. As all of UWA's 89 external postgraduate scholars need to be, she is a self-starter and very disciplined.

She grew up in Donnybrook and was always interested in the bush. After her undergraduate degree in environmental science in Perth, she was ready for smaller places and a quieter life.

Five years of working in the public service included three years in Alice Springs working on water conservation projects with local Indigenous communities.

"That sparked my interest, so, after moving to One Arm Point two years ago with my partner, Damon Pyke, who is a ranger co-ordinator, I knew that was the area I wanted to research."

Michelle and Damon hope one day to work with Indigenous people on environmental management in the south west.

"The ranger programs up in the north are fantastic. The rangers are very active with scientists, including researchers from UWA.  We hope to learn from this program in the north and later work in that field down south."

Michelle's main connection with the academic world is via Twitter.

"I love that tweets are so short, so I can scan my list and quickly choose useful messages and links," she said.  "One of my favourites is the Thesis Whisperer at the ANU.  She is always posting useful support information for students."

When she is not gathering data, Michelle volunteers at a women's group which screen prints fabric with images of local marine and bush species.

"I've learnt to sew and I help the women to make the fabric into tea towels and curtains which are sold to the locals and tourists.  I also bake cakes to take to the women's group.  I just love having a cup of tea with all these different women and learning what they are passionate about."

She recently spent five days in Albany at a UWA writers' retreat, when she also had time to meet with one of her supervisors, Assistant Professor Paul Close from CENRM.

Her other supervisors are Assistant Professor Julian Clifton (Earth and Environment), Adjunct Professor Sandy Toussaint (CENRM) in Perth and Research Assistant Professor Rebecca Dobbs (CENRM) in Kununurra. External graduate students must spend at least 13 weeks at UWA with their supervisors.

"I feel lucky to be having this experience," Michelle said. "Settling in here was challenging but now, when I'm away, I can't wait to get back. I love the lifestyle: studying, fishing, camping, sewing and baking.

"I really appreciate my supervisors who are very flexible and encouraging. The Graduate Research School also offers fantastic support, for example, the Albany Writers Retreat, which was organised by the GRS, has re-set my writing techniques and left me feeling ready to take on the year ahead."

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