FAME Sustainability Spotlight Series
The Sustainability Series were held to showcaseÌýrecipients of the Foci and Magnets for Excellence (FAME)ÌýSustainability grants projects.ÌýWe would like to thank all recipients who presented and those who attended.
The first session presented by Associate Professors Armando Corsi, and Cassandra Collins, discussed the Vitivoltaics Project which aims to build, test, and evaluate aÌýnovel, portableÌýphotovoltaicÌýsystem for the wine sector. Prof. Armando is primarily interested in the marketing and packaging elements that influence the purchasing decisions of a whole range of consumers (customers, distributors, importers and hospitality venues). Prof. Corsi and his team's mission is to support the growth of the Australian and international wine industry from this perspective, a majority of the projects he undertakes have a strong industry impact and academic output.
Cassandra is an Associate Professor in Viticulture. Her current research specialisation isÌýgrapevine reproduction, organic and biodynamic vineyard management, and new technologies for assessing vine performance. After completing a Bachelor of Agricultural Science and a PhD in Horticulture, she gained valuable experience in the wine industry as a cellar hand, an assistant winemaker and a viticulturist. She also has a passion forÌýplants, research, and teaching, which led to a role as a research fellow with the South Australian Research and Development Institute and the ³ÉÈË´óƬ, and then to her current role as a lecturer.
Ìýpresented "Enhanced Compost and Biosolid Materials for Safe, Sustainable Agriculture".ÌýComposting food waste and packaging turns them into useful materials for soil enrichment; biosolids, a by-product of wastewater treatment, are similarly cheap, effective fertilisers used extensively in agriculture. However, despite their advantages, both composts and biosolids contain legacy PFAS (per and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) that can enter the food chain via uptake by plants, affecting human and ecosystem health, and raising safety and ethical concerns over their continued use. This project proposes to incorporate composts/biosolids into a novel composite material that minimises/prevents PFAS from entering the food chain, unlocking the wider application of these products to support an ethical, sustainable circular economy.
PhD Candidate , and presented "Urban Agriculture and Food Forests: Review and Preliminary Investigation of PFAS Soil Contamination in Adelaide". PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are contaminants of increasing global concern due to their adverse health and environmental effects. The chemicals enter soils through a variety of pathways, with urban environments being vulnerable due to the dense human population. This focused on improving their understanding of urban agriculture through two key initiative, a literature review on urban food forests, an under-researched topic within urban agriculture, and an assessment of urban garden soils and their PFAS concentrations will be carried out using a citizen science approach.
This project will use a citizen science approach, collecting up to 200 soil samples from gardens in the Adelaide metropolitan area and test them for concentrations of PFAS chemicals. This pioneering study aims to provide valuable quantitative data and insights into PFAS contamination in urban soils.
"The Australian Green Investment Index" his project focuses aims to view the extent of Green investment within Australia. As the interest grows for sustainable investments, various market participants are engaging in nature-positive initiatives (consumers, media, investors, regulators, and internal stakeholders). The efforts however are not quantified in a consolidated form, through the Australian Green Investment Index (AGII), establishing a standardised green investment score for each Australian state will serve as a metric to then evaluate the environmental impact of economic and financial activities across different regions within Australia
presentedÌý"Using Local Knowledge to Support Effective Transition and Sustainable Bushfire Risk Reduction in Australia" Integrating environmental engineering and social science to evaluate the Australian Fire Danger Rating System (AFDRS) since 2022. The frequency and severity of bushfire risk are further compounded by factors such as climate change, population growth, and urban expansion. There is a lack of empirical evidence of the AFDRS’ suitability in local fire management contexts and its acceptance by end users. The aim is to understand how the AFDRS is received, communicated, and acted upon is vital for supporting effective transition and sustainable bushfire risk reduction in Australia. Interdisciplinary approach is adopted by employing both environmental engineering (EE) and social science (SS) methods to assess local knowledge and application of the AFDRS comprehensively.
EE techniques have been used to develop an innovative sensitivity analysis that provides technical guidance on the physical and scientific dimensions of the model. Meanwhile, SS techniques are applied to leverage social insights on impacts and challenges for the AFDRS. Specifically, key stakeholder interviews across South Australia, a place prone to frequent and severe bushfires, alongside a nationwide survey will strengthen understanding of how the AFDRS’ modeling is perceived and knowledge transferred between experts and communities. This integration of social and technical dimensions promotes a holistic transition for mitigating bushfire risk and building systemic resilience through identifying adaptation priorities that lead to tangible benefits for both human and environmental systems.Ìý Ìý