In September, we pull on our boots to unearth the ways South Australians have reshaped their environments. You’ll learn about oranges, irrigation, and introduced species, but most importantly, hear the stories of people who have survived and thrived in the state with the most unpredictable rainfall.
Date: 30 September 2025
Time: 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Address: Hetzel Lecture Theatre, State Library of South Australia
cnr North Tce and Kintore Ave, ADELAIDE SA 5000
Tickets
Presented in partnership with the State Library of South Australia
Speakers
Lauren Fuge is a writer who lives and works on Kaurna Country. Her book, Voyagers: Our Journey into the Anthropocene, was published by Text in 2024. She’s currently undertaking a PhD exploring storytelling and the climate crisis, as well as organising with grassroots community and climate groups. She previously worked as a science journalist and editor at Cosmos. She won the 2023 AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards (magazine category) and the 2022 UNSW Bragg Prize for Science Writing.
Faith Coleman is a multigenerational ecologist, working predominantly in those wet, salty, muddy, often smelly habitats that form the productive edges of our land, aquifers, rivers and sea – Saline lakes, salinas, estuaries and coastal lagoons. The microbiology, biochemistry and primary productivity of these zones is critical to salt production, fisheries productivity and water quality, as well as cultural and environmental values such as shorebirds, physical manifestations of cultural stories, and providing ‘thin’ places where people can connect with nature. Faith sits on the boards of several science-based organisations including the International Society for Salt Lake Research and the Coorong Environmental Trust.
Amanda Wells is an environmental historian whose research explores the intersections of agriculture, ecology, and settler-colonial place-making in twentieth-century Australia. She recently completed her PhD at the University of Newcastle, examining the more-than-human history of South Australia’s Riverland during the 1950s and 1960s, with a focus on the citrus industry’s role in shaping regional identity and economy. Her work draws on environmental history, historical geography, and the environmental humanities to illuminate the relationships between people, nonhuman species, and landscapes. Amanda has published and presented nationally and internationally on topics including pest control, agricultural modernisation, and rural settlement schemes. She is an active member of several history organisations and works for the History Council of NSW, the Barossa Regional University Campus, and the University of Newcastle. Her broader research interests include transnational environmental histories, histories of science and technology, and the cultural and ecological dimensions of agricultural production.