Kate Simmonds

Kate Simmond’s project is examining the consequences of recent unprecedented landscape scale bushfires in northern NSW on a world heritage listed ecosystem renowned for its diversity of ancient plant lineages that exhibit few obvious adaptations to increasing fire activity.

The existing knowledge base for planning post-fire recovery in fire-sensitive rainforest communities in eastern Australia is almost absent. The value of the existing long-term monitoring network to inform the update of northern NSW reserve fire management strategies is immense. Findings from this research
will be presented to NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Australian World Heritage Advisory Council and the scientific community and will inform future management of rainforests across Werrikimbe and Willi Willi National Parks, and more broadly across temperature rainforests in Australia.

Kate is a Climate Action 100+ Analyst at the Investor Group on Climate Change.