MelBourne Identity
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Blogger: Abigail Lynch, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife and a CSIS member, blogs from Down Under -- she's in Australia to build a framework for her dissertation research. She's interested in developing a decision-support tool to regulate harvest management strategies for lake whitefish in a changing climate.
MelBourne Identity
July 24, 2011
Leaving rainy Sydney and driving through the Blue Mountains and across western New South Wales and into Victoria is a dramatic change of scenery. Arriving in Melbourne is another change yet again. Having only a small glimpse of Australia’s two major cities, it’s difficult to envision what it would be like to live and work in either. But, the two cities definitely do have different personalities. Sydney is more overt – it’s got the photogenic harbor and iconic Opera House. Melbourne is a bit more subtle; a bit more diverse. Set on a river rather than a harbor, the city is less of a landscape and more of a piecewise set of puzzle pieces, the areas are all different, but they seem to fit together: Federation Square, Flinders Street, Queen Victoria Market, South Yarra, Richmond, Olympic Park, Fitzroy, among others.
This is not to say that Melbourne doesn’t have beautiful landscapes – on the contrary, just outside of town is one of the most famous, most photographed roadscapes: the Great Ocean Road. Ordinarily, I’m not much of a fan of driving, but the Great Ocean Road is a must “sea” tourist attraction, by any standards. Winding its way along Australia’s southern coast, it passes surreal rock formations (i.e., the Twelve Apostles [now eleven!], London Arch, Loch Ard Gorge) and forests of giant mountain ashes (Eucalyptus regnans; the world’s tallest flowering plant). I even saw wild koalas roadside!!!
Lynch's studies are supported by a William W. and Evelyn M. Taylor Endowed Fellowship for International Engagement in Coupled Human and Natural Systems, an International Studies and Programs Predissertation Award, an Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior Summer Fellowship, a Graduate School Research Enhancement Award, and a travel award from the College of Agriculture and Natural 
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