Fiona Sutton

COLLABORATION AND COMMUNITY ARE KEY FOR CONTINENT WIDE SUCCESS

As a Victorian plant ecologist, Fiona has worked in consulting and research for almost 20 years. Her training and field experience has taken her to many vegetation types from coastal regions to the Alpine and Mallee areas across Victoria and into New South Wales, and everywhere in between. She has hands on experience implementing on ground weed management, writing management plans and prioritising the management of threats to reduce risks to biodiversity values.

As a passionate volunteer keen to make a different in her community, she is Vice President of the Invasive Species Council, a charity organisation that seeks stronger laws, policies and programs to protect nature from harmful pests, weeds and diseases. She was the inaugural President and helped establish the Ecological Consultants Association of Victoria to improve quality standards across the industry, and she regularly attends Friends Group working bees to care for Country. Responsible for finding the first Victorian record of Amazon Frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum) in Victoria while trail running in 2019, she also appreciates the importance of citizen science and rapid responses for effective management of new and emerging pests.