Heidi Alleway

Learning from the past

Change in ecosystems over time can be vastly underestimated, and underappreciated. Marine and coastal environments have endured centuries of human use and exploitation, but where the past cannot be vividly recalled or a new baseline for 'normal' has already been accepted, these impacts can be overlooked. The shifting baselines syndrome has a stubborn influence on the way people view and interact with nature, and, as a result, the way manage our activities. Historical records, such as archived reports, letters, journals and photographs, as well as museum collections and geological records, can be used to recreate a more accurate understanding of past environments and human activities.

> I research post-colonial human interactions with marine and coastal resources, and use and build a range of materials and methods to establish historical baselines that can be readily adopted in contemporary natural resource management (e.g. environmental policies, stock assessments).

Designing our future

Aquaculture is the fastest growing primary production sector in the world. This industry provides a unique opportunity to grow a sustainable, socially equitable and accessible, low greenhouse gas emission source of protein. But new and more effective solutions to overcoming the historical and ongoing negative impacts from industrial-scale activity are needed.

Additionally, the positive influence that aquaculture can have on surrounding ecosystems is not well understood. Services beyond solely the production of food (e.g. water filtration, nutrient removal, carbon sequestration) can, under certain circumstances, be associated with a wide range of activities and sectors, particularly the farming of shellfish and algae, but also finfish. New knowledge and primary data on the full range of effects (positive and negative) and ecological and societal values associated with aquaculture are needed.

> I am working with industry and environmental NGOs to understand the positive impacts that aquaculture can have on marine and coastal ecosystems, and to resolve operational and governance approaches that could be used to design and intentionally support aquaculture's delivery of ecosystem services.

Collaborating on grand challenges

A fundamental, and increasingly important, part of my work is supporting collectives to address common needs or issues. Collaboration can be an emotional and exhausting endeavour, but the complexity and scale of the challenges people and nature now face means they cannot be overcome by individuals alone.

> I am assisting industry, government, researchers and communities to understand and appreciate each others values and guiding processes, and enabling collaborations by connecting people and knowledge.