“The world is watching”: the Federation researcher shaping Gippsland’s post-coal future
For Jess Reeves - a sustainability scientist inspired by the challenges and opportunities caused by change - Gippsland is an extraordinary living laboratory.
Associate Professor Jess Reeves teaches sustainability and environmental change at Federation University’s Churchill campus, in a region central to efforts to deliver a carbon-neutral future.
Her research explores possibilities for the Latrobe Valley when coal mining, its lifeblood for decades, ends in 2035. Keen to flip narratives about job loss and economic decline, she’s brought stakeholders together to identify a broadly sustainable way forward.
As the director of Industry Cooperation for the university’s Institute of Innovation, Science and Sustainability, she has a deep community connection.
“Gippsland provides so much for the State: water, timber, food, energy… everything to service Victoria and the world,” she says. “When major industrial changes happen, it comes at the local people from every angle.”
“It's an immense privilege to do work that’s meaningful to the community and contributes to navigating this change.”
Assoc Prof Reeves pursued geology and archaeology before following an interest in climate change. Initially drawn to the region to study the vulnerable Gippsland Lakes, she’s been involved with various sustainability projects, including water management stewardship and climate adaptation for agriculture.
Her current project is for CRC-TiME, a world-first federal research organisation dedicated to the transformation of mining regions. She’s consulted key stakeholders to identify a feasible use for the 10,000 hectares likely to be available when the sites are available for rehabilitation.
Assoc Prof Reeves is now sharing those possibilities with the community, including Traditional Owners and young people, to hear their take on how the solutions to a complex opportunity impact them.
“The world is watching. If we can solve it here, it makes things so much more possible for other places facing this situation,” she says.
Assoc Prof Reeves says Gippsland offers exciting possibilities for students and researchers. Both she and Federation University have strong, productive ties with industry, farmers, government, Traditional Owners and community.
“The rehabilitation of the mines is going to take 30- 50 years - I won't see it in my lifetime,” she says. The next generation will make this happen.
“We have such an opportunity to reset our world to a sustainable future.”
Your voice matters. Be a part of the change by participating in the community deliberation citizen jury for Stage 2 of the CRC-TiME project, led by Jess. Contact Jess Reeves via j.reeves@federation.edu.au and help shape the future of post-mine land use.