News and events

In August, the Mallee Regional Innovation Centre welcomed to the region Centre board members Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research Capability) Professor Ashley Franks and Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice President (Research and Industry Engagement) Professor Chris Pakes, who were accompany by Pro Vice-Chancellor (Industry Engagement) Dr Megan Fisher and a group of 12 academics from Victoria Drought Resilience Adoption & Innovation Hub partner La Trobe University including representatives from the Centre for the Study of the Inland. The tour was focussed on building resilient farmers and communities against the impacts of drought and on creating opportunities for engaging with industry, key stakeholders and the wider community and culture of the region.

La Trobe scholars shone at the 2024 Mildura Writers Festival in August, starting with a brilliant panel on Reading and Writing Place into Being with Melissa Lucashenko, Emily Potter, Nikita Vanderbyl (LTU) and Lilian Pearce (LTU), expertly chaired by Melinda Hinkson (LTU). This event was put together by conversations between the Centre for the Study of the Inland (LTU) and festival Director, Donata Carrazza.

On Friday 5th July the Centre for the Study of the Inland (LTU), the Centre for Environmental History (ANU) and the Planetary Health Humanities project (University of Sydney) hosted a workshop in Adelaide of 30 environmental historians (and friends) to critically consider how we practice our discipline responsibly in a time of planetary ecological crisis. The workshop was collaborative, reflective and fulfilling, more so because of a wonderful turnout of Department colleagues in attendance.

On June 15 the Centre for the Study of the Inland hosted a relaxed lunch for members and affiliates to reconnect, meet new staff and hear about one another’s work. It was great to see turn out from different areas of the university, and to make new connections over some delicious food. We will make these lunches a biannual event to continue making interdisciplinary connections.

On  the 25th of September, CSI held a screening of award-winning documentary 'Franklin'. Co-hosted with the Office of the Vice -Chancellor and hosted by Professor of Public Engagement, Clare Wright, this event gave the La Trobe community an opportunity to see this documentary full of never-before-seen archival footage and interviews about the  Franklin Campaign of the 1980s.

We were lucky enough to be joined by star of the film Oliver Cassidy, as well as Director of the Centre for Freshwater Ecosystems, Professor Nick Bond and Associate Professor of History, Liz Conor for a panel discussion about the film, activism and our river systems.

The crisis of climate change demands more than scientific understanding and technical solutions. It requires us to think again about the demarcation between humans and nature, to revisit the legacies of colonialism and our fossil-fuelled industrial past and to imagine a radically different future.

This Melbourne event, in partnership with La Trobe’s Centre for the Study of the Inland, brought together museums, music, research and creative thinking from across the environmental humanities to reflect on how our disciplines are engaging with the challenge of living with climate change and acknowledge the personal stress, the responsibility and the injustice of the Great Acceleration.

Gold, from antiquity through to the present day, is the iconic symbol of wealth. What is less appreciated is the lasting environmental cost associated with the prospecting, extraction, and processing of gold. Held in conjunction with the exhibition of an international print exchange, this symposium brought together humanities scholars, scientists, Traditional Owners and visual artists to reflect on the role of mining in shaping Victoria’s landscapes, past, present, and into the future.

In just a few months, our lives were upended in so many ways by the impact of COVID-19. The pandemic  created challenges for our everyday lives and raises critical questions about the shape of all our futures.

But what has been its impact in regional Victoria? And what lies ahead as different regions face the on-going challenges of a changing climate, employment, water management, healthcare, transport and infrastructure.

The line-up included former member for Indi, Cathy McGowan, CEO of the Committee for Great Shepparton Sam Birrell, and Mildura businessman and community activist, Ross Lake. Moderating the discussion was Professor Katie Holmes, Director of La Trobe’s Centre for the Study of the Inland.