{"id":516,"date":"2026-08-05T16:09:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T06:09:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/australasia\/?page_id=516"},"modified":"2026-08-13T12:25:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T02:25:51","slug":"award-3-sera-koonamore-student-award","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/australasia\/sera-awards\/sera-awards-2026\/award-3-sera-koonamore-student-award\/","title":{"rendered":"AWARD 3 \u2014 SERA Koonamore Student Award"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>SERA Koonamore Student Award<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Named for the Koonamore Vegetation Reserve \u2014 one of Australia&#8217;s longest-running ecological monitoring sites \u2014 this award recognises students whose research is advancing the science and practice of ecological restoration.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Whether your work focuses on restoration methods, monitoring tools, community engagement approaches, or the integration of traditional knowledge into restoration planning and practice, this award is a chance to have your research seen and valued by the wider restoration community.<\/p>\n<p>More information on the Koonamore Vegetation Reserve &#8211;<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/friendsofparkssa.org.au\/members\/members-directory\/friends-of-koonamore-reserve\/\">https:\/\/friendsofparkssa.org.au\/members\/members-directory\/friends-of-koonamore-reserve\/<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tern.org.au\/news\/90-years-of-open-data-track-change-in-rangeland-ecosystem\/\">https:\/\/www.tern.org.au\/news\/90-years-of-open-data-track-change-in-rangeland-ecosystem\/<\/a><\/p>\n<h5><a href=\"https:\/\/icebergevents-sera-2026.eventsairsite.com\/sera-awards\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #008000\"><strong>APPLY HERE<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/h5>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Prize: <\/strong>$1,000<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Who&#8217;s eligible:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Students currently enrolled in an advanced program of study relevant to ecological restoration \u2014 typically PhD candidates, though other advanced research students may apply \u2014 at a recognised higher education institution. Applicants must be currently enrolled at the time of application. Previous finalists may reapply.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>What you&#8217;ll need to supply:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A written research summary explaining your topic, methods, and findings (or expected findings, if research is ongoing) (word limit \u2013 700 words)<\/li>\n<li>An explanation of how your work contributes to restoration science, practice, or public understanding<\/li>\n<li>Confirmation of current enrolment (and supervisor details, where applicable)<\/li>\n<li>Supporting documents such as a thesis chapter, publication, or conference abstract<\/li>\n<li>Optional: photographs relevant to your research or fieldwork<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">If shortlisted, you&#8217;ll be contacted directly and asked to prepare a short video showcasing your project, to be shown at the awards presentation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>How to apply: <\/strong>Submit via the <a href=\"https:\/\/icebergevents-sera-2026.eventsairsite.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">conference portal<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Preparing your application: what judges are looking for<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Your 700-word research summary and supporting documents will be assessed against the following criteria.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Research quality and rigour<\/strong><br \/>\nJudges want to see a sound, well-designed methodology. Be clear about your research question, approach, and how your methods answer it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Contribution to the field<\/strong><br \/>\nWhat&#8217;s new here? Judges are looking for originality \u2014 a new approach, tool, method, or angle that adds something to restoration science or practice.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Relevance to restoration practice<\/strong><br \/>\nConnect your research back to the real world. How could your findings inform or improve on-ground restoration work, now or in the future?<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Communication and clarity<\/strong><br \/>\nYour judging panel won&#8217;t necessarily be specialists in your exact research area \u2014 write clearly and accessibly, and make sure a generalist restoration audience can follow your argument.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Potential impact<\/strong><br \/>\nThink beyond your thesis or paper \u2014 what could this research influence down the track? Future studies, policy, or how practitioners approach restoration on the ground?<\/p>\n<h5><a href=\"https:\/\/icebergevents-sera-2026.eventsairsite.com\/sera-awards\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #008000\"><strong>APPLY HERE<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SERA Koonamore Student Award Named for the Koonamore Vegetation Reserve \u2014 one of Australia&#8217;s longest-running ecological monitoring sites \u2014 this award recognises students whose research is advancing the science and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":0,"parent":496,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-516","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/australasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/australasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/australasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/australasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/118"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/australasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=516"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/australasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":567,"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/australasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/516\/revisions\/567"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/australasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chapter.ser.org\/australasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}