Applications for 2025 OPEN!

The Ecological Consultants Association of NSW supports ecological research in Australia and would like to award two grants this year to assist researchers to carry out their ecological projects.

•       ECA of NSW Conservation Grant ($3000)
•       Ray Williams Mammal Research Grant ($3000)

 Eligibility

 To be eligible for either of the grants the applicant and project must fit the following criteria:

• Applicant must be or prepared to become a member of the Ecological Consultants Association of NSW in the year the grant is awarded, including signing the ECA code of ethics. Membership fee will be free to the successful applicants.
• The project must be carried out in Australia and its territories (preference will be given to projects that have application in NSW).
• The project must be an ecological study.
• Applicant may be an enrolled Honours, Masters or PhD student. Applications should be submitted by the person proposing to undertake the actual works and not by a project supervisor.
• Applicant must obtain all necessary permits and licences to carry out the project.
• Applicant must be prepared to sign a grant agreement, which includes: the provision of a report on budget usage; a scientific paper for the ECA biannual newsletter Consulting Ecology within 2 years of the grant being awarded and/or a spoken presentation at the ECA annual conference within 2 years of the grant being awarded.
• Successful applicants are eligible to reapply in subsequent years, however they must be able to demonstrate that progress has been made with the project.
• Unsuccessful applicants may apply in subsequent years.

Application and Assessment

• Applications must be submitted electronically to admin@ecansw.org.au by 31 March 2025. You will be notified that your application has been received.
• The same application form may be used to apply for both of the grants.
• Applications must include an application form, accompanied by a current CV or academic transcript. Applications must be supported by two referees, which should include your academic supervisor.
• Applications will be assessed by the Student Liaison and Grants Sub-committee of the Ecological Consultants Association of NSW Council. Applicants will be notified of the outcome by 15^th May 2025.
• The following criteria will be used to assess applications:
  • The value of the project to conservation
  • The quality of the project
  • Justification of how the grant will be used
  • The track record of the applicant and the likelihood of the objectives being achieved
  • The relevance of the project to ecological consulting in NSW

Payment

• Prior to the provision of the grant funds, copies of all necessary permits and licences to carry out the project must be provided to the Ecological Consultants Association of NSW.
• Successful applicants must sign a Grant Agreement to receive 90% ($2700) of the funding.
• The final 10% ($300) received on provision of the budget report and scientific paper or conference presentation for inclusion in Consulting Ecology.
• As the ECA of NSW is not registered for GST, If GST must be included, it will be part of the $3000.

Conditions of the Grant Agreement

 Grant funds are to be exempt from organisational administration charges.

• Successful applicant will provide the Ecological Consultants Association of NSW with a report of budget usage and an article for Consulting Ecology or a spoken conference presentation within 2 years of receipt of the grant.
• Successful applicant must acknowledge the assistance of the Ecological Consultants Association of NSW and list the award name (i.e. Ray Williams Mammal Research Grant or ECA Conservation Grant) in all documentation or presentation of the research undertaken.
• Academic supervisor/s have been made aware that your application is successful.
• The grant is to be used to fund direct costs of the project.

 Extra benefits

• Successful applicant will have the opportunity to present a spoken presentation and receive complimentary attendance at an ECA annual conference within 2 years of the grant being awarded. (Travel costs not included).

Grant Application 2025

PREVIOUS GRANT RECIPIENTS

2024

• Ray Williams Mammal Research Grant ($3000): Lachlan McRae (Macquarie University) -The ecology and conservation of the threatened large-eared pied bat (Chalinolobus dwyeri) and eastern cave bat (Vespadelus troughtoni)
• ECA Conservation Grant ($3000): Matt Smith (University of NSW) –Trophic effects of kangaroos on thick-billed grasswrens.

2023

• Ray Williams Mammal Research Grant ($2000): James Vandersteen (University of NSW) -The role of dingoes as apex predators in the Australian Alps
• ECA Conservation Grant ($2000): Jan Kreibich (University of NSW) –Landscape restoration of indigenous managed area, focusing on flood-dependent vegetation health

2022

• Ray Williams Mammal Research Grant ($2000): Elsa Kohane (Sydney University) -Multi-scale factors influencing bat box usage in urban reserves 
• ECA Conservation Grant ($2000): Jessica Tam (University of NSW) –Transforming Australian Wildlife Conservation & Welfare with Deep Learning

2021

• Ray Williams Mammal Research Grant ($2000): Jana Stewart (University of NSW) –Soil biota responses to reintroduced semi-fossorial mammals: a temporal comparison of soil biodiversity and ecosystem function
• ECA Conservation Grant ($2000): Thayanne Lima Barros (University of NSW) –Microphytobenthos biomass as indicator of ecological impact of the 2019/2020 bushfire season on estuaries in New South Wales, Australia

2020

• Ray Williams Mammal Research Grant ($2000): Angela Rana (Sydney University) – Assessing the success of the rewilding of small mammals into North Head
• ECA Conservation Grant ($2000): Gracie Liu (University of NSW) – Moving with the times: Can movement and habitat use predict species persistence in an increasingly modified world
• Bushfire Ecology Research Grant ($1000): Joshua Whitehead (University of New England) – Does fire affect the relationship between plants and their pollinators, or are they capable of rekindling things when burned out?

2019

• Ray Williams Mammal Research Grant ($2000): Amy Rowles (Western Sydney University) – Seasonal importance of high-elevation habitat for Australian Bats.
• ECA Conservation Grant ($2000): Chantelle Doyle (University of NSW) – Ecology of the critically endangered Hibbertia spanantha
• Terrestrial Ecology Research Grant ($1100): Grant Webster (Macquarie University) – The Ecology of the newly described and endangered frog Uperoleia mahonyi

2018

• Ray Williams Mammal Research Grant ($2000): Alexandra Ross (University of NSW) – Assessing the success of the Nailtail Nursery; a novel conservation strategy.
• ECA Conservation Grant ($2000): Corey Callaghan (University of NSW) – A citizen science environmental tool to assess avian biodiversity in urban greenspaces.
• Terrestrial Ecology Research Grant ($2000): Vanessa Gorecki (Queensland University of Technology) – Roosting ecology of bats in road structures in Brisbane.

2017

• Ray Williams Mammal Research Grant ($2000): Cassie Thompson (University of Sydney) – Reducing fragmentation and barrier effects for Eastern Pygmy Possums and other small mammals in the peri-urban environment.
• ECA Conservation Grant ($2000): Jane Williamson (Australian Catholic University) – Fire interval guidelines aimed at sustaining flora diversity: are they also sustaining fauna diversity?
• Terrestrial Ecology Research Grant ($2000): Annabel Ellis (University of Sydney) – The Role of Introduced Rats (Rattus rattus) in Restoring Island Rainforest Communities.
• Terrestrial Ecology Research Grant ($350): Thomas Taylor (Western Sydney University) – Quantifying the effectiveness of thermal weeders as an ecological tool for native plant regeneration.

2016

• Ray Williams Mammal Research Grant ($2000): Ana Gracanin (Wollongong University) – Set-& Forget’ Mammal Monitoring – Remote Camera Monitoring in Budderoo National Park for Spotted-tailed Quolls.
• ECA Conservation Grant ($2000): Kristen Petrov (University of Western Sydney)  – Recovery of the imperilled Bellinger River Snapping Turtle.
• Terrestrial Ecology Research Grant ($2000): Alexandra Callen (Newcastle University) – Understanding movement patterns of Green and Golden Bell Frog in a closed population can improve survey methods and enhance reintroduction efforts.

2015

• Ray Williams Mammal Research Grant ($2000) : Charlotte Mills (University of NSW) – Is woody shrub encroachment a legacy of native rodent declines.
• ECA Conservation Grant ($1700): Ryan Sims (University of NSW) – Identifying alternate response models of endangered box gum grassy woodland following livestock exclusion.
• ECA Conservation Grant ($300): Amelia Saul (Sydney University) – The relationship between the density of Lantana and its role as habitat for native reptiles: how does density affect the provision of ecosystem functions by alien species.
• Terrestrial Ecology Research Grant ($1200): Kyla Johnston (Sydney University) – How an animal’s personality influences its trapability and the consequences for wildlife management devises.