ALBANY science student Lauren Pullella will examine food sustainability in an indigenous Malaysian community as the inaugural recipient of the Arjen Ryder Memorial Scholarship.
The University of Western Australia (UWA) student will focus her honours research on evaluating food availability and changing diets of the Orang Asli people of Malaysia.
Ms Pullella’s work will be supported by a $5000 scholarship in memory of Mr Ryder, who worked for 30 years in the agriculture sector, concentrating on resource management and sustainable farm practices.
Mr Ryder and his wife Yvonne were killed when flight MH17 was shot down over the Ukraine in 2014.
Family, friends, co-workers, farmers and community members have supported a scholarship fund to support students living in the Albany region studying at UWA’s Centre of Excellence in Natural Resource Management.
Ms Pullella’s studies will involve field trips to Malaysia, in collaboration with local community members, to deploy motion-sensor cameras in the jungles surrounding the Orang Asli villages to collect data on the presence and the abundance of species hunted for food.
“The village I will be working with is slowly beginning to introduce more western agricultural and hunting practices into their lifestyle,” Ms Pullella said.
“The research will not only contribute to a greater understanding of the sustainability of the traditional Orang Asli diet, but will also help us to understand and potentially improve the sustainability of their hunting and agricultural regimes,” she said.
“I am grateful for the opportunity presented to me through this scholarship and look forward to sharing the results of my study.
“I hope that one day the sustainable agricultural model that we are using in this research will be adapted and applied locally.”
UWA Albany centre director Jennifer O’Neil said the Arjen Ryder Memorial Scholarship was a lasting legacy of a man who devoted his life to the study of sustainable agricultural practices.
“We are delighted that one of our talented and devoted students will be the first recipient of the scholarship,” Ms O’Neil said.
“The scholarship will provide Lauren with a supported opportunity to develop new knowledge in the area of sustainable food production.”
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development Albany-based officer Tim Overheu congratulated Ms Pullella and said a number of staff at the Albany office who knew Arjen Ryder had asked her to visit the office next year to get an update on her study.
