Jarod Wright, a proud Wodi Wodi student, has completed two internships with the Kimberly Land Council (KLC) throughout November-December of 2023 and June-July of 2024. He is a returning student who took a career change from his first degree in IT to follow his passion and study a second degree, a Bachelor of Science majoring in Ecology and Conservation Biology.
During his internships Jarod had the opportunity to work with the local Aboriginal community, rangers and (KLC) Ecologist Marlee Hutton, a Bardi Jawi woman from just north of Broome. Jarod saw how the local community develop culturally informed ecological programs for their Country. Jarod learned how to do animal surveys, freshwater testing and eDNA barcoding (picking up traces of animal DNA in the freshwater holes). He recounts some of the highlights from his trip such as camping on island beaches two hours away from mainland, learning how to track bilbies, watching twelve-foot saltwater crocs swim in the mornings, and cracking huge oysters off the rocks and eating them fresh.
Jarod describes his internship as “an incredibly valuable experience where I made very strong connections and had my first taste of field ecology. It also helped me realise I was strongly on the right path going back to university for this degree.” Jarod was inspired to change directions from IT to Environmental Conservation by his passion for the ocean (as a saltwater boy), and the environment. He started majoring in Marine Conservation but was inspired to switch to Conservation and Ecology by his first internship with the (KLC). Jarod is “dead passionate” about what he studies and is happy he is now able to pursue it wholeheartedly.