My name is Alexandra Gaut.
I was born in Africa (in Liberia), grew up in the UK and moved to Australia in 1997.
When I was about 19 years old I was inspired to study marine biology. I had to go back to school to get the right qualifications to get into university, so I worked during the day and studied at night for a year.
I went to the University of Wales, Bangor. It is the smallest university town in the UK, situated next to the beautiful Menai Straits, which separates mainland Wales from the Isle of Anglesey. Here, I spent three years doing a joint Marine Biology & Zoology degree with Honours. Three days after graduation I was on a plane to Australia (1997).
I travelled Australia and spent some time in Townsville, diving and working on the Great Barrier Reef.
Eventually I came to Adelaide in 1998 and since being here I have undertaken a wide variety of science and conservation work, including:
- undertaking autopsies of dead marine mammals with the South Australian Museum
- sorting grab samples at SARDI Aquatic Sciences
- research into the pilchard mortalities of the late 1990s for PIRSA Fisheries
- leading teams of volunteers into remote parts of South Australia to undertake environmental projects
- designed an environmental science program with the Investigator Science & Technology Centre
- taught science education at UniSA
- ran my own marine education business
It took me a while to realise that marine education is where my strengths and passion come together, so I did a Bachelor of Education at UniSA, graduating in 2004.
Since that time I have done some school teaching, but mostly I have been involved in other marine education activities such as developing marine education resources for schools and providing schools with marine education services such as teacher workshops and student sessions. See the Schools page for more information.
During all this I was the SA Representative for the Marine Education Society of Australasia for 5 years, and Vice President for 1 year. In this role I ran teacher workshops, developed resources for Seaweek and helped to organise a national marine education conference in Adelaide.
Right now I am a member of:
- Australian Marine Sciences Association
- Australian Science Communicators
- Australian Coastal Society
- Friends of Gulf St Vincent
I currently work at the Conservation Council of South Australia as the Biodiversity Program Co-ordinator, where I implement a variety of terrestrial and marine biodiversity programs.
