There’s a magic to the Reef.

If you ask anyone about it, they might tell you the magic is in the sound of crackling coral, or the thrill of spotting the striking luminescence of a rainbow fish.

They may tell you how enchanting it feels to float above an underwater zoo, where every square metre is different from the last; that the magic is being delighted between every breath.

But to Senior Marine Park Policy Officer Alice White, the magic of the Reef lays within the people.

“Some of the greatest moments in my career have been working with Traditional Owners,” Alice White said.

“I now see working with Traditional Owners as being a big part of the future of managing the Reef. It’s the most exciting and rewarding part.

 

“It’s not what I envisioned I’d be doing at a young age, but now it’s a really big part of what I do,” Alice said.

Alice said she knew from a young age she wanted to be a marine biologist.

“We did heaps of camping holidays around Australia and that’s how I fell in love with the Reef when I was seven years old.

“Dad says it was on our first trip to the Great Barrier Reef when I was seven, he said he knew from then on what I was going to be. He tells a story about snorkelling Arlington Reef near Cairns.

“My mask wasn’t fitting properly, so my brother and sister went off with the guides in front of us.

“Dad and I stayed back but he said I just dived straight in with the fish and came up so happy.

“That was the moment he knew I was so comfortable in the water and captivated by the reef and its inhabitants,” she said.

Alice said another benefit of road tripping was her exposure to the richness of culture and community around Australia.

“I think that connection to culture started when I was on those holidays – (my family and I) would go and hear all those Dreamtime stories.

“All we learned about Australian history growing up in Ballarat was the gold rush, so those traveling opportunities planted the seeds of what was to come — my learnings and passion for Traditional culture and knowledge.

“Traditional Owners were the first marine scientists on the Reef, and I truly believe that the intersection of Traditional ecological knowledge and western science and management is where the magic happens.”

Alice has worked in many different facets of marine management, including recently with the Traditional Use of Marine Resources Agreements (TUMRAs) team at the Reef Authority, working with Traditional Owners in co-management of Sea Country.

After joining TUMRA, Alice helped coordinate a first-of-its-kind workshop, focussed on listening to, and sharing stories of women’s TUMRA business.

“The original basis of TUMRAs were hunting and fishing (which is) men’s business. But it’s grown to be much more than that — to be greater Sea Country aspirations.

“We organised TUMRA’s first ever women’s only workshop. Getting to work with these inspiring women...  being with them out on the Reef, hearing their stories, it was very (personally) inspiring.

“That created the platform for where women could come together and be heard, having a seat at the table, and getting the information from the Reef Authority straight from the source,” Alice said.

The workshop brought together 18 female representatives across 11 groups at varying stages of their TUMRA or Sea Country Values partnership journey.

Alice says the workshop was brought together through an identified need by female Traditional Owners to listen to women’s voices.

Helping to bridge gaps is a constant motivator for Alice, which has helped her refine a career path in the competitive field of marine science.

“I knew I wanted to go into marine natural resource management – I didn’t just want to find the problems – I wanted to find the solutions."

On her quest to find solutions, Alice undertook an honours project studying the foraging ecology of green turtles.

“Turtles are my favourite marine animal.

“They’re an interesting case study, they live in intertidal areas to the open ocean.

“Coming to the intertidal area is where they have interactions with humans — and that’s why the management is important."

While working with the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service as a conservation officer, Alice’s work took her to the protected turtle haven of Raine Island, which is closed to the public. The Island has one of the highest levels of protection given by government, and entry is not permitted without a permit.

Raine Island supports the largest remaining nesting population of the endangered green turtle. Each year, as many as 100,000 female green turtles flock to the shores to lay eggs.

“It was an absolutely incredible place to see turtles in that number coming up to the beach.

“To me it’s that real edge of life and death. You see the turtles coming up being born; from the moment they’re hatched, and the danger they go through to get to the water.

“Just to see them going from the sand to the water — the struggle they go through, it’s fraught with danger.

“Being a part of adaptive management, you could see the difference that that adaptive management project was doing to help improve the survival of those marine turtles,”

Seeing management from many different lenses, Alice also spent time as a ranger on Magnetic Island before coming to the Reef Authority.

“I commuted over there for about six months – it was an amazing experience.

“That experience helps me at the Reef Authority now to see the and understand Marine Park management from an on-ground perspective.

“My driver is to get positive outcomes for the Reef — so it’s there tomorrow. So the next seven-year-old can have the same experience I did and be inspired to protect it

And that’s what Alice’s current position in policy and planning at the Reef Authority works to do.

“It’s about managing the way we interact with the Marine Park to protect the values of the marine park, including ecological and cultural values.

“It looks at the way humans interact with the marine park — whether that be through zoning, plans of management, policy, creating rules so that we can enjoy the Marine Park today but also preserve it for the future and enjoy it in an ecologically sustainable manner”

“To be able to (say) my job is to protect the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park— to me that is the best job in the world. To get paid to do that; it’s pretty special.”

And for those wanting to enter a career in marine science, Alice’s advice to students is to be strategic.

“Follow your passion…volunteer and target your volunteering to places you want to work in the future.

“If you want it enough, you’ll get there in the end. And when you do, it is one of the best jobs you can have.”