2026 MJK bursary recipients

Back again for its second year, in nipaluna/Hobart, Tasmania – The Landscape Recovery Foundation is proud to announce the 2026 recipients of the inaugural Melanie Jane Kelly Memorial Bursary, affectionally known as the MJK bursary.

Established to honour the late Melanie Jane Kelly’s outstanding contribution to conservation, this bursary supports innovative projects led by women in conservation, continuing Mel’s legacy of action-driven conservation and community collaboration.

The recipients were announced at the annual Women In Conservation Event held at The Theatre Royal, March 5th. (read about that event here)

This years winner, Leah Soo was awarded the primary bursary of $5,000 to fund her project “from clay to conservation, spawning habitats for the spotted handfish” which extends on previous conservation work by CSIRO, artist Jane Bamford and local sea star community groups, by concentrating pest removal, increasing Artificial Spawning Habitat deployment and monitoring these combined efforts to asses if the wild spawning habitat of spotted handfish, stalked ascidians, can also recover from these interventions.

Runner-up Alexandria Bullen, receives $3,000 for her work “Bleeding on the edge, identifying rodenticide toxicity in wildlife living on the edge in North-Western Tasmania” where she intends to establish reference intervals for clotting times in both bandicoots and quolls affected by rodenticide toxicity, allowing more accurate and timely diagnosis of clinically affected, live marsupials.

“We were excited this year to see a growth in applications, and again, what an amazing showcase of innovative conservation projects led by women in Tasmania,” said Dr. Josie Kelman, CEO of the Landscape Recovery Foundation.

The Landscape Recovery Foundation’s mission is to safeguard Tasmania’s biodiversity through cross-tenure, collaborative programs that translate scientific knowledge into tangible on-ground action. We are an organisation founded by scientists and systems thinkers, who know that knowing is not enough, and who value active ongoing engagement with complex environmental systems.

For more information on the Melanie Jane Kelly Memorial Fund and to view the full list of projects, visit www.landscaperecovery.com.au.