Australians love spending time in natural environments. We’re proud of our iconic species and our incredible landscapes. But loving nature doesn’t mean people will always do the best thing for the environment. Indeed, all around the world, human actions cause most of our conservation problems. This means the solutions lie in human behaviour, too, but how do we get people to change?

Dr Lily van Eeden is an interdisciplinary scientist with expertise in conservation biology and behavioural psychology. She’s interested in how people interact with nature, and what factors cause them to act in ways that protect or harm the natural environment. This can include a variety of things, from exploring people’s beliefs about nature through to industry practices and environmental policy.

Lily has a PhD from the University of Sydney in human-wildlife coexistence. Her research there explored the human dimensions of conflict between livestock producers and dingoes in Australia, with a foray over to the United States as a Fulbright scholar to draw comparisons with management of wolves, cougars, and coyotes. She’s now a postdoctoral researcher based at Arthur Rylah Institute where she uses behavioural psychology to encourage people to connect with nature and act in nature-friendly ways.

Dr Lily van Eeden is a Superstar of STEM.