David Cheal is an ecologist and currently Assoc. Adj. Professor, School of Science, Information, Technology & Engineering at Federation University Ballarat.
David worked at the Arthur Rylah Institute (antecedent to DWELP) as a Principal Scientist from 2000 focusing on plant responses to fire. Before that he spent 3 years in Darwin researching fire and ecology. Initial research at Melbourne Uni focused on fire, soil and plant interactions in the Big Desert. David has had direct experience of fires – he lost his house in the 1983 Ash Wednesday Fires and was in Marysville on Black Saturday. He now lives in Redesdale.
David Cheal contributed to the Looking at the landscape: an exploration of places, values and perspectives on Saturday afternoon. This session involved a field trip to Mt Tarrengower, and then through the Muckleford Forest looking at past fires, their impact and ecological recovery.
On the Sunday morning, David spoke in the Focusing on risk session on Fires: new knowns, new directions & our old failures.
David is an author of several publications on our Resources page.
Talking Fire 