I'm Poppy and I finished my BSc(Hons) in 2025 in conservation biology and ecology, looking at the social and environmental drivers of snake removals in South East Queensland. My Honours project was primarily supervised by Associate Professor Angela Dean and Dr Christina Zdenek, and co-supervised by Dr April Reside. I love all herps, however, I feel like snakes need special attention given the negative stigma imposed on them. I plan to undertake a PhD focusing on snakes in urban areas – hopefully bringing some much-needed attention to a taxon that is neglected in both ecology and conservation research. By promoting human-snake coexistence attitudes rather than reactive risk mitigation behaviours, I hope to galvanise public support for snake conservation and normalise snake presence. 

 

Controversial opinion: Most Italian food is overrated and is effectively the same dish in three different forms (tomato-based, cheese-based, oil-based). It's considered sophisticated but its popularity stems from the fact that it's a 'safe' and palatable option when you don't know what to eat. (I still like Italian food, please don't get mad at me). 

 

Favourite animal: Boiga irregularis (brown tree snake; subject to change)