Justine Philip

Justine Philip graduated March 2017, with a PhD in Ecosystem Management from the School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Australia. Her thesis " Representing the Dingo. An Examination of Dingo–Human Encounters in Australian Cultural and Environmental Heritage" won the UNE Chancellors Doctoral Research Award, and was shortlisted for the SERLE award for the best thesis on Australian History, 2017-2018. The manuscript is now being prepared for publication as a monograph with Picador – Pan Macmillan. Drawing from archival, scientific, cultural and legal sources, the research examines the dingo’s role as a cultural keystone species in Aboriginal society, their turbulent colonial history, and the ecological impact of 200 years of dingo control.

 Justine's current research documents the use of poison as an environmental management tool for vertebrate pest control in Australia and New Zealand, and the long-term effects of this intervention on ecological function. The research is interdisciplinary; spanning environmental history, ethics and human-animal studies.

 Justine has a Masters in Animal Science, a BSc in Scientific Photography, and five years experience as a museum photographer documenting ethnographic and natural science collections at Melbourne Museum.  She is an Honorary Research Associate with the University of New England in Armidale, Australia, and Honorary Associate with Museum Victoria. She lives in Melbourne with her family of three University students and a number of other wildlife.