In May, we undertook the Invertebrate Systematics and Biodiversity Lab’s annual writing retreat.

In the past, we’ve held this retreat at the University of Adelaide’s Waite Campus, and before that, in Strathalbyn.

This year we returned to the Waite Campus, but at a ‘new-old’ venue: The Waite Gatehouse. This historic building was heritage-listed, but to allow for road upgrades to be made, had been moved in it’s entirety (stone-by-stone) to a new location.

It is now a fantastic function space, well-suited for use as a writing retreat.

The main goal of these retreats is to provide a time for students and staff to focus on their scientific writing. Whether this be a manuscript, research proposal or thesis. We also make time to meet in our smaller collaborative teams, to workshop projects to which multiple lab members contribute.

This year, we were lucky enough to have a guest presentation by Dr Kym Perry and Dr Kate Muirhead from the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine and SARDI.

Kym and Kate talked about the entomological research landscape that they are a part of, and gave our students advice on how to pursue competitive grants and tenders.

Access to information like this can help students both during, and beyond their studies, as it allows them to better prioritise their time, knowing what future opportunities may be available, and how to pursue them.

In addition to a few lovely strolls around the Waite Arboretum, which houses many native and significant Australian plants, we were also lucky in catching a full, guided tour of the historic Urrbrae House.

Urrbrae House was bequeathed to the University of Adelaide in 1924, along with much of the surrounding land that now makes up the campus.

The intent of this bequest was “to advance the cause of education and more especially to promote the teaching and study of Agriculture and Forestry and allied subjects”. This meant that a large proportion of the research undertaken at Waite had an entomological and systematic focus.

It was a fantastic opportunity to discuss all of the ways that the discipline of entomology has advanced over the years: methodologically, but also culturally!

We also held a group workshop, led by both students and staff, which was dedicated to discussing techniques for improving science communication through the use of figures.

Communication through figures can make or break a grant or fellowship application, which are critical for securing funding for research, or continued employment. So we hope this session will help to put our team in the best possible position over the next few years for continued research success.

This years retreat was a fantastic experience for our staff and students to come together and share knowledge and experience!