About me:
Marine (social) scientist,
PhD student & mother
My name is Sharlene, I was born as Frisian at the North Sea in Germany, where I live with my husband and my daughter. From time to time, I travel to my second home: Australia. Since January 2024, I am doing my PhD at the University of Queensland in Brisbane.
I hold a Bachelor degree in Environmental Engineering (B.Sc.) and a Master degree in Marine Science (M.Sc.). My interest in natural sciences only came after I started a degree in German Studies, so that I changed my field of study back then. This was the best decision that I could have made because since then I have not only found my vocation, but also a passion: Marine (Social) Sciences. As a marine researcher, I have learned a lot about the sea, its chemical, physical and biological properties and everything else related to it. Since 2022, I have shifted my research focus from the natural sciences to the social sciences. In short: How do you find a balance between nature and humans?
My research deals with the question of how to create a balance between human and human benefits and nature and its conservation. Humans are not an independent entity that can be considered separately from the environment - we are nature, we make up a large part of nature, just like all other living beings on this Earth. And that is why we cannot be taken out of any equation.
We are a part of the Earth, and the Earth is a part of us.
Find me at UQ!
What defines me?
Home place love
Australia love
Ocean love
Research love
Outdoor love
Motherhood
Being a mother of a daughter has changed my life in many different ways. From finding a balance between motherhood, work and PhD life and keeping myself to questioning own thinking, behaviour and actions.
When my daughter came into our world, I already started to worry about her future. The confrontation with multiple crises on Earth, especially the environmental and climate crisis hit me hard. Knowing that her world will not be the same as my world has been in my childhood makes me sad and weak, but it also motivates and strengthens me to do better. All that I am doing I do for her.
To save the ocean means to save the Earth,
to save the Earth means to save her future.
© Photos are property of Sharlene Fechter.
The project
Here you can find details of the project, the time schedule and organisation, and of participation possibilities.
About the locations
Here you can find description of the locations Wadden Sea and Great Barrier Reef and important facts of the regions.
Climate change
Here you can find some information about climate change, sustainability and what you can do on small-scale.
About me
Who am I? Where am I from? How did I get here? And where do I want to go? All about the PhD student and her plans.
Participation information for Workshop Great Barrier Reef
Here you can find all relevant information and data about the workshop at the Great Barrier Reef.
Photos
Here you can find all the beauty of the Wadden Sea and the Great Barrier Reef captured in photographs. And some more expressions of the project, the workshops and much more.
PhD project by Sharlene Fechter at the University of Queensland.
Photos © Sharlene Fechter