• Wilderness navigation research by a Charles Sturt University PhD candidate could benefit search and rescue, emergency management, and protected area management
• The research project examines the relationship between human navigation behaviour and the terrain, and will take place at locations in three states (QLD, NSW, VIC) and the ACT with the hikes taking place between February to October 2023
• The researcher needs participants aged 18 years and over who spend time travelling on foot in the Australian wilderness

A Charles Sturt University PhD student needs wilderness hiking volunteers in three states and a territory to help her to develop a model of the relationship between human navigation behaviour and the terrain.

PhD candidate Ms Krystal Dacey (pictured) in the Charles Sturt School of Agricultural, Environmental, and Veterinary Sciences is working on a project to develop a spatial model that explores humans’ interaction with the environment.

The spatial model will allow the prediction of human movement in the wilderness, which Ms Dacey hopes will benefit search and rescue, emergency management, and protected areas management.

Ms Dacey is looking for volunteers who are over 18 years of age and spend time travelling on foot in the Australian wilderness to participate in a GPS-tracked hike.

“The locations are in Mulligans Flat (ACT), Noosa National Park (QLD), Bungonia National Park (NSW) or Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park (VIC) with hikes taking place between February and October 2023,” Ms Dacey said.

“Participants will meet the researchers at a designated meeting point in each national park where they will be provided with a GPS tracker. From there they will be asked to hike from the meeting point to a turnaround point and back, about three to four kilometres each way.”

Ms Dacey noted that volunteers who have already assisted with piloting the research have all enjoyed it.

Anyone interested in participating in the project, please complete this short survey prior to the event, or contact kdacey@csu.edu.au.

For more information, please see the project website.

In June 2022 Ms Dacey received an award from the ACT chapter of the Asia-Pacific Spatial Excellence Awards SSSI Undergraduate Student award in recognition of the high quality of her work while studying a Bachelor of Science (Honours) at Charles Sturt University.

Her project then was titled, ‘Using Agent-Based Modelling to prioritise search areas for lost people in the Australian wilderness’, and her current PhD research, titled ‘Navigation and the environment: Understanding the interaction between human navigation behaviour and terrain through agent-based modelling in the Australian wilderness’, expands on her Honours project.