By Professor Megan Smith (pictured above, inset) Executive Dean of the Charles Sturt Faculty of Science and Health.

I live in rural Australia by choice. Like all rural Australians, I see the challenges facing rural communities as we mark World Science Day for Peace and Development this Friday 10 November.

For example, an El Niño climate pattern is taking hold and influencing weather events in southern NSW while numerous bushfires are already burning in northern NSW and Queensland.

The challenges of distance and diverse communities, together with climate unpredictability and variability, are impacting rural livelihoods through agricultural production, access to healthcare, and the protection of our environment, waterways and wildlife.

Science is essential to the sustainability of rural communities

Good science for rural communities answers questions that are relevant to and address the challenges experienced by rural people, involves rural people and builds the scientific literacy of those people to make sense of and apply scientific findings to their communities.

There are many great advantages that come with living in a rural community but the disparities in access to scientific research, education and resources make the future of rural Australia less able to respond to its unique challenges.

So, what is the state of science in rural communities in Australia

Is science able to answer the questions that are of relevance and importance to rural Australians?

In part, yes - local scientists, educators and innovators are working passionately and diligently to develop solutions that enhance agricultural productivity, conserve our natural environment, and improve the quality of life in rural communities.

We are seeing a greater focus of science driven by the issues of food and water security. Scientific focus has been on adapting agricultural productivity and sustainability to the changing climactic conditions.

Scientific advancements such as biotechnology, precision agriculture, biosecurity, climate adaptation and optimising carbon are contributing to essential food security.

Scientific research being conducted through the Charles Sturt Gulbali Research Institute for Agriculture, Water and Environment emphasises return on investment to increase productivity for farmers, improve natural environments, and reduce risk in agricultural and environmental management.

Projects like the Southern NSW Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub, a partnership led by Charles Sturt University, have been established to combat drought with a focus on user-driven innovation, research and adoption, and to facilitate transformational change through the co-design of research, development, extension, adoption and commercialisation (RDEA&C) activities.

These agricultural and environmental investments are leading exemplars of coordinated science-based, rurally located initiatives.

Health science lags in rural areas

This contrasts with the progress of science to address the challenges facing rural healthcare. The poorer health outcomes for rural Australians compared to their urban counterparts is persistent.

Science makes an extraordinary contribution to the quality of our healthcare in Australia but comparatively little of the investment in research is targeted towards addressing the rural-urban health differential.

A unified and integrated science-based solution to achieving rural health outcomes has yet to be realised. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the capacity to accelerate telehealth, improving access to health care and reducing the demand on rural families to travel long distances to access care, but advances in healthcare for rural Australians remains fragmented and under-resourced.

Charles Sturt University has recently established the Rural Health Research Institute, leads the Three Rivers University Department of Rural Health and is a member of NSW Regional Health Partners (NSWRHP).

However, the ecosystem for coordinated and integrated scientific investment in rural health is under-realised. Without a dedicated user-driven rurally based ecosystem, the capability and capacity to develop rurally focussed projects and advance innovation is difficult to progress.

Education resource limitations hamper science and science careers

There is limited access to advanced scientific educational opportunities, research funding and infrastructure in rural communities. Talented current and future scientists in rural Australia face barriers to pursuing scientific careers.

Education providers in rural communities face additional barriers to their urban counterparts as they seek to foster future scientists to answer the questions rural communities need to be answered.

Science education is the foundation for the next generation of future scientists and consists of access to education at primary, secondary and higher educational institutions. The evidence from primary and secondary school studies is that skills in science are falling with respect to international benchmarks and the numbers of students studying the breadth of science and maths is falling.

Students from lower socio-economic backgrounds and regional areas have poorer outcomes in science literacy compared to their urban counterparts.

Studying science provides students with critical thinking skills, problem-solving abilities and the ability to critically and rigorously interpret knowledge claims.

Learning science equips our children with the literacy to read, understand and apply scientific information.

Being educated in science inspires students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Rural communities need science

The trend for lower participation in science is important for all Australians but worryingly sharpened when applied to the future of rural science.

Fewer students with lower skills studying science will inevitably lead to fewer rural students choosing science courses at university. Students entering courses that require a firm science underpinning are more likely to be underprepared for their studies and therefore less likely to succeed.

Rural communities need science, and we need to be doing science in rural communities, supported by investment from government and industry.

Scientists are motivated by problems they see around them. They are driven by curiosity and seek to answer questions that interest them and are local to their world.

Failure to address the issues presented here will render our rural communities as failing to be able to address the challenges they are going to face.