Erica Shedley

Erica was born in Bridgetown in the beautiful south-west of Western Australia and lived her early years on the family farm. She studied at the University of WA and University of New England in New South Wales to complete a Science Degree in Botany, Ecology and Horticulture. Erica then moved back to the family farm with her husband, growing merino wool and cereal cropping, and later developing a small vineyard and winery. With the downturn in the wool industry, Erica returned to study and completed her Honours in Biological Science at Murdoch University, and her PhD in Botany and Ecology at UWA. Erica worked in biodiversity monitoring in natural resource management, as Research Forester in the plantation industry, a consultant in fire ecology, then as Threatened Flora Officer, Project Officer, Regional Leader for Nature Conservation, and as Research Scientist for the Department of Parks and Wildlife in various regions in WA, her main research interests being fire ecology, threatened flora management, and threatened fauna habitat analysis. Erica also conducted private Bird and Wildflower tours throughout the south-west and started her own Southern Flora Wildflower Nursery. The nursery offers a select range of south-west native species to encourage greater awareness of our amazingly diverse flora and to attract birds.