Workshops

The RBMS is excited to present Dr Sue Pillans, a visual communicator / artist and scientist invited to attend the 11ASM Conference to capture through her graphic recording skills the big picture of our overall theme " Interweaving Water Knowledge". She visually scribes by active listening, synthesising and interpreting information in real-time, using drawing as a tool to illustrate and create a visual story. She will present her findings at the Awards Gala on the Tuesday evening.

Reflection Session -
Interweaving Water Knowledge

Sharing water language to interweave our knowledge and drive outcomes together

Weaving is the craft of lacing fibres together to make fabric, baskets and artworks – both functional and decorative. It is a practice that humans have used since ancient times, with the warp and weft of yarn, plants and rope creating distinctive patterns.  Once woven, the created object is a new form, stronger, more defined, resilient, and able to be modified as want and need dictate.

The metaphor of weaving will be used to explore our hope for this conference, which is to ‘braid Australia’s numerous threads of waterway knowledge together to revive our river basins for a brighter future’.  In this presentation we will unpick the threads we currently use in stream management to reflect on current philosophy and practice.  Once unpicked we have scope to re-braid, adding in any threads of knowledge that are missing.   Examples will be shared of where this process of unpicking and re-braiding has resulted in new forms and approaches to river management. 

Throughout the conference, participants will also be invited to share their thoughts and experiences of interweaving knowledge, as each of us bring our identity, experiences, language and networks which, when woven with others, create the connections required to protect and restore our waterways.  

At 10ASM (2021) we held a workshop where we looked back on progress over the last 25 years, and outlined where we need to go next as an industry. This interactive workshop will develop action pathways for our industry to meet these aspirations.   

Our aim is to bring together the community of ASM attendees across their diverse roles, career stages to share and interweave their perspectives. We therefore encourage attendance and participation by all ASM attendees. 

This workshop will comprise two sessions spread over 2.5 hours. The first 1 hour preparation session will prepare participants for the second 1.5 hour deep dive part of the workshop.  

Dr Sue Pillans 
Graphic Recorder, “Picture your ideas” 

Dr Sue Pillans is a marine scientist, artist and children’s author/illustrator who specialises in creative and visual communications to help “Picture your ideas”. As a graphic recorder Sue draws out discussions and presentations in real-time to visually capture and convey information, ideas and concepts. Sue has worked with over 65 organisations across Australia and the South East Asian region using visual storytelling to help make the complex simple and the simple compelling. 

Sue also combines her love of marine science and art to bring creativity into classrooms as her alter ego Dr Suzie Starfish. As a children’s ‘Authorstrator’ her children’s picture books engage, educate and excite children about the wonders of the ocean. Sue’s creative thinking style and colourful nature helps to make learning visual and fun. You can see more of Sue’s visual storytelling at http://www.drsuepillans.com/