Draft:Michael-Shawn Fletcher

Michael-Shawn Fletcher (born 02 June, 1975) is a descendant of the Wiradjuri. He is a distinguished geographer known for his expertise in landscape ecology, long-term environmental change, human-environment interactions and environmental conservation. His research focuses on understanding the interactions between human activities and natural landscapes, with a particular emphasis on the application of palaeoecology to address environmental challenges.

Fletcher grew up in the Bayside region of Naarm, and studied Science Education at The University of Melbourne in 1993. Following a number of years of teaching in the United Kingdom, Fletcher returned to The University of Melbourne to pursue a Postgraduate Diploma and then a Doctorate in Palaeoecology.

Fletcher's personal website states that "My pursuit in life is to understand our world and the wonders therein. My philosophy is simple: with understanding comes appreciation and respect". .

As a researcher, Fletcher has focused on the long-term interactions and processes that shape the environments in which we live. He has made significant contributions to understanding Southern Hemisphere climate dynamics, the ecology of Southern Hemisphere temperate rain forests (with an emphasis on Systems Theory) and the meaningful integration of Indigenous Knowledge into academia.

Fletcher has published more than 80 peer-reviewed publications in the fields of climate dynamics, palaeoclimate, ecology, fire ecology, Indigenous Knowledge, environmental pollution, environmental conservation and geography. In 2022 he co-authored the book Plants for the First Knowledges Series with Zena Cumpston and Professor Lesley Head. In 2023, Fletcher's work featured in episode 1 the highly successful and groundbreaking First Inventors Series showcasing the knowledge and science of Australian Aboriginal people.

Fletcher was the inaugural Director of Research and Research Capability and the Indigenous Knowledge Institute at The University of Melbourne for three years (2020-2023), the first Associate Dean (Indigenous) in the Faculty of Science at The University of Melbourne (2019-2024) and is the Deputy Director of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures (2024-).

Fletcher currently sits on the Indigenous Advisory Board for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), on the Board of Directors for McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery and as an Associate Editor for the journal Geographical Research. He is a former member of the ARC College of Experts and scientific advisor for VicForests.

In 2023, Fletcher was named as one of the 52 Aboriginal people changing the world by Cosmos Magazine.

Life
Early Life and Education

Michael-Shawn Fletcher was born on 02 June 1975 in Naarm (Melbourne). He developed a profound interest in the environment and geography from a young age. He completed primary school education at Moorabbin West Primary School and completed his Victorian Certificate of Education at Brighton Secondary College, being the first in his immediate family to complete their secondary education. Fletcher pursued his passion for learning and life sciences by earning a Bachelor of Education (Science) degree from the University of Melbourne, where he majored in genetics and geography.

Following a period of teaching in the United Kingdom, Fletcher returned to Naarm to embark on a Postgraduate Diploma in Environmental Studies in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne where he undertook a research project investigating what was an apparent paradox between the long-term persistence of treeless fire promoted vegetation in the high rainfall landscapes of southwest Tasmania (Lurtuwita). This early research paved the way for Fletcher's PhD project that sought to understand the long-term evolution of the western Tasmanian landscape through the late Quaternary, with a focus on elucidating the role of Aboriginal Tasmanians in creating, shaping and maintaining their ancient cultural landscape.

Academic career

Fletcher took up a post-doctoral position at the Instituto de Ecología & Biodiversidad (IEB) in Santiago, Chile, between 2009-2011. At the IEB, Fletcher worked closely with Professor Patricio Iván Moreno on developing high-resolution datasets of ecosystem and climatic variability in Chilean Patagonia and Región de La Araucanía. Here, he developed a trans-hemispheric approach that advanced understanding of how the Southern Hemisphere Westerlies behave through time.

In 2011, Fletcher moved to the Australian National University in the department of Archaeology and Natural History (ANH) to take up an Australian Research Council funded 2-year post-doctoral position. At ANH, Fletcher worked closely with Professor Simon Haberle on understanding the interplay between fire, climate and rain forest in the mountains of southern and western Tasmania.

Fletcher was appointed as a Lecturer in the Department of Resource Management and Geography in the School of Land and Environment at The University of Melbourne in 2013. He has remained within the Geography discipline at The University of Melbourne since then, as the division changed to the School of Geography in the Faculty of Science and finally to the School of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences (SGEAS) in the Faculty of Science. In 2016 he was promoted to Senior Lecturer, in 2019 to Associate Professor and to Full Professor in 2023. Within the "Geography" group at the University of Melbourne, Fletcher has published widely in the fields of climate dynamics, palaeoclimate, ecology, fire ecology, Indigenous Knowledge, environmental pollution, environmental conservation and geography.

In 2019, Fletcher was appointed as the first even Associate Dean (Indigenous) in the Faculty of Science at The University of Melbourne. In the following year, he was appointed the inaugural Director of Research and Research Capability at the Indigenous Knowledge Institute at The University of Melbourne, a position he held until the end of 2023. In 2019, Fletcher testified in the Royal Commission in to Natural Disaster Arrangements that was formed in response to the 2019-2020 'Black Summer' bushfires in Australia. In 2020, Fletcher was invited to deliver the Narrm Oration, The University of Melbourne's key address that profiles leading Indigenous peoples from across the world in order to enrich our ideas about possible futures for Indigenous Australia. The Narrm Oration by Fletcher can be viewed here.

In 2024, Fletcher commenced the role of Deputy Director of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures (CIEHF).

Fletcher has become a key voice in the discourse over Australia's catastrophic fire crisis, using empirical analyses of past environmental change  to advocate a return and re-invigoration of Aboriginal cultural burning to return health to the land and mitigate the current catastrophic fire crisis. He has also been s strident critic of the myth of "wilderness" to describe the curated and cared for lands of Aboriginal people in Australia and Indigenous and local peoples globally.

Non-Academic Life

Fletcher played more than 350 games of Australian Rules Football in the Victorian Amateur Football Association for the Hampton Rovers Amateur Football Club. He played 300 senior VAFA games, captained the senior team for two years and sat as club president for two years. Fletcher played in 3 successful premiership teams (1995, 2001, 2013) and was judged best on ground in the 2001 grand final and awarded the Ritterman Medal. He represented Victoria in the VAFA representative side who played the Murray-Goulburn representative side in 1997. Fletcher was inducted in to the Hampton Rovers Hall of Fame in 2016