1996 Playford Trust PhD Scholarship
Kate was only the third student to receive a Playford Trust scholarship. Now she’s Curator of SA’s Waite Arboretum and Senior Lecturer at the Waite Campus of the University of Adelaide.
Her scholarship helped support her PhD studies at the Waite – specifically, her investigation of eucalypts for ornamental horticulture, for which she eventually received her Doctorate. She describes herself as ‘a researcher with a plant improvement focus, developing new and novel crops for horticulture with a special interest in Australia’s diverse flora’.
Kate has always maintained her connection with the Trust throughout her career and accepted an invitation to join the Board in 2011, saying it was “a great chance to give back to the organisation that provided me with so much”.
Kate manages the TAFE SA and Open Gardens Awards and is on the selection panel. She also works with members of the Scholarship Committee, who have ‘the hard task of selecting students!’