Leigh favours watercourses over dinner courses
Published on 26 November, 2009
Leigh Stitz has gone from planning dinner courses to monitoring watercourses and she's enjoying the change.
After years as a function manager working the swish venues of Noosa, Leigh decided on a change of pace to better suit her commitments as a mother.
LINK to Discovery could lead to safer CQ water
Leigh Stitz with some of her research equipment
"Science has always been my dream and I wanted something a bit more challenging so it was great to be able to study my initial undergraduate degree in aquatic resource management via CQUniversity's distance education program, while looking after the kids," she said.
"Hospitality was a rewarding career but now I'm enjoying hiding in my lab in between field trips to collect samples."
Leigh is halfway through her Honours research comparing toxic algal populations found in the Fitzroy River with those found in an industrial off-stream storage dam.
"Blue-green algae are important because some species can produce toxins and can affect our drinking water supplies. We aim to improve our understanding of what's happening with the algae and also how to manage it and predict it," she said.
"It's interesting to look through the microscope ... it's amazing what you can find in a couple of millilitres of water when you are testing it.
"I wanted to get a good background in this area because it's an important issue. I'm keen to continue into a PhD research project."
Leigh's work will be keenly followed by both her industry sponsor and the Fitzroy River Water Quality Advisory Group.
The FRWQAG has recently reconvened so to include all stake holders and be proactive in terms of communicating up to date issues and advising government on water quality in the Fitzroy River.
