HydroTerra supports RMIT capstone project program

As part of my final year engineering capstone project at RMIT university, I have had the opportunity to work alongside HydroTerra on a project that combines environmental monitoring, data management and sustainable land restoration.

Together with my project team, I have been investigating the monitoring systems and data integration that is currently being used at the Mulloon Rehydration initiative (MRI), a long running landscape restoration program that HydroTerra has been an important part of, focused on improving the water retention, catchment heal and ecosystem resilience in a floodplain.

The project involved reviewing existing monitoring infrastructure, assessing the strengths and limitation of the current collection methods, and exploring ways to improve gain more interpretive data and how to manage it. With such a guide variety of environmental datasets being collected across the site, one of the key challenges was understanding how these different sources could be brought together to provide clearer insights into landscape and hydrological change.

Connecting university learning with industry experience

Working at HydroTerra while completing the project has been extremely valuable. Throughout my internship in product sales, I’ve been exposed to a broad range of environmental monitoring technologies, including groundwater loggers, telemetry systems, water quality sondes, meteorological sensors and data management platforms. All aspects that make up the large MRI network!

One of the biggest takeaways from the project has been that collecting data is only part of the challenge, you also need to understand how the data is stored, integrated, visualised and communicated to stakeholders.

As this project comes to completion, it’s rewarding to reflect on how much has been learned throughout the process. The experience has strengthened my understanding of environmental monitoring and provided practical insights that will continue to be valuable throughout my engineering career.

I’m grateful to both RMIT University, Richard Campbell and the extended HydroTerra team for the opportunity to contribute to a project that supports sustainable environmental outcomes while developing skills that extend far beyond the classroom.

Regards

 

Amelie Steel

Final Year Engineering Student

RMIT