Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF)
Beth Kynaston
6.45 AM
Wake up
7.00 AM
I get outside early for a half-hour morning walk which improves my focus for the day. I must admit, sometimes I choose to sleep for an extra half hour instead, depending on what time I get to bed.
7.30 AM
Back in my apartment, I make a cup of tea and have a break. I flick ABC News on and get ready for work. I usually pack my lunch – but today is kebab day!
8.00 AM
While on my regional rotation in Melbourne, I’ve been driving to work each day. Luckily work is out of the city, so traffic isn’t a problem as it’s all heading the other way. When I’m in Canberra, I take the tram to work.
8.20 AM
The Post Entry Quarantine (PEQ) facility in Mickleham looks a bit daunting; several concrete buildings on a large (100Ha) site, surrounded by security fencing and CCTV. I pull up to the entrance, scan my pass and wait for the massive sliding gate to open. I scan my pass at the entrance to the admin building, and then again at the second set of doors – you definitely don’t want to forget your pass!
8.30 AM
I spend the first 20 minutes to a half-hour of my day checking emails. I receive ‘daily briefing’ emails, which are a collection of news articles, sorted by relevant minister or area of the department. It’s useful to read the news in detail for the area you work in. I also skim the other articles – it helps me to work out what’s happening in other areas of the department and gives me an idea of the type of work they might do. This information helps me to decide which areas of the department I’d like to work in on future rotations.
9.00 AM
I head out of the admin building over to the shade house (scanning my pass out and in). I have some cuttings growing in misting beds which I check to make sure the humidity and water levels are correct. The cuttings have been propagated from local cut flowers, which have been treated in the same way as they would be if they were from another country and were going to be imported. Only one herbicide is currently approved for this treatment, so we are completing an alternative herbicide trial to identify other chemical treatments which could be used to satisfy import requirements.
After checking the cuttings, I head into the lab. This is a biosecurity containment area. I enter the anteroom, put my lab coat on and wash and sanitise my hands. On the way into the lab, I step in the foot wash to sanitise the soles of my shoes.
I’ve got flowers in vases in the lab. These have been treated the same way as the cuttings. I take photos of each vase every day and assess each stem as a ‘pass’ or ‘fail’. I record the number of stems which have passed and note the ones which have failed. We do this part of the experiment to check that the chemical treatment doesn’t negatively impact the flower quality.
10.30 AM
Morning tea time! One thing I really love about this team is that we all have morning tea together. We sit in the kitchen (physically distanced of course) and have tea/coffee and a good chat about work and life.
10.45 AM
I head back to my desk to check emails and follow up as needed.
I spend time double-checking the project methodology document to edit and update where necessary. Some things like the number of flowers we ordered, and the days on which we have completed different parts of the experiment have changed.
11.30 AM
Each Monday, we have a team meeting where we provide updates on what we’ve been doing and things that are coming up. It’s always so interesting to hear about the work the rest of the team is doing. Lots of cool science! I think my favourite thing to hear about is the MinION work – which is a portable, real-time DNA sequencing device.
12.30 PM
I turn my attention to the hundreds of photos which I have taken of the flowers. I compile these into figures to use in a final report. This involves sorting, grouping, cropping pictures, and writing figure labels. There’s a lot to do, and I try and do a little bit each day.
1.00 PM
Lunchtime! Today is team kebab day! We eat in the kitchen, but when it’s not too hot (or cold), we head outside to eat.
1.30 PM
I check my emails and follow up as needed.
I begin to prepare for the next phase of the experiment – next week we will be potting up any cuttings which have survived the initial few weeks in the misting bed. I prepare labels on PowerPoint for each individual pot and tray and print and laminate them.
2.00 PM
I head back over to the shade house to check the cuttings on my way to the lab. In the lab, I label the pots and trays ready for next week.
3.00 PM
Time to turn my attention to some grad stuff! We are completing an industry project as part of our graduate program. My team is currently developing a project plan, which needs to include a budget, agenda etc. I complete some research on potential stakeholders and look over some other documents the team has developed before our meeting.
We meet as a group via the team at 3:30 pm to discuss where we’re up to, and what we need to do next. We make some changes to the agenda and start to develop a milestone timeline.
The office is pretty quiet today. People are either working from home, or over in the labs. There are only work stations set up at every second desk so that we can maintain physical distancing.
4.30 PM
Home time!
5.30 PM
I’ve been back home for a little bit and spend the next hour or so unwinding. I check social media and give my boyfriend a call. I give the apartment a quick sweep.
6.30 PM
I head across the road to the gym (which I’ve only joined since starting the regional rotation – there’s one across the road from me, so I have no excuse).
7.30 PM
I get back inside, pull out a frozen meal which I made a couple of weeks ago, and plonk down to watch some Friends/Big Bang Theory on TV, and scroll through Facebook and Instagram.
10.00 PM
I’m in bed after having had a shower and cleaned up after dinner. I’ll spend the next 15 minutes or so reading a chapter of my book. I always make sure I get 8 or 9 hours of sleep.