Amy Murray

Thesis topic: Understanding the relationship between the environment, land use change and natural vegetation, over the last hundred years, in the Klein Karoo

Supervisors: Timm Hoffman (PCU) and Rachel Wynberg (EGS)
Collaborating Institutions: Environmental and Geographical Science (EGS), UCT
Email: amymurray6@gmail.com

Amy grew up on a farm just outside of Plettenberg Bay with a passion for animals and nature. After school she completed an undergraduate in Sociology and Psychology at the University of Stellenbosch, followed by an honours in Psychology at the University of Cape Town (UCT). She then worked and travelled abroad for three years. On her return Amy tutored children with Autism Spectrum Disorder for two years. Following this she moved to Kenya for 6 months for an internship with the United Nations Mine Action Service for Somalia. It is in Kenya that Amy met with a number of people working for the United Nations Environmental Programme who inspired her to pursue a career in the environmental field. 

Amy is currently completing a masters in environmental science at UCT. Her dissertation title is, understanding the relationship between climate, land use change and natural vegetation, over the past hundred years, in the Klein Karoo. Her research involves a number of methodologies including the analysis of semi-structured interviews with farmers, non-farming land owners, farm workers, government and knowledgeable people; climate data; land use data; and a series of repeat ground photography. Amy wishes to contribute knowledge for future land use management through her research and aims to use her social science background to enrich the human environment relationship.