Laura Skates

Laura Skates is an Associate Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences at The University of Western Australia, where she teaches in the Science Communication discipline, specifically SCOM5309 Citizen Science and SCOM3319 Exhibitions & Interpretation. Based in Perth, Western Australia, on Whadjuk Noongar country, she works at the intersection of botany, environmental education, and science communication.

Skates' research focuses on plant-world interactions, particularly the ecology and nutrition of carnivorous plants. Her work spans multiple disciplines including botany, conservation biology, and citizen science. She completed her PhD at UWA exploring carnivorous plant nutrition with support from Kings Park Science and the University of Bayreuth, Germany. Her research has been widely disseminated, with publications covered by numerous news outlets and referenced across social media platforms.

Skates has secured research funding from multiple organizations including the Ecological Society of Australia, Australian Flora Foundation Inc, and the International Carnivorous Plant Society. She co-led the Turning Gardeners into Conservationists citizen science project with Perth NRM and UWA, which investigated wildlife-friendly gardening benefits for biodiversity and human well-being. Her work has been picked up by dozens of news outlets globally and referenced in Wikipedia pages.

She has held diverse community engagement roles with organizations including the UWA Institute of Agriculture, Herdsman Lake Discovery Centre, Kings Park Science, and the ReWild Perth program at Perth NRM. As an active member of both the Australian Citizen Science Association and Australian Science Communicators, she bridges scientific research with public engagement through multiple platforms and initiatives.