Dr Marie Ferland was a university lecturer /researcher (Australia, USA, and Fiji) specializing in Quaternary coastal and marine geology, climate change and environmental science. After conducting research at the University of Sydney with Prof. Bruce Thom and Dr Peter Roy, she worked at the University of Wollongong and several overseas Universities.
Marie returned to Australia in 2013 and worked as a Senior Geological Editor with the Geological Survey of Western Australia, from which she recently retired. She is now an advocate for protecting coastal habitat, native vegetation, biodiversity and Indigenous cultural heritage, and in 2021 she shared the Bessie Rischbieth Conservation Award in recognition of her efforts. Since 2020, Marie has helped to produce the Quarterly e-Newsletter of the WA ACS which shares relevant research, coastal policy initiatives, and news about the activities of local stakeholder groups, with the WA coastal community. Marie now integrates her lifelong interests in the sustainable management of coastal and marine environments with community education and minimizing the negative impacts of development and climate change