Tara Johnstone has worked as a Horticulturist for many years, initially with local council caring for public gardens in Noosa, Queensland. Through her work and studies Tara developed a keen interest in horticulture, in particular, food crops. She has worked in international development on projects in the Pacific Islands since 2014, working with growers and farmer groups from farm to market. Since completing her honours degree in 2017 at UniSC, Tara has worked in a research capacity at UniSC and with the Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research. Most recently, Tara has worked on ACIAR HORT/2019/165 Enhanced fruit systems for Tonga and Samoa (Phase 2): Community based citrus production working with farmers and woman’s groups to improve citrus production with improved varietal selections and propagation. Her involvement in this project has further enriched Tara’s knowledge of citrus crops, confirming to her that her favourite place to work is out in a field under the Pacific sky.
Research
Publications
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McKenzie, Tara J., Lila Singh-Peterson, and Steven J. R. Underhill. 2017. "Quantifying Postharvest Loss and the Implication of Market-Based Decisions: A Case Study of Two Commercial Domestic Tomato Supply Chains in Queensland, Australia" Horticulturae 3, no. 3: 44. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae3030044
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Carter RW, O'Rourke V, Livingstone T, McKenzie T, Lyell M, Brown J, Marsden P, Gray J, McMackin F, Knight J, Kelly K & Roiko A, 2013, Strategic guidelines for sustainable tourism on the Khmer coast, report to the Ministry of Tourism, Royal Government of Cambodia, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia, 84pp. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rodney-Carter/publication/272747722_Strategic_guidelines_for_sustainable_tourism_on_the_Khmer_coast/links/54f9efa00cf25371374fff4d/Strategic-guidelines-for-sustainable-tourism-on-the-Khmer-coast.pdf
Professional
Awards and memberships
Most recently, Tara has worked on ACIAR HORT/2019/165 Enhanced fruit systems for Tonga and Samoa (Phase 2): Community based citrus production working with farmers and woman’s groups to improve citrus production with improved varietal selections and propagation. The project is lead by ACPIR's Professor Steven J.R. Underhill.