Dr Tarn Kruger

Tarn is a geographer and has considerable experience in both government and research spheres. She is a graduate of the Bushfire CRC education program and completed a PhD, which examined the extent to which local knowledge can enhance or jeopardise the work of bushfire firefighters.

Since 2010, her research at University of Melbourne and RMIT has focussed on the social dimensions of bushfires, natural disasters and emergency management. Tarn has a particular interest in rural communities and volunteerism and the way knowledge is constructed to build collaborative understanding, skills and practices.

Tarn is currently working with Dr Blythe McLennan at RMIT on a Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC project called ‘Enabling sustainable emergency volunteering’. The research considers ideas about emergency management and the need to shift and draw upon different perspectives to involve different people to broaden approaches and plan for the future in the face of fast-changing and uncertain forces.