Our TEAM
Tracy Lyten
Director and Conservation Dog Handler
Tracy has over 20 years of business management experience, including 15 years’ at National Parks land management agencies Parks Victoria and NSW Parks & Wildlife.
Tracy specialised in project management, natural values management, stakeholder engagement, community engagement, local port management, occupation health and safety, commercial operations and event management.
As a dog handler, Tracy was an operational Search & Rescue dog handler for 6 years. Tracy held a position as an Australian Search Dog Framework working group member with the Federal Attorney General’s Department in developing a policy proposal on Search & Rescue dogs in Australia to the Federal Government. More recently Tracy worked as a conservation detection dog handler, delivering on forestry, wind farm industry and predator control programs in Victoria.
Fiona Jackson
Director and Conservation Dog Handler
Fiona holds a Masters degree in International Animal Welfare, Ethics and Law from the University of Edinburgh. Fiona's interest in the use of detection dogs for environmental data collection led her to examine the behavioural effects of the dog handler on the performance levels of the trained detection dogs for her thesis paper; The effects of the detection dog handler on the performance levels of the trained detection dog.
Fiona has clocked up over 1,200 hours surveying with conservation detection dogs in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. She has trained dogs for wind farm mortality surveys, threatened species detection and invasive species eradication.
Fiona holds a Cert.III in Dog Training & Behaviour with the National Dog Trainers Federation.
Fiona is also a member of the Australasian Conservation Dog Network (ACDN) executive committee.
Dr. Stevie Florent, BSc (Hons), PhD
Head of Research and Development
Stevie is a trained scientist, holding a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Conservation Biology of Tasmanian Devils, with majors in Zoology and Botany, and a PhD in Evolutionary & Developmental Genetics.
Her background also includes work as a Research Assistant, Senior Teaching Associate for undergraduate genetics units, and as a Veterinary Nurse.
At Skylos, Stevie is responsible for the research, planning, and implementation of new Skylos Ecology projects and products. She has extensive experience in data collection & handling, critical thinking, research, and the scientific method, and is excited to be in a role where she can combine her passions of conservation, animal welfare, and science.
Nicole Baboucek
Conservation Dog Handler and Ecologist
Nicole is an ecologist with a diverse background spanning local government, private consulting and natural resource management roles. She has gained extensive field experience conducting various flora, fauna and biodiversity surveys across Australia, and holds a Vegetation Quality Assessment (Habitat Hectare) accreditation.
Nicole has a formal certification in animal behaviour and husbandry, and is excited to have the opportunity to combine her love of dogs and passion for the environment in the one role.
Tanya Lawless
Conservation Dog Handler and Zoologist
Tanya is a qualified zoologist whose heart lies in conservation and animal behaviour. She has worked as a conservation volunteer on game reserves in Botswana, studying the resident lion prides and other incredible animals on the reserve. She has also travelled throughout Australia and the world working in zoos, shelters, stables and with Guide Dogs Australia.
She is the co-owner/director of Unpacked Dog Education and Training with her partner Leigh and together they provide pre-purchase puppy advice, puppy consultations, run adolescent and scent training courses and provide behavioural consults with the emphasis on developing the human/dog relationship to a range of clients.
Though currently working with the brilliant Oakley, she will also be incorporating her English Springer Spaniel, Jarrah, into her work in order to achieve her conservation dreams and with every dog, make her a better handler and team mate.
THE SKYLOS DOGS
JIMMY
Jimmy is our superstar rescue dog. Handler Fiona rescued Jimmy when he was 15-months old. He's gone on to work on threatened species re-introduction projects, fox management projects, wild dog monitoring projects, as well as his regular wind farm surveying.
Target Scents:
fox scat, dens and scavenge sites.
wild dog scat and scavenge sites.
bird and bat carcasses (wind farm).
Thank you to Jimmy's rescue organisation Paws 2 Luv
© 2023 Skylos Ecology
Skylos Ecology PTY LTD
ABN: 28 630 055 524
Victoria, Australia.