Miss Bernice Porter

Research Staff
Tree Protection Co-operative Programme

Research Interests

Greetings and salutations! I am Bernice Porter, I am a post graduate, having recieved my Honours and Masters degrees in Plant pathology at FABI in the University of Pretoria. I am currently a Research and technical staff member.  my formal title is 'Pine, Fusarium screening manager', and it is my duty to maintain and run the Pine screening facility located on the experimental farm in Pretoria!

I have also been associated with the TPCP tree disease Diagnostic clinic since 2008, my main job being that I perform the Fusarium circinatum diagnostic PCRs for the relevant samples that come into the clinic.

FABI has given me the oppertunity to attend various conferences, and I have presented posters related to my research at the SASPP conferences held in 2005 (Hartenbos), and again in 2011 (Bergendal, Kruger park).

At FABI, field trips were an integral part of the research, and still are a great oppertunity to interact and learn! this is a fantastic oppertunity to see the beautiful country we live in, and to learn about pests and diseases of exotic plantation, and indigenous trees!  Members of the FABI tree disease Diagnostic clinic, regularly go on field trips to lias with foresters, assess new disease outbreaks and monitor existing problems.  Going on these trips is ALWAYS a great learning experience! and FUN!

    

Other Interests

The great outdoors is my sanity check.... I have a great love for all of the 'misunderstood' beasties and organisims to be found in the great (and scary) outdoors.  Im a recreational bird watcher, snake hander... (yes you heard right, a snake handler... yes venemous ones too... yes I have permits and training...) and mushroom hunter!  A love of all things fungous was born at FABI, where I was exposed to the wierd and wild world of mushrooms and fungal pathogens, from fuzz in petri dishes to toadstools in plantations, I was hooked.  My esteemed colleague, the equally fungi loving Dr. Marieka Gryzenhout, and myself started to give guided walks in nature reserves and botanical gardens, taking people from the local community on a walk through the reserve, pointing out, and where possible, identifying different fungi.  We try to educate visitors as to the importance of fungi, not just in thier natural environment, but also to mankind.  If it were not for fungi, we would not have a fraction of the available antibiotics we have today, organ transplants would be out of the question, and hip teens would not have funky stonewashed jeans!

Let it not be said that scientists do not have a sence of humor!  I have had the wonderful opportunity of collaborating with the irrepressible Dr. Hugh Glen of the Durban Botanical gardens, and all the nice folks at Jacana publishing, where my cartoons (yes... Im a scientist AND I draw cartoons) were included in three of Dr. Glen's publications, namely ‘Sappi tree spotting - Kwa-zulu Natal and Eastern Cape’, ‘What’s in a name?’, and ‘Lifer list’, look out for these at a book store near you!