Liz Gabbett is a Geography Teaching Assistant and Laboratory Manager for UL's School of History and Geography.

Before working at UL, Liz was:

• Project Officer for the Maigue Rivers Trust, 2020-2023
• Support officer to UL Students' Union elected student representatives, 2013-2018
• Administrator for UL Clubs and Societies, 2010-2013
• Environmental clerical officer for Waterways Ireland, 2004-2010

Throughout her time in UL Liz has been an active member of UL's staff-led Environmental Committee and has provided support to UL's student-led Environmental Society.

In April 2025, Liz was awarded the UL President’s Staff Excellence Award for Sustainability in recognition of her work on protecting and promoting biodiversity and sustainable environmental practices on campus. 

Liz is a member of UL's Arboretum Committee whose objectives are to develop and provide oversight of UL's arboretum collection.

Having worked and studied in a variety of areas, i.e. ecology, IT, students' union, river conservation, elearning development, digital mapping, community development, enabling citizen scientists, farming and teaching, Liz has a diverse interest range. In the past few years, her research and passion have focused on catchment management, freshwater habitat management and education.

As a UL geographer, Liz assists colleagues in their research. Currently (Summer 2025) , Liz is assisting Dr Catherine Porter with 'Locating Bench Marks, Preserving Heritage: A Community Initiative to Record County Limerick's Ordinance Survey Heritage'.

Biodiversity Action Plan

Following 2 years of ecological surveying and research, Liz delivered the Adare Biodiversity Action Plan 2025-2030 to Adare Tidy Town's committee in January 2025.

UL Bioblitz 2015 & 2024

• In 2015, Liz and colleague, Dr. Yvonne Ryan, organised UL's first on-campus bioblitz as part of the Intervarsity Bioblitz coordinated by the National Biodiversity Data Centre. 510 species were recorded on campus.
• In 2024, UL's student Environmental Society hosted their own intervarsity bioblitz in UL under Liz's leadership. This time, student-led recording teams were mentored by seven local ecologists, and they logged their data using ESRI's Survey123 app. 570 records were collected and geo-located.

All Ireland Daubenton's Bat Survey

Since 2007 Liz has recorded Daubenton's bats on the River Shannon and the River Maigue every August as part of Bat Conservation Ireland's All Ireland Daubenton’s Bat Waterways Survey.

Ireland's Rare Plant Monitoring Scheme

Since 2023, Liz has monitored Schoenoplectus triqueter Triangular Club-rush on the banks of the River Maigue as part of the National Biodiversity Data Centre's Rare Plant Monitoring Scheme. 

Biogeography; Physical Geography; Geographic Information Systems (GIS); Sustainability; Human Geography.

2024-2025 Liz assisted in delivering the following UL modules:

• GY4002 Introduction to Physical Geography
• GY4005 Natural Hazards
• GY4033 Population Dynamics
• GY4028 Environmental Issues
• GY4037 A Sustainable World
• GY4007 Geography FYP I
• GY4008 Geography FYP II

Liz is commited to the Universal Design for Learning principles and in 2025 achieved her UDL badge from UCDs AHEAD programme.

Liz is an active collaborator with UL's Access Office. Liz designed and delivers the "Geography Rocks" workshop to both primary and secondary students who visit UL's beautiful campus. Both students and their teachers learn why geography matters and get to examine quarried limestone rocks for fossils looking down a microscope.

Outside of UL Teaching Interests

In 2022, Liz was commissioned by An Foram Uisce (The Water Forum) to develop a water module for second-level Transition Year students. The course was piloted in four secondary schools in Limerick and Tipperary and published on Scoilnet.ie and An Foram Uisce in May 2024. 

In 2020, Liz developed an online course on Bumblebee Identification for the National Biodiversity Data Centre that is used to train citizen scientists monitor bumblebees annually.