Our guests tonight are involved in an incredible underwater project that has gained a Guinness World Record, and combines art, science and humanity to protect the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. 

Based at John Brewer Reef, the Museum Of Underwater Art has created artificial habitats that attract and provide shelter for marine species and promote coral growth and regeneration. The unique installations have created awareness for the challenges of corals worldwide and revitalized and rejuvenated areas of the reef, fostering a thriving ecosystem where corals flourish and fish thrive.

More Information

https://www.moua.com.au/

https://www.youtube.com/@moua-museum-of-underwater-art

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Kathryn Kermode is a true Citizen Scientist who loves Australia’s incredible biodiversity. 

She shares stories on her YouTube channel of all the fascinating creatures that visit her very own garden in the Clarence Valley in NSW in Australia, which she calls her “Wild Backyard”; with a focus on the vital role that each and every one plays in the overall ecosystem and circle of life. 

Kathryn has a particular passion for growing native and endemic shrubs and trees to create a haven for wildlife in her garden, providing crucial food, refuge and habitat, and shares her knowledge for attracting specific species to her viewers. 

More Information

https://www.youtube.com/@KathrynKermode

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Stuart McKenzie is a licensed Reptile enthusiast, having kept reptiles for 15 years, and has been relocating snakes and other reptile species from people's homes and businesses for more than 5 years now. 

As the Owner of Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers, he leads a team of over ten highly trained and professional snake catchers, who are available 24/7 to assist locals by rapidly and professionally catching and relocating snakes. 

His business stars in the acclaimed National Geographic series, Aussie Snake Wranglers.

More Information

https://www.thesnakecatcher.com.au/

https://www.facebook.com/SunshineCoastSnakeCatchers

https://www.instagram.com/sunshinecoastsnakecatchers/

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He's described around 20 new frog species, built the world's first field-collected frog genome bank, and had a species named in his honour by a former student.

In this episode, we sit down with Emeritus Professor Michael Mahony from the University of Newcastle, whose career studying Australian frogs began with a university genetics assignment that turned up a genuinely bizarre discovery: a frog with double the expected number of chromosomes.

Michael takes us from the deserts where burrowing frogs can survive underground for years, to the disease that has driven seven Australian frog species to extinction in his own lifetime, to the citizen science programs, from decades of Earthwatch expeditions to today's FrogID app, that have shaped his research.

We also talk about the devastating toll of the Black Summer bushfires on frog populations, the ponds and genome banks built in response, and why he'd rather have an insurance policy against extinction than not.

More Information

https://www.newcastle.edu.au/profile/michael-mahony

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michael-Mahony-3

If you enjoy this podcast, please like and subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts.

Leave us a review and share this show with your friends.

It really helps us to reach more citizen scientists, like you.

Contact the Show

We are always looking for more guests to tell us about interesting citizen science projects, research and events.

You can email us at: [email protected]

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Darlene Cavalier has been named a National Geographic Explorer and Fellow.

She is a professor of practice at Arizona State University’s School for the Future of Innovation in Society and the driving force behind SciStarter. 

A Citizen Science champion, and science cheerleader, with a real understanding of the diversity of citizen science projects.

More Information

https://scistarter.org/

https://open.spotify.com/show/4N1dm7WjueDq2wIbjAuzxC

https://www.facebook.com/SciStarter

https://www.youtube.com/@SciStarter

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She's spent nearly four decades turning her Hunter Valley backyard into a thriving native habitat, and along the way, become genuinely close with the water dragons who now call it home.

In this episode, we talk to Maree McCarthy of Nature's Magic Garden Designs about why native plants matter so much more than most gardeners realise, the remarkable insect partnerships hiding in plain sight in Australian backyards, and the small mistakes that can trip up even experienced native gardeners.

From ponds that accidentally built an entire food web, to a butterfly that relies on ants to raise its young, to a moth that whistles for a mate, this conversation is full of the kind of details that change how you look at your own backyard.

More Information

https://www.facebook.com/maree.mccarthy.180

https://www.naturesmagic.com.au/

If you enjoy this podcast, please like and subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts.

Leave us a review and share this show with your friends.

It really helps us to reach more citizen scientists, like you.

Contact the Show

We are always looking for more guests to tell us about interesting citizen science projects, research and events.

You can email us at: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Laure Torre is a conservation biologist, marine educator, and wildlife researcher based on the Gold Coast Australia. 

She leads the Gold Coast Newborn Calf study, which has a large team of research assistants supporting it.

The goal of her research is to collect data to better protect newborn calves in this area, where many marine craft approach these vulnerable animals.

With a deep concern for the urgent issues of the climate crisis, habitat degradation and habitat loss, and a rapidly warming ocean, our guest, Laura Torre is dedicated to engaging young people and adults in meaningful conversations that inspire action for the planet.

More Information

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100079764758215

https://www.youtube.com/@WildLiveMedia/featured

https://www.facebook.com/chris.dick.52

https://www.facebook.com/groups/CetalFauna/

Hang around until the end of the show, where citizen scientists Chris and Drew ask our guest some compelling questions about whale behaviour that they have observed while filming with drones.

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Peppie Simpson runs the popular Whale Songs Charter boats based at Noosa on the South East Queensland Coast of Australia,

While on the ocean she collects data and contributes to the HHR whale research organisation based at Griffith University at the Gold Coast, Australia.

Spending a lifetime with dolphins and whales has led to a fascination with animal communication and as a result she has been a guest speaker at international seminars on the topic. She has been travelling to Hawaii regularly since the 90’s to swim and learn from the spinner dolphins.

More Information

https://whalesongsnoosa.com.au/

https://www.hhr.org.au/

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Australia is home to over 2,000 species of native bee — and almost none of them are anything like the honeybee. In this episode, we sit down with Dr Kit Prendergast, a native bee ecologist, taxonomist and science communicator known to many as "the Bee Babette." Kit takes us from the entomology club talk that sparked her obsession, through the painstaking science of describing a brand-new bee species (which she named after her dog, Zephyr), to the aerial circus show she tours to bring bee science to new audiences.

We talk buzz pollination, why she thinks common bee names should be retired in favour of scientific ones, the surprising research finding that flower-packed gardens can host fewer native bees, and what's really threatening these overlooked pollinators. Plus: simple, science-backed ways to make your own backyard more bee-friendly.

More Information

https://www.instagram.com/bee.babette_performer/

https://www.youtube.com/@TheBeeBabette

https://www.facebook.com/groups/buzzonwildbees

If you enjoy this podcast, please like and subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts.

Leave us a review and share this show with your friends.

It really helps us to reach more citizen scientists, like you.

Contact the Show

We are always looking for more guests to tell us about interesting citizen science projects, research and events.

You can email us at: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anastasia Guise is a grass-roots journalist, qualified ecologist, and published author.

When not writing, she works as a landcare leader in her intentional community in the Northern rivers.

Anastasia trains citizen science teams with a particular focus on forest protection.

More Information

https://anastasiadeguise.wixsite.com/author

https://firestories.com.au/

https://landcare.nsw.gov.au/groups/greater-sydney-landcare-network-inc/streamwatch/

https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/conservation-programs/bionet

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