Driven by Nature

PART TWO:

In this episode(s), we’re thrilled to be joined by Dr. Rosie Willacy, a invasive species ecologist based in Tasmania. Rosie has spent years dedicating her research and work to the understanding the ecosystems on Christmas Island and developing decision making frameworks for managing invasive species. Yanti and I were stoked to be in the same place at the same time, and absolutely loved getting deep into this topic with Rosie together. We enjoyed the chat so much we had to split it into two! Enjoy!

PART ONE:

In this episode(s), we’re thrilled to be joined by Dr. Rosie Willacy, a invasive species ecologist based in Tasmania. Rosie has spent years dedicating her research and work to the understanding the ecosystems on Christmas Island and developing decision making frameworks for managing invasive species. Yanti and I were stoked to be in the same place at the same time, and absolutely loved getting deep into this topic with Rosie together. We enjoyed the chat so much we had to split it into two! Enjoy!

Peter Stronach has spent his life in local, grassroots conservation, and is now CEO of Landcare Tasmania. For the past 30 years he has been based in Tasmania, and coincidentally, Landcare Tasmania is also celebrating its 30th birthday this year. In this conversation Pete shares his reflections on three decades of experience in community-based conservation in Tassie. We discuss how valuable it is to empower local people, with networks growing from local communities and local patches, to catchments, to the island scale.

This episode was produced by Yanti on muwinina land. Music was produced by Daniel Kowald.

Dailan Pugh is a forest activist based on Bunjalung country in Byron Bay. Dailan is one of Australia’s most dedicated and longstanding forest activists, and has been working both on the frontlines and behind the scenes to prevent the logging of forests in north-east NSW for over forty years. We take a deep dive into the goals and strategies of the North East Forest Alliance and the ongoing failure of

You can find out more about the North East Forest Alliance's work at: https://www.nefa.org.au/

Megan Langridge is a social scientist interested in environmental sociology - the way that people relate to, and are informed by, their environment. Meg cast her sociologist's eye on people within the forestry industry for her honours thesis at the University of Tasmania, and in this interview we discuss what she learnt from a practice of listening to people within the industry. Something Meg said while we were chatting before the interview, is that she asks people to suspend their disbelief just for this moment while we delve into another point of view. So let's give that a go!

Meg's research paper on the sociology of forestry workers

Meg's research profile at utas

This episode was produced on Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung land by Yanti. Music by Daniel Kowald.

In this episode, Carla talks with Nadia de Souza Pietramale from the Organic Landcare group, based in Mullumbimby NSW. Nadia has been working in Bush Regeneration for almost 30 years, and for the last 14 years, she has not used chemicals. In this episode Nadia and I discuss how big chem companies have set the narrative about the management of weeds in Australia,

Find out how you can get involved at

https://organiclandcareinc.org/

https://www.facebook.com/people/Organic-Landcare-Inc/100093499616080/

https://www.instagram.com/organiclandcareinc/?locale=en-TH

Rosie Fuggle is a microbial ecologist at the University of Sydney. She started her research career questioning why seagrass transplantations around the world were failing - what were we overlooking? Could it be to do with microorganisms in the sediment? This research led her to ask broader questions about resilience in microbial communities. In this conversation she introduces us to the vast world of micro-organisms and the ways in which they challenge and affirm traditional ecological theory.

Follow Rosie's research here.

This episode was recorded on the land of the Muwinina people.

Produced by Yanti, music by Dan Kowald.

Mbak Nova Ruth Senyaningtyas is an artist, musician and environmental advocate. She and her partner Grey Filastine perform stories of ecological crisis and hope around the world from aboard their boat the Arka Kinari. Their shows mix the traditional music of east Java, Nova's home, and electronic music.

In our conversation, Nova shares her insights on the role of art in activism, climate change from the point of view of the global south, and lessons learnt from a life on the ocean.

on spotify

Nova Ruth on bandcamp

Songs sampled in the episode are from the album 'Napak Tilas', released 2019 by Nova Ruth: Wong Kang Murka and Di Antara Perbatasan.

Thank you to Dan Kowald for intro music and Bellendena Small Grants Scheme for their support.

Recorded on the land of the Muwinina people.

Ella Roles is a keen bird watcher who is passionate about sharing experiences of the natural world with others through guiding and events. She is the coordinator for this year’s Bruny Island Bird Festival, held in March, which brings together science, conservation, community and creativity on the little island of the east coast of Tasmania. We explore the many facets of the role she takes facilitating people’s experiences in the natural world, and are introduced to some of the incredible birds of lutruwita/Tasmania. 

The Bruny Island Bird Festival will run from the 15th - 17th of March 2024.

Shoutout to Daniel Kowald for the intro music and the Bellendena Small Grants Scheme for their support.

Carla and Yanti are excited to be back with a second season of Driven By Nature. In our first interview of 2024, Carla interviews Harry Hackett, who is working to conserve Glossy Black Cockatoos on Bundjalung country in north-east NSW.

Harry, affectionately nicknamed-named after 70s TV presenter and naturalist Harry Butler, works with environmental NGO Wildbnb Wildlife Habitat on The Glossies Northern Rivers project. This project is a partnership between Wildbnb, WWF-Australia and NSW Saving our Species. We take a deep dive into the ecology and threats to the Northern River’s glossy black cockatoos and will see just how powerful the role of the community can be to protect threatened species.

Glossy Squad Facebook Group

Wild Bnb Wildlife Habitat

Black Cockatoo Identification