Tahn Miller is a Master Reef Guide who has spent 14 years observing and teaching people about magical creatures on the Great Barrier Reef. Join us as we swap crazy stories about close encounters with these incredible animals, while counting down the Top 8 Fantastic Beasts of the Great Barrier Reef and Where to Find Them! (JK Rowling reference, for the Muggles out there).

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Support the show

• Got questions? Text us on 0437 835 937 or email [email protected]
• Sign the Petition, asking the Australian Government for stronger policies to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
• Support Word on the Reef on Patreon
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram
• If you'd like to ask a question, be a guest on the podcast or suggest a topic, contact: [email protected]

Winter is an incredible time to see, hear, and even swim with whales on the Great Barrier Reef! But they also get up to some pretty weird things, and today we'll learn all about the secrets of whales from someone who has dedicated his life to studying them.

• Sign the petition to stop whale entanglements in shark nets 
• Learn more about "Humpbacks and High Rises"
• Help whales with the Australian Marine Conservation Society's whale protection campaign.

Support the show

• Got questions? Text us on 0437 835 937 or email [email protected]
• Sign the Petition, asking the Australian Government for stronger policies to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
• Support Word on the Reef on Patreon
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram
• If you'd like to ask a question, be a guest on the podcast or suggest a topic, contact: [email protected]

It's official - we are in the midst of the world’s worst coral bleaching event on record, affecting two thirds of corals globally, spanning some 64 countries and territories. We've already explored some of the impacts on the Great Barrier Reef - this week we'll head overseas to find out about the impacts in other countries.

To see the map discussed in this episode: https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/noaa-confirms-4th-global-coral-bleaching-event

Support the show

• Got questions? Text us on 0437 835 937 or email [email protected]
• Sign the Petition, asking the Australian Government for stronger policies to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
• Support Word on the Reef on Patreon
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram
• If you'd like to ask a question, be a guest on the podcast or suggest a topic, contact: [email protected]

In the 1960s, the future of the Great Barrier Reef was in jeopardy when a covert deal to drill for oil threatened its survival. A brave group of volunteers took on powerful forces and won, saving the Reef for future generations. Today we're talking with two of those heroes - Eddie Hegerl and Di Tarte. This episode reveals their inspiring fight and why their battle still matters today.

Support the show

• Got questions? Text us on 0437 835 937 or email [email protected]
• Sign the Petition, asking the Australian Government for stronger policies to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
• Support Word on the Reef on Patreon
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram
• If you'd like to ask a question, be a guest on the podcast or suggest a topic, contact: [email protected]

In the late 1960s, the Great Barrier Reef faced destruction from coral mining to supply materials for fertilizer and concrete. Few knew or cared about it, until a group of passionate volunteers stepped in to stop the devastation. In this episode, we meet Eddie Hegerl and Di Tarte, two of the original trailblazers who fought to protect the Reef. Hear their powerful story and explore the hidden history of how close we came to losing one of the world’s greatest natural wonders.

Episode Image: A young Eddie Hegerl.

References:

• Daley, Ben, and Griggs, Peter (2006) Mining the reefs and cays: coral, guano and rock phosphate extraction in the Great Barrier Reef, 1844-1940. Environment and History, 12 (4). pp. 395-433. 
• Wright, J. (2014). The Coral Battleground (3rd ed.). Spinifex Press.
• Bowen, J., & Bowen, M. (2002). The Great Barrier Reef: History, Science, Heritage. Cambridge University Press.
• McCalman, I. (2015). The Reef: A Passionate History (Reprint ed.). Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

See also: www.ninneyrise.com

Support the show

• Got questions? Text us on 0437 835 937 or email [email protected]
• Sign the Petition, asking the Australian Government for stronger policies to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
• Support Word on the Reef on Patreon
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram
• If you'd like to ask a question, be a guest on the podcast or suggest a topic, contact: [email protected]

🐢  Sea turtles can grow to the size of a table, navigate using magnets in their brain, and fight off gangs of sharks. 🦈  But after 100 million years in our oceans, their existence is now under threat. This week we visit Raine Island with Marine Biologist and Emmy-winning cinematographer Richard Fitzpatrick to find out why.

Support the show

• Got questions? Text us on 0437 835 937 or email [email protected]
• Sign the Petition, asking the Australian Government for stronger policies to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
• Support Word on the Reef on Patreon
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram
• If you'd like to ask a question, be a guest on the podcast or suggest a topic, contact: [email protected]

This week we visit a coral nursery near Port Douglas, to see how tourism operators are teaming up with scientists to care for their patches of reef. The Coral Nurture Program is showing promising results - but what are its limitations, and what role does it play in protecting our Reef? 🪸

Support the show

• Got questions? Text us on 0437 835 937 or email [email protected]
• Sign the Petition, asking the Australian Government for stronger policies to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
• Support Word on the Reef on Patreon
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram
• If you'd like to ask a question, be a guest on the podcast or suggest a topic, contact: [email protected]

The Marine Park Authority has confirmed the Great Barrier Reef is experiencing its seventh mass coral bleaching event - the fifth in just eight years, driven by global warming 🫠 This week we head to stunning Lizard Island to find out what's causing this disaster and what we can all do to help 🏝️ 

Note: At the end of the episode I mentioned a petition you can sign to help protect the Reef; I've just been notified that the petition is still under construction and will hopefully be live some time next week (from 25 March).

Support the show

• Got questions? Text us on 0437 835 937 or email [email protected]
• Sign the Petition, asking the Australian Government for stronger policies to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
• Support Word on the Reef on Patreon
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram
• If you'd like to ask a question, be a guest on the podcast or suggest a topic, contact: [email protected]

“The Reef is our nervous system. It’s made up of land, sea , sky, animals, and people… Once we destroy that nervous system, it’s critical damage for our body. Because we are all one." 🙌🏽 🌏 This week, Gooreng Gooreng man Malachi Johnson talks about how Indigenous ways of viewing the world can help us heal our relationship with the Reef, heal our relationship with each other, and ultimately, heal ourselves. 🖤💛❤️

Support the show

• Got questions? Text us on 0437 835 937 or email [email protected]
• Sign the Petition, asking the Australian Government for stronger policies to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
• Support Word on the Reef on Patreon
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram
• If you'd like to ask a question, be a guest on the podcast or suggest a topic, contact: [email protected]

The Marine Park Authority has confirmed severe coral bleaching is unfolding on the southern section of the Great Barrier Reef 🪸 So this week, we head to Heron Island to meet the island's chief scientist and see first-hand what's happening 🏝️.

Support the show

• Got questions? Text us on 0437 835 937 or email [email protected]
• Sign the Petition, asking the Australian Government for stronger policies to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
• Support Word on the Reef on Patreon
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram
• If you'd like to ask a question, be a guest on the podcast or suggest a topic, contact: [email protected]