Closer to Nature

In scenes akin to an action film, the Parks Victoria Biodiversity Science team, led by Dr Mark Antos, were flown on a military helicopter to a remote location in Gippsland to save an endangered bird from extinction before the devastating 2020 Black Summer bushfires swept through. Meanwhile Parks Victoria's Chief Scientist Dr Mark Norman explains a new decision making tool called the RAD Framework (Resist, Accept, Direct), and how this new way of thinking offers the best way to assist nature’s...

The lovable wombat is an iconic species at Wilsons Promontory National Park, but could it also be spreading an invasive weed that has rarely been seen in Australia before? Hear from Invasive Species Project Coordinator Ruby Wicks about the fight to keep the landscape pristine. Over at Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary, Marine and Coastal Sciences and Program Manager Michael Sams and his team are doing everything they can to keep sea urchin numbers under control in Port Phillip Bay.To stay up to...

Victoria's national parks and reserves are here to preserve unique ecosystems and wildlife. But they’re also spaces for us humans to visit and enjoy nature and outdoor recreation. In this episode we speak to Dr Kelly de Bie, Manager of Evaluation Information and Social Sciences, about what behaviours make a good visitor to a national park. We also chat to three inspiring volunteers from the Friends of Canadian Corridor in Ballarat who explain the work they’re doing to restore and rehabilitate...

Parks Victoria ranger Clinton Morton talks about the impacts of climate change on important tangible cultural heritage sites, like the loss of ancient middens through coastal erosion at Wilsons Promontory National Park, and the hard decisions Parks Victoria and Traditional Owners are having to make to decide what can be saved. Click here for more information about this episode. To stay up to date with the latest conservation efforts happening in our parks, subscribe to Conservation and Scienc...

The tiny Mountain Pygmy Possum lives high up in the Victorian Alps, where the Bogong Moth migrates to for spring. And without the Bogong Moth’s migration, the Mountain Pygmy Possum’s survival would be at risk - because in nature, everything is linked. From animals, to trees, plants and fungi - all living creatures are connected and incredibly vulnerable to things like changing weather patterns, caused by climate change. Click here for more information about this episode. To stay up to date wi...