Show Notes
Send us Fan Mail What happens when we make the night brighter? In this episode of Finding Melbourne's Nature, we head to Uambi Reserve in Heathmont with wildlife ecologist Dr Kaori Yokochi from Deakin University to explore the hidden world of microbats, darkness and urban ecology. Kaori explains why darkness is just as important to ecosystems as daylight, how artificial light is affecting wildlife across Melbourne, and why something as simple as closing your curtains or changing the lights ar...
More from Finding Melbourne's Nature
Send us Fan Mail Neil Blake OAM has spent decades noticing and protecting nature in Melbourne’s urban landscape. We walk along Darebin Creek in Reservoir, a place Neil knows incredibly well. He’s the Port Phillip Baykeeper, founding director of the Port Phillip EcoCentre and, in his own words, a “Tawny Tragic”. As we search for Tawny Frogmouths along the creek, Neil shares his journey from growing up beside the Murray River to becoming a St Kilda park ranger and a lifelong advocate for urban ...
Send us Fan Mail Some of us have a relationship with Mullum Mullum Park without even realising it. If you’ve travelled through the EastLink tunnels, you’ve passed beneath this patch of bushland in Melbourne’s east. Above the tunnels is a whole world that’s easy to miss. Forests and creek lines are home to an incredible diversity of wildlife, including the threatened Southern Toadlet. I walk through Mullum Mullum with ecologist and herpetologist David De Angelis, President of Frogs Victoria. W...
Send us Fan Mail Southern Brown Bandicoots were once among the most common and widespread mammals around Melbourne. Today their populations are much more fragmented, making the population at Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne especially important. For this episode, I walk through the gardens with Eilish Roberts, Southern Brown Bandicoot Outreach Officer at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. We talk about what bandicoots need to thrive, why Cranbourne has become such an important stronghold for the...
Send us Fan Mail Gidja Walker OAM has spent more than four decades helping people understand and care for the Mornington Peninsula. An ecologist, ethnobotanist and artist, she has an extraordinary ability to see the connections between geology, plants, animals, water, history and culture. In this episode, we spend time with Gidja on the southern Nepean Peninsula, exploring the Coastal Moonah Wodlands and Calcareous Swales that make this part of Melbourne so distinctive. Our conversation moves...
Send us Fan Mail Yellingbo Nature Conservation Area is a fascinating place. Covering around 600 hectares of forest, swamps and winding creek lines in the Yarra Valley, it is home to two critically endangered species: the Helmeted Honeyeater and the lowland population of Leadbeater’s Possum. In this episode, I join senior ornithologist Bruce Quin on his rounds through Yellingbo, walking between supplementary feeding stations and encountering Helmeted Honeyeaters along the way. Bruce has spent ...