
Show Notes
This episode was recorded to the land of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and produced on the land of the Muwinina people. We extend our deepest respect to the people of these lands, their ancestors, and their care of Country.
The Merri Creek is a 70 km long creek which runs from the Great Dividing Range through the northern suburbs of naarm, where it joins the Yarra. Ann McGregor has been active in restoring Merri Creek and building community around this place since the 70s, when it was infested with weeds and treated as a drain and sewer, to today. Thanks to the work of Ann and many other people who have come together over this waterway, it now hosts multilayered indigenous vegetation, birds, lizards, snakes bats and more, and has become a welcome refuge for city folk. Ann is a town planner by trade, and throughout our talk you can hear how her knowledge of planning and sustainable development inform her work in this space. We talk about the urban stream syndrome, the importance of engaging with local government, birds of the Merri, and the dream of the return of the platypus.
Friends of the Merri Creek
Upcoming events
Merri Creek Management Committee
Wurundjeri Narrap Rangers
MCMC insta
More from 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.
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 government policy in protecting Koalas.
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!