This week, we’re bringing you stories about a wetland brought back to life, the return of an extinct bug, and an ocean prayer.
A Conservation Champion for Cheetham by Sandra Wilson
Bernie McCarrick, a former Parks Victoria ranger and site manager of Cheetham Saltworks, reflects on his role in transforming a former industrial site into a thriving wetland ecosystem. Alongside insights from Dr Mike Weston, the story reveals how careful water management and decades of on-the-ground knowledge sustain critical bird habitats.
Produced by: Sandra Wilson
Supervising Producer: Sarah Mashman
Key’s Matchstick Grasshopper by Ruijie Tang
In this story, the matchstick grasshopper’s grand comeback.
Following efforts led by Ary Hoffman to rediscover and protect the matchstick grasshopper — a species thought to have disappeared from Victoria after decades of habitat loss — his team draws on historical records and fieldwork to track the insect to a surviving population and begin the delicate process of rebuilding its numbers through conservation and translocation.
Produced by: JJ Tang
Supervising Producer: Thomas Phillips
Special thanks to Louisa Lim.
Water Trial by Renate Millonig
Amid a devastating algal bloom along South Australia’s coast, Renate shares a haunting poem capturing the grief of witnessing mass marine death.
“ In every breath we share, in every drop we drink.”
Written and Read by: Renate Millonig
Recorded by: Mel Bakewell
All The Best Credits
Host: Gabriella Accaria
Executive Producer: Melanie Bakewell
Programming & Community Coordinator: Catarina Fraga Matos
Production Manager: Kwame Slusher
Community Coordinator: Patrick McKenzie
Mixed & Compiled: Emma Higgins
Theme Music composed by Shining Bird
Special shout-out to all our volunteers
Protest_Zara_Day_22-03-2009.wav by eraylik — https://freesound.org/s/69954/ — License: Attribution 4.0