PROTECT

A warming and drying climate is connected to the increased frequency, severity and duration of extreme wildfire weather conditions in Australia. And in the months leading up to Summer, Australian's are reminded of bushfire season and advised by government and community organisations to prepare. Generally, the recommendations are for people who live in bushfire prone areas to prepare their homes and ensuring they have an evacuation plan. But I wanted to find out how our natural spaces are being prepared through appropriate land management. So, I reached out to the team at Firesticks, a national Indigenous network that works with communities and organisations to help restore the cultural wellbeing and identity of their country. I had the pleasure of speaking to Thungutti, Bundjalung and Mualgal man and Lead Fire Practitioner Leeton Lee. Leeton works across Southeast Queensland and brings a wealth of traditional knowledge to this episode on the climate and community benefits of cultural land management. We had a great conversation discussing Country of Fire, where timed burns are used to improve the health of the land plus how local land management plays a critical role to reduce the risk of bushfires, improve natural areas for endangered animals and when it comes to reforestation, why plant selection is so important. It was also a personal reminder of the incredible value in Indigenous voices whose traditional knowledge can help us rethink current climate policies and adapt to what is truly suitable for our survival. I hope you enjoy the episode. You can learn more about Firesticks through their website, donate or follow them on their socials below: Facebook Instagram This audio was edited by Peter Magill.

While oil and energy garner the bulk of attention for the climate crisis, there is another major culprit - the fashion industry that is responsible for 8 to 10 per cent of global carbon emissions. Impacts include water and plastic pollution and fashion is also a major human rights issue through fast fashion's unethical production. There is a lot of work to do for the industry to align with the Paris Agreements 1.5-degree pathway and in Australia, we are large fashion consumers. With a population of approximately 26 million, on average, Australian's buy 56 brand new items of clothing a year. So here to help me explore how we can all improve our fashion footprint is communication and brand specialist Tiffanie Darke. With over 30 year's experience in editorial sensibility and commercial strategy, Tiffanie is the co-founder of Ibiza's luxury sustainability fashion boutique, AGORA and the creator of Rule of Five – a global movement where participants only buy five fashion items a year. Tiffanie and I discuss what makes a garment truly sustainable from fabric and production to sale. She also offers advice on how to shop sustainably and even alter current items in our wardrobes to give our clothes longevity. We also discuss the sustainability concerns around new plant-based materials and the responsibility of designers to create fashion items with circularity. Tiffanie's transformation from luxury fashion consumer to one of sustainable fashion advocate is inspiring and achievable without costing the earth. I hope you enjoy the episode. You can follow Tiffanie via her Instagram and read her newsletters at: Its Not Sustainable Rule of Five This audio was edited by Peter Magill.

Mike Coots grew up on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The lifestyle fuelled his obsession with the ocean along with an aspiration to be a professional bodyboarder. When he was 18 years old, Mike and his teammates took to the water one morning looking to catch a wave at Majors Bay where Mike was almost killed by a Tiger Shark. Mike's survival instincts helped him paddle back to shore and with the help of his friends and passersby who witnessed the attack, Mike survived but underwent emergency amputation surgery losing his leg. But instead of turning his back on the water, Mike went from shark survivor to shark supporter. Mike began to learn about sharks – their behaviour, their quirks and their environmental challenges. He has since spent his life advocating for their protection and has turned his hand to photography in a bid to share sharks' beauty and their critical place in the oceans ecosystem. Today, Mike and I discuss his recovery, shark conservation and his new book, Shark Portraits. To create this captivating book, Mike travelled the globe, free diving and scuba diving, often without a cage to record sharks. Mike has turned his adversity into activism and his respect for sharks and the ocean is contagious and inspiring. I hope you enjoy his story today. You can find out more about Mike via his website or Instagram or purchase a copy of Shark Portraits here. Two documentaries are also mentioned during this podcast. One is Shark Water and the other is Envoy – Shark Cull. This audio is edited by Peter Magill.

Women in wildlife conservation just make sense and continue to demonstrate that they are key to protecting nature and their communities. Patrolling the critical areas of the Greater Krueger National Park is South Africa's first all-women anti-poaching unit, The Black Mambas. The Black Mambas are women who are selected, trained and deployed rangers which avoid a gun-first approach instead working to deescalate conflict towards potential poachers protecting The Big 5 and countless other animals. Today on the podcast, I speak to the founder and director of Transfrontier Africa and founder and manager of the Black Mambas, Craig Spencer. Craig discusses his innate traits to protect nature along with the growing success of The Black Mambas since founding the team in 2013. The team have a gruelling schedule patrolling the African landscape but are also creating sustainable incomes for their families and communities including supporting, feeding and teaching children the importance of wildlife conservation through the Bush Babies Environmental Education Program. We discuss the traits that women possess to see them successfully disrupt the poaching space without the violence helping create a happy and peaceful landscape. I hope you enjoy the episode. You can support The Black Mambas here or follow them on Instagram for updates. Learn more about Transfrontier Africa here including the Bush Babies Environmental Program. This audio is edited by Peter Magill.

Have you been to or seen photos of the Arctic? It's unparalleled beauty with magnificent blue glaciers, maybe a whiskered seal moving through its crystal waters or a polar bear trekking across the ice. But this beautiful region is being challenged with temperatures in the Arctic rising faster than anywhere on Earth. The effects of climate change are seeing the tampering of weather, melting ice, rising sea levels and threatened wildlife. To help me unpack what's happening in The Arctic is today's guest, Dr. Kimberley Miner, who is a climate scientist and program manager at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab. Her research on climate risks have taken her to the planet's extreme environments from the North Pole to Antarctica and Mount Everest. From rising temperatures, thawing permafrost, wildlife and a core culprit – fossil fuels, Dr. Miner details where the Arctic sits from a climate perspective and how we can help protect it. I hope you enjoy the episode. You can learn more and connect with Dr. Miner on her website. This audio is edited by Peter Magill.

Following a year of animal welfare campaigns, on the ground demonstrations, fundraisers, petitions and political briefings, World Animal Protection are celebrating some significant wins for 2023. Today, I welcome back Ben Pearson who is World Animal Protection's Country Director Australia and New Zealand. Ben manages programmes for animals on farms and animals in the wild with a key campaign on wildlife tourism. He has more than 24 years experience advocating for the environment and animals. Ben reveals some incredible wins for animal welfare here in Australia and we also get an update on what the team is working on from crocodiles to chickens in the year ahead. It's an encouraging conversation on how much we can achieve when we advocate for the kind and ethical treatment of all animals. Whether we bring our voices, our signatures or just our kind selves, change happens. I hope you enjoy the episode. You can find out more, donate or get campaign updates at worldanimalprotection.org or follow their social pages. Facebook Instagram YouTube As mentioned on the episode today, if you're interested in my last conversation with ben on How To Be A Friendly Animal Traveller, you can listen here.

In 2009, a documentary called The Cove was released to expose the not so secret annual capture and slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan. Today, 13 years on, animal activist groups continue to fight to close The Cove and its hellish hunt practice including Hannah Tait, CEO of Action for Dolphins who joins me on the podcast today. Hannah and I discuss the controversial drive hunt method of dolphins that sees them cruelly slaughtered in what is excused as cultural tradition. For the dolphins that do survive after the traumatic event, they will find themselves separated from their families and transported to marine parks across the globe - alone, confined and subject to entertaining humans daily until their death. Sound horrific? It is...and while animal welfare is discussed today along with what actually happens over on the shores of Taiji, Hannah also reveals all of the incredible activism in progress to stop the hunt and how we can help. Dolphins live rich, social lives in the wild - let's keep them there. To learn more about Action for Dolphins please visit their website here and you can also sign the petition You can watch The Cove documentary on Stan in Australia or see other platforms for streaming in your country. https://watchdocumentaries.com/the-cove/

Losing rainforests continues to wreak havoc on our climate and world leaders (yet again) have pledged to end deforestation. But waiting for policy makers is never the solution and today I sought to speak to someone who is doing ground work on reforestation. I came across a brilliant charity, ReForest Now and am delighted to bring you my conversation with their CEO and Co-Founder, Maximo Bottaro. ReForest Now is a young and fast-growing charity in Byron Bay and as their name suggests, they are working tirelessly to rewild bare paddocks to much needed rainforest cover in Australia. Since 2018, the team has grown to 29 employees and they are on their way to achieve planting 250,000 trees by the end of 2021. The organisation is diversified into several categories of environmental work including rainforest nursery tree planting, bush regeneration, maintenance and partnership teams. Like many people, I knew the basics around rainforests - they absorb carbon, produce oxygen, cool the planet, house animals but today, Maximo delves into the fascinating science behind rainforests and their ability to truly stabilise the climate. Today Maximo takes us behind the scenes of ReForest Now and hot to design and protect a rainforest. We discuss the charity's incredible achievements in such a small amount of time and how they remain accountable to their donors. Maximo has a refreshing take on climate change activism as we discuss how we are all responsible to be of service to our environment. I hope you enjoy today's episode with Maximo. He brings so much value to the climate conversation today and I hope it might encourage a new respect and desire to protect our much needed rainforests. You can find out more about ReForest Now through their website and even get involved with tree planting. You'll can also connect with them on Facebook or Instagram.

Today I am delighted to invite back Dr Leonardo Guida, Marine Biologist and Senior Shark Campaigner at Australian Marine Conservation Society. Leo discusses outdated culling technology and the recent whale net entanglements that have seen mainstream media provide coverage of this cruel and outdated "protection" system. He also reveals the physical distress and sometimes death that a shark will endure when caught at no fault of their own - by just being a wild animal. We also discuss the likelihood of our interaction with a shark and what measures are out there to help. We also get an update from Leo on current campaign success, discuss his contribution to documentary, Envoy - Shark Cull and we do a little dreaming about what ocean policies he would change tomorrow if he could. I hope you enjoy the episode. You can connect with Leo on Twitter and learn more and put your support behind sharks through Australian Marine Conservation Society and Shark Champions. If you haven't already, watch Envoy-Shark Cull and hear and see the research for yourself.

As travel borders begin to open across the globe, many of us have a new mindset post-pandemic - an environmental mindset as we couldn't deny that the slowing of transport and production industries and human activity during lockdowns saw the earth recover some of our damage. So when it comes to travel, how can we more more considerate of the environment when choosing our destinations, our method of transport or the activities we participate in on the ground? Well, I'm delighted to introduce you to today's guest who will reveal if there is truly a way to reduce our carbon footprint and travel lighter and travel better. Dr. Susanne Etti is the Environmental Impact Specialist at Intrepid Travel. Susanne leads Intrepid's climate action work including carbon performance, reporting and transitioning the business to the low carbon economy. So if you're feeling a little eco guilt about your next flight, or you want to find out how you can offset your trip or take the steps to travel more responsibly, and give back, today's episode is for you. You can visit Intrepid Travel and book your next carbon neutral trip on their website or learn more about their Climate Change commitments here. You can also follow Susanne on Twitter to stay updated.

Lions. Commonly referenced as strong, powerful, and magnificent creatures are under threat. Alone, they cannot continue to roam through the African Savannah populating and living as they are entitled to. Numbers are dwindling with lions targeted by the bushmeat trade, loss of habitat and human encroachment. According to today's guest, lion numbers half halved in the last quarter century with an estimated 20,000 left in the wild. So today, we're off to Africa and I'm honoured to host Peter Lindsey, life-long wildlife conservationist and Director of The Lion Recovery Fund. The Lion Recovery Fund's goal is to double the number of lions by 2050 through their science-based structure which invests in protecting landscapes designed to grow lion populations and other African wildlife by providing resources and education for coexistence between wildlife and the local community. In four short years, Peter and his team have had incredible success, funding a host of population and habitat projects across their rescue, recover and retain structure. And what they've set up is very transparent with every dollar accounted for and invested in conservation. I hope you enjoy the episode. You can donate or learn more about The Lion Recovery Fund through their website or connect with them on social media below: Twitter Facebook Instagram

Today, a compelling film which documents Australia's outdated and ineffective shark protection program is out on Stan. Directed and produced by Andre Borell, Envoy - Shark Cull explores the history of shark nets and drumlines (baited hooks) in Queensland and NSW. Through these so called "protection" means, sharks and other marine life are being unnecessarily and cruelly caught and culled through the outdated use of nets in the water in a misguided attempt to promote human safety at beaches. Envoy provides a lineup of marine conservation experts, shark divers, shark bite survivors, activists and through solid research and evidence caught on film will show you exactly what is happening beneath the water surface in a system that doesn't put people or sharks first. I hope you enjoy the episode. You can watch Envoy - Shark Cull on Stan from today - October 12. Stand up for sharks: https://www.envoyfilm.com.au/actnow Learn more at the Australian Marine Conservation Society and Humane Society International.

We are in the thick of a digital movement. Our screens are a core part of our daily lives and have served us well during the pandemic where the world was forced home and we sought to connect with loved ones, work colleagues, and even leaned on digital entertainment to help those lockdown days go a little faster. And there is no doubt that online activity will continue to rise. But at what cost to the environment? Today, I explore this question with my guest, Dr Mike Hazas who is a Professor in Human-Computer Interaction at Uppsala University, Sweden. Mike's research is concerned with everyday practices and digital technologies, and how they can be related to sustainability in particular energy demand and carbon emissions. Much of his recent work has focused on the proliferation of online services such as streaming social networking, gaming, and their invisible impacts due to the internet and data centres. We discuss the environmental impacts of our digital footprint from zoom calls to streaming, gaming and all the activities that require high energy demands. It's also a reminder of how we can be conscious of how we spend time online. Ways we can extend the life of our devices and our part to play in this space. You can connect with Mike at Uppsala University or on LinkedIn Below are some further links on this topic where Mike's comment was sought via the media. WLRN 91.3FM Miami, South Florida BBC News Metro News