Word on the Reef

The Great Barrier Reef wasn't always considered a natural wonder worth protecting. 😮 In 1967, a small group of volunteers had to fight a battle to save it from being dug up for fertiliser and concrete. ⛏️ Today we meet two of those champions, and visit the place where it all started.Episode Image: Eddie Hegerl (left) and John Busst. Source: Friends of Ninney Rise.Referen

🐢 Sea turtles can grow to the size of a table, navigate using magnets in their brain, and fight off gangs of sharks. 🦈 But after 100 million years in our oceans, their existence is now under threat. This week we visit Raine Island with Marine Biologist and Emmy-winning cinematographer Richard Fitzpatrick to find out why.

This week we visit a coral nursery near Port Douglas, to see how tourism operators are teaming up with scientists to care for their patches of reef. The Coral Nurture Program is showing promising results - but what are its limitations, and what role does it play in protecting our Reef? 🪸

The Marine Park Authority has confirmed the Great Barrier Reef is experiencing its seventh mass coral bleaching event - the fifth in just eight years, driven by global warming 🫠 This week we head to stunning Lizard Island to find out what's causing this disaster and what we can all do to help 🏝️ Note: At the end of the episode I mentioned a petition you can sign to help pro

“The Reef is our nervous system. It’s made up of land, sea , sky, animals, and people… Once we destroy that nervous system, it’s critical damage for our body. Because we are all one." 🙌🏽 🌏 This week, Gooreng Gooreng man Malachi Johnson talks about how Indigenous ways of viewing the world can help us heal our relationship with the Reef, heal our relationship with ea

The Marine Park Authority has confirmed severe coral bleaching is unfolding on the southern section of the Great Barrier Reef 🪸 So this week, we head to Heron Island to meet the island's chief scientist and see first-hand what's happening 🏝️.

Meet Dr Kate Quigley, a molecular ecologist who has spent years studying corals up close 🪸. Lately, Kate has been selectively breeding corals to try and increase their heat tolerance 🫠 - a race against time as the Reef starts to show the first signs of coral bleaching for 2024.

This week we're off on a snorkelling adventure to meet the curious creatures who built the Great Barrier Reef. 🪸 On this fun and immersive tour, learn which types of coral grow on the Reef, what it's made from, how it grows, what it eats, how it reproduces, what poses the biggest threat to its existence, and what we can all do to protect it!

Meet our host and tour guide Tanya for a scenic flight over the world's largest Reef. ✈️ We'll spot some marine life 🐳 and learn about how the Reef was formed, its history, and some of the threats it is facing. You won’t believe what we’ll see along the way!