In late 2022 I did a couple of field trips in PNG exploring questions of climate change, climate justice & locally lead responses to changing conditions. As well as visiting coastal areas, where rising seas are the urgent issue, I went to the highlands where shifts in rainfall and conditions can wipe out crops and … Continue reading
I’ve hooked up with Dr David Paton’s annual summer surveys of the sublime Coorong area of South Australia several times over the years, most memorably taking my kids along as volunteers when they were small. They plucked tiny birds out of mist nets and weighed them, sifted the water for tiny larvae, released pygmy possums … Continue reading
This latest edition of Griffith Review is dedicated to nature writing, exploring a range of environments, investigating “how these places are changing and what they might become; what is flourishing and what is at risk”. It was a chance for me to reflect on the critical but complex business of conservation in PNG, visiting landscape, … Continue reading
My trip to PNG’s Managalas Plateau conservation area also yielded this radio documentary, produced in collaboration with ABC RN broadcaster extraordinaire Natasha Mitchell. While chasing the elusive and endangered Queen Alexandra Birdwing Butterfly, we explore the hardships facing so many forest-dwelling communities in PNG. Link here. (Image: (COPYRIGHT MUSEUMS VICTORIA; PHOTOGRAPHER BEN HEALLEY) Continue reading
Papua New Guinea has one of the highest rates of child malnutrition in the world, with studies indicating that one in two children is chronically stunted, a condition from which they can never recover. The reasons are complex. It’s rarely a question of hunger, rather a lack of critical nutrients in the first 1000 days … Continue reading
A decade ago, former Prime Minister John Howard announced a strategy to save the Murray-Darling Basin, ravaged by drought and overuse, “once and for all”. Now some states and communities say the pain of restoring the river is too great. Scientists are warning Howard’s vision of saving the river hangs in the balance. My story … Continue reading
While working on a story on the impact of CSIRO cuts for Good Weekend a couple of months ago, I came across some startling science describing the scale and speed of shifts occurring on the Australian landscape as climate change bites. That was the kernel of what has become my second-ever radio documentary for ABC … Continue reading
Notebook & Narrative by Jo Chandler 