I was supposed to be researching matters of climate justice in the Pacific. Instead over the long Melbourne lockdown in the pandemic winter of 2020, I was in my home nursing a bad case of Black Summer grief. This essay captures my attempts to wrangle that into something useful, going back to scientific experts who … Continue reading
Inside Story has just published the essay I contributed to the recently published NewSouth book ‘Living with the Anthropocene: Love, Loss & Hope in the Face of Environmental Crisis’. The book is in the shops now, and it’s a really thoughtful, energising, informing collection including voices like Tony Birch, James Bradley, Sophie Cunningham, Delia Falconer, … Continue reading
Feeling honoured, excited (and more than a bit freaked out) at being awarded a public interest journalism grant through the Walkley Foundation and its donors today. Not least because the grant is named for one of my reporting heroes and mentors, the ABC’s legendary Pacific correspondent Sean Dorney. My ambition with this project is to … 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
Very excited to win the 2017 Quill for Best Feature for my story on Antarctic glaciers and climate change for The Monthly Magazine. Link to the award and the judges comments, and the story, here: http://melbournepressclub.com/article/2017-quills–feature-writing Continue reading
Excited to find my story for The Monthly, “The Totten Hots Up”, has been nominated for the Melbourne Press Club 2017 Quill for Feature Writing. Congrats to my fellow nominees – Michael Bachelard & Kate Geraghty (Fairfax), Margaret Burin (ABC), and Emily Woods (The Sunday Age). Continue reading
Judge’s Comments: “Jo Chandler was chosen for her compelling body of work exploring climate change. Her self-funded research and reporting delivered engaging features with very human insights into the complex facets of this century’s biggest story.” The Freelance Journalist of the Year Award is awarded by the Walkley Foundation, which oversees Australia’s most prestigious journalism … 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
