Just Ecology

What does it take to restore diversity to a profoundly altered landscape? And how do we accept and work within novel ecosystems when there is no intact reference point to guide us?
It was a real treat to sit down with one of the best restoration ecologists I know, Ian Higgins. On a cold winter’s day near Campbells Creek, Ian showed me what decades of patient, thoughtful restoration can achieve.
When Ian first came to the area, there were just five individual wattles along Campbells Creek between Castlemaine and Guildford. Today, following years of care by the Friends of Campbells Creek, there are thousands. But the restoration effort has extended far beyond trees and shrubs. In a grazing-exclusion plot about the size of a house block, Ian has established more than 100 indigenous plant species, including locally rare and threatened species. For Ian, however, establishing a plant is only the beginning. The true measure of success is whether it can reproduce, recruit new individuals and ultimately become part of a self-sustaining ecosystem.
Our conversation explores the enormous legacy of gold mining, clearing, grazing, weeds and fertiliser—and the difficulty of restoring landscapes where almost nothing remains to tell us exactly what was once there. We discuss soil fertility, phosphorus, grazing exclusion, direct seeding, climate change and the sometimes-blurry distinction between indigenous, introduced and locally invasive plants.
Above all, this is a conversation about experimentation, patience and hope. Ian’s work shows that restoration does not necessarily mean recreating an imagined past. It can mean working carefully with the landscape that remains, learning from successes and failures, and helping diversity return—one seedling at a time.

I have always believed that the way we raise children, and the opportunities we give them to deeply experience and connect with the natural world, can be a powerful way to create a better future. So much of the destruction we see around us stems from a disconnection from nature that often begins in childhood. There is also a growing body of evidence showing that time spent in nature can improve children’s happiness, wellbeing, attention and emotional regulation, with particularly strong benefits for some children experiencing symptoms associated with ADHD and other forms of neurodivergence.
It was therefore a great pleasure to sit down with my friend Nectar while we were attending a nature camp beside the beautiful Clyde River in southern New South Wales. Nectar is the founder of Punk Caterpillar: Wild Nature for Kids, a program she has been running for more than five years. Through child-led play, exploration, practical skills, shared meals, storytelling and time around the fire, Punk Caterpillar gives children and teenagers the freedom to express their wild nature, develop relationships with the living world and learn alongside older mentors.
In this conversation, we explore how Punk Caterpillar began, what happens during its gatherings and why children need opportunities to move, play, explore and simply be themselves. We discuss the strengths that can emerge when children who struggle in conventional classrooms are given space outdoors, the importance of mentors with different personalities and gifts and the deeper sense of belonging that comes from being held within a community. Ultimately, our conversation expands beyond nature education to ask how we might rebuild a village around children—and, in doing so, create healthier, more connected communities for everyone.

After more than 20 years working in ecology, I have come to realise that beekeepers, or apiarists, often possess a more detailed understanding of eucalypt flowering than anyone else. Their knowledge extends far beyond when particular trees flower, encompassing eucalypt ecology, geographic variation and the relationships between species, climate and soils.
Few people embody this knowledge more remarkably than Stuart Fraser. Now in his eighties, Stuart is a lifelong beekeeper who has spent much of his life travelling through forests with bees and closely observing the flowering cycles of eucalypts. He is part of a family beekeeping lineage stretching back more than a century, through which an extraordinary body of ecological knowledge has been observed, tested and passed from one generation to the next. As Stuart once said to me, when your livelihood depends on something, you tend to pay attention.
I wanted to introduce Stuart to Vicky Shukuroglou, author of Ace Guide to Eucalypts Melbourne, whom I interviewed for Episode 19, and this episode brings together a conversation between the three of us.
We explore the immense honey-producing landscapes known by earlier generations, including forests where nectar reportedly fell from the flowers and gathered on the ground. Stuart shares his remarkable knowledge of the flowering cycles and geographic variation of Ironbark, Grey Box, Yellow Box, River Red Gum and the mallees, and explains how beekeepers read budding patterns, rainfall, soils and even the overall appearance of a tree to anticipate whether it will yield nectar. We also reflect on land clearing, declining insects, climate change, fire, Varroa mite and the irreplaceable value of ecological knowledge built through generations of close observation.
Five key lessons from the interview:
Eucalypt flowering follows complex cycles. Different species set buds and flower over periods ranging from months to several years, influenced by the timing of rainfall, heat and seasonal growth.
Flowers do not necessarily mean nectar. A tree can be covered in blossom yet produce little nectar; experienced beekeepers learn to recognise whether a flowering event will actually yield.
The same eucalypt species varies enormously across the landscape. Yellow Box, Grey Box and River Red Gum can differ in appearance, flowering time and nectar production according to location, soils and local conditions.
Historic nectar flows were vastly greater than today. Stuart described forests where nectar reportedly dripped from flowers and collected on the ground, supporting immense numbers of insects, birds and commercial beehives.
Generational observation creates exceptional ecological knowledge. Stuart’s understanding was built through decades of experience and knowledge passed down by earlier beekeepers whose livelihoods depended on closely reading trees, weather and landscapes.

What does it really mean to listen? For Andrew Skeoch, listening is far more than hearing sounds or identifying bird calls. It is the foundation of relationship—a practice that invites us to pay attention, to be influenced and ultimately to learn from the living world.
Drawing on more than three decades of recording wild soundscapes, Andrew reflects on what birds, ecosystems and the remarkable lives of other species can teach us. Together, we explore why nature is better understood as a web of relationships than a collection of separate parts, and ask what might become possible if we approached the world with greater curiosity, humility and attention.
Andrew Skeoch is a naturalist, environmental thinker, educator and one of Australia's best-known sound recordists. For more than three decades, he has recorded wild soundscapes across Australia and around the world through Listening Earth. He is the author of Deep Listening to Nature, which explores how listening can deepen our understanding of the natural world and our relationship with it.
You can find about more about Andrew, including where to hear his recordings and buy his book here

How well do we really know the trees around us?In this episode I sit down with multidisciplinary artist, ecologist and author Vicky Shukuroglou to talk about eucalypts — those familiar yet endlessly fascinating trees that shape much of the Australian landscape. Vicky shares the story behind her new field guide - Ace Guide to Eucalypts Melbourne - exploring what inspired the project and the immense effort involved in bringing it to life. What begins as a conversation about the guide soon becomes an exploration of observation itself: how we learn to recognise trees, what classification can and cannot tell us, and how deeper attention reveals an extraordinary world of variation, relationships and stories.Together we discuss Melbourne's diverse landscapes, from dry western plains and Ironbark forests to towering Mountain Ash country, exploring the ecology, evolution and cultural significance of these remarkable trees. Along the way we talk about conservation, habitat, climate change, the value of local knowledge and the importance of fostering a genuine relationship with the living world.
Through art, writing, community learning and ecological practice, Vicky encourages people to develop more attentive and meaningful relationships with place. Vicky is co-author and photographer of the book Loving Country and has spent many years exploring the connections between creativity, ecology, culture and care for Country.
Her latest book, Ace Guide to Eucalypts Melbourne, can be ordered online at:  www.eucalyptsmelbourne.au. Visit the Facebook page – here.

Botanic gardens are sometimes viewed as rather static places — collections of plants, all neatly labelled. But as today's guest explains, they are so much more than that. In this episode I sit down with Professor Tim Entwistle, botanist, author and former director of three major botanic gardens including Melbourne, Sydney and Kew Gardens in London.
We explore the origins of botanic gardens, from the medicinal gardens of Renaissance Italy through to the great botanic gardens of today. Tim describes how modern gardens combine science, education, culture and recreation, becoming places where people can learn, celebrate and connect with the living world. We discuss some of Australia's most significant gardens, including Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens and the Australian Garden at Cranbourne, as well as the important role played by regional botanic gardens across Victoria and beyond.
Along the way we talk about plant collections, herbaria, seasonal calendars, First Nations knowledge, climate change adaptation and the future of urban green spaces. Tim also shares the story of a beloved 150-year-old oak tree in Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens and how its legacy inspired his latest book.
Tim Entwistle is a botanist, writer and public communicator who has spent decades helping people better understand plants and their place in our lives. His books include Evergreen, The Skeptical Botanist and the forthcoming Three Worlds Oak.
Find out more about Tim at his blog:  https://talkingplants.blogspot.com/
For comments, feedback or requests for future content on Just Ecology, please email karljust3@gmail.com

Mosses, along with their cousins the liverworts and hornworts, make up the world of the bryophytes, fascinating plants that have been on this planet for well over 400 million years. I sat down with Dr Cassia Read to explore these amazing plants, where we talk about where to find them, how different species are identified, why classification is important and the critical roles of bryophytes in our ecosystems. Cassia spent years studying and researching bryophytes in the drier semi-arid parts of south-eastern Australia, a place where many don’t expect to find these plants, and we learn about how mosses survive in such dry conditions. We also discuss the role of mosses in ecological restoration, and the emerging possibilities of including bryophytes in the healing of degraded lands.
Cassia is an ecologist, educator and garden designer whose work centres on creating landscapes that support both human wellbeing and biodiversity conservation in a changing climate. Her interests span landscape ecology, planting design, climate adaptation, urban greening, wildlife gardening and community engagement, and she has conducted fieldwork across a wide range of ecosystems throughout southern Australia. She is a co-founder of the Castlemaine Institute, an organisation focused on strengthening regional communities through research, education and collaborative responses to social and environmental challenges.
For comments, feedback or requests for future content on Just Ecology, please email karljust3@gmail.com

It was a real privilege to interview Doug Frood, one of Victoria’s most experienced ecologists, and someone who is widely respected for his depth of perception and understanding of landscape patterns and processes. Reading these patterns, from the micro to the macro, is one of the core skills of field ecology. Similar to how our ancestors lived on Country before the time of cities and supermarkets, ecology relies on distinguishing between thousands of plant species, , noticing subtle differences in habitats, reading tracks and listening to place.
In the podcast we delve into some of these patterns, including how different types of plant communities are distributed across the landscape. We begin by exploring what a plant community is, how it forms, and what influences where it occurs, before moving into the complex interactions between ecological processes over deep time. We talk about Doug’s years of work mapping vegetation patterns across parts of the Victorian Riverina, and the blend of intuitive and scientific approaches involved.
We also talk about Doug’s passion for connecting people with nature, pondering how humans have at times become so disconnected and how we can find a path back to wholeness.
Doug has been one of my most influential teachers over the last 20 years and I am really grateful that he took time for this conversation.
You can check out more about Doug's work here
For comments, feedback or requests for future content on Just Ecology, please email karljust3@gmail.com
 

Environmental law is meant to protect nature—but how well does it actually work?
In this episode, I sit down with Brendan Sydes to unpack the realities behind the legal frameworks shaping conservation in Australia. Brendan is an environmental lawyer and policy expert with decades of experience across the sector. He is currently with the Australian Conservation Foundation, where he works on environmental advocacy and legal reform, and has previously held senior roles with the Environmental Defenders Office. He is also President of Connecting Country and Chair of the Biolinks Alliance, bringing a strong focus on community-led conservation and landscape-scale restoration.
We trace the evolution of environmental law over the past century—from its early focus on resource use to the rise of threatened species protections and national parks from the 1970s onwards. We dig into the limitations of the current system, including how legal frameworks can sometimes enable development rather than prevent it, and the uncomfortable reality that it’s often the community trying to protect nature from government.
Brendan also walks us through the proposed reforms to the national EPBC Act—changes that have been on the table for years but remain largely unimplemented.
A key theme throughout the conversation is that laws, on their own, don’t protect the environment—they create the framework. Their effectiveness ultimately depends on how governments apply and enforce them - and how communities hold them to account.
I hope this podcast is useful for anyone who is trying to protect their local patch.

In this episode, I sit down with Frances Cincotta to talk about growing locally indigenous plants. Frances founded the Newstead Natives nursery in central Victoria in 1999 and has spent decades immersed in the ecology and restoration of the Box–Ironbark region.
We trace the evolution of gardening in Australia—from its European roots in English cottage traditions to a growing recognition of the value and beauty of native species—and what that shift means for how we relate to the landscapes around us.
Frances shares the depth of ecological knowledge behind successful indigenous plant propagation: understanding where species occur in the wild, when seed is ready and how to sow it. We also talk about the value of indigenous gardens as habitat for native wildlife - and how they bring ecology right to our back doorstep. Frances’ knowledge is remarkable, and this is one for anyone interested in plants, restoration or simply seeing their local bushland in a new way.
For comments, feedback or requests for future content on Just Ecology, please email karljust3@gmail.com