Educators/Researchers

Visiting Belgian medical graduate Louis Wauters reports on the recent visit by medical students from the Rural Clinical School of Notre Dame University to the Blue Mountains Planetary Health precinct in Katoomba, and what they learnt about the connection between human health and planetary health.

Maligned through the ages for their association with witchcraft, disease, drug use and poisonings, the fungus kingdom is gaining due credit thanks to ecologists, photographers and foragers.

Blackheath Public School is providing hands-in-the-dirt lessons on how the students can make their school more sustainable. Students will soon be eating spinach and cheese scrolls made by the canteen using garden produce.

Maligned through the ages for their association with witchcraft, disease, drug use and poisonings, the fungus kingdom is gaining due credit thanks to ecologists, photographers and foragers.

While feral cats are considered one of the worst invasive species in Australia, free-roaming domestic cats are collectively responsible for the deaths of 323 million native animals each year. Learn about the impact of cats on our local wildlife and practical solutions and actions needed to keep cats and wildlife safe.

In August 2023, a mass kill of freshwater spiny crayfish took place in a tributary to Hazelbrook Creek. Belle Butler talked to Blue Mountains City Council Aquatic Systems Officers Amy St Lawrence and Alice Blackwood about the incident, how recovery is going and what we can do to protect this keystone species.

Eco anxiety, as a response to the environmental crisis, is an emerging area of study for psychologists, and art therapy is a potential salve for sufferers. Meet Mishy Rowan, and find out what happens when art meets science.

During Frog ID Week in late 2023, a record number of recordings were submitted to the Frog ID app. Join a group of froggers on a Frog ID outing in Lithgow to learn how to contribute to this important (and fun) citizen science project.

When school kids around the state heard the call: Invent or innovate something that will change our world and leave a lasting impact, Lawson Public School students rose to the challenge.

During Summer 2022/23 Western Sydney University trained residents to use thermal imaging cameras to document surface temperatures in the local landscape as part of the Heat Detective project.  The images captured temperatures varying from 20°C to over 60°C, demonstrating both the urban heat island effect and simple solutions to reduce its impact.