Our war on pitto
July 11, 2024 - This enemy overpowers everything in its way, but Jon Temby is equally pitiless. And the tide is turning. 
Our little battler
June 15, 2024 - The survival of the koala in Gippsland is a modern-day miracle but now, more than ever, they need our help, writes Ed Thexton 
Penguin chicks come through
June 3, 2024 - Phillip Island’s little penguin population has survived a strong El Nino event, with a higher than expected number of fledgling chicks this breeding season. 
What remains
May 16, 2024 - The eroded vegetated dunes of Inverloch hold more than most of us could imagine, writes Ed Thexton 
Back from the brink
March 22, 2024 - The astounding recovery of Eastern Barred Bandicoots highlights the potential of the former Holden Proving Ground as a predator-proof sanctuary for threatened species. 
The thin green line
March 22, 2024 - Ed Thexton visits the Corinella Foreshore and finds the locals have achieved something remarkable. 
Not a murder, just an unkindness
Jan 25, 2024 - A mass gathering of ravens at The Oaks intrigues Ed Thexton. 
Shootout at the RK Homestead
Jan 22, 2024 - You might think they’re cute. Ron Kousal begs to differ. 
Bird bonanza
Oct 16, 2023 - The shearwaters are home from Alaska and Phillip Island is alive with birds. Lisa Gilbert rounds up all the action. 
When worlds collide
Nov 13, 2023 - For the first time in their existence, the Swamp Skinks of Inverloch are experiencing humans in their habitat. Brendan Casey fears it won’t end well. 
Roaming cats not welcome here
Aug 16, 2023 - The juxtaposition of Picasso’s high art and cat crap got Ed Thexton thinking about the Jekyll and Hyde nature of Felis catus. 
Paul's patch
May 17, 2023 - “I can’t save the world … but I can make a difference locally,“ Paul Speirs told Gill Heal. 
On a wing and a prayer
April 19, 2023 - After 10 anxious weeks of looking after eggs and chicks, the adult hooded plovers are exhausted, writes David Hartney. And the hoodie volunteers aren’t far behind. 
Cycle of life
June 18, 2022 - A walk with Terri Allen is an education. The conversation roams from history to botany to bird watching but it might also cover drainage, swamps and local politics. 
A chance encounter of the seedling kind
April 19, 2023 - Neil Daly discovers scientists – citizen and otherwise – are working towards the same end on the Queensferry foreshore. 
Paperbark town
Oct 20, 2022 - When the swamp paperbark is in bloom, the snapper are on the bite, writes Terri Allen. 
On the koala trail
Nov 13, 2022 - Genetic analysis confirm koalas in the Western Port Woodlands are a rare remnant population. 
The Prom
Nov 28, 2022 - Lucinda Bain's prize winning essay celebrates the beauty of our world and our diminishing hope for the future. It ends on a hopeful, simple, profound fact. 
Forrest Caves and the passing of time
Sept 15, 2022 - Not even the rocks are permanent on this mysterious and constantly changing beach, writes Linda Cuttriss. 
Close to home
July 21, 2022 - Covid put a stop to Dave and Jackie Newman’s wildlife safaris around Australia and introduced them to the natural riches just down the road. 
In the mood for winter
July 20, 2022 - Winter has a bad reputation but Linda Cuttriss loves its many moods. 
Shearwaters are back on track
Oct 13, 2022 - Almost 1.5 million short-tailed shearwaters have arrived on Phillip island right on schedule. 
My precious piece of Australia
Aug 17, 2022 - Richard Kemp is privileged to share his patch of paradise with creatures great and small. 
The Mighty Ayr
Sept 22, 2022 - “Don’t sweat the small stuff” or “From small things big things grow”? Waist deep in his local creek, Ed Thexton ponders the contradiction as he does battle with a demon weed. 
Season of twists and turns
Dec 15, 2021 - John Coldebella observes a succession of mysterious happenings in the garden this spring. 
Of magic, mystery and monsters
Oct 7, 2021 - Linda Cuttriss joins a woodlands walk and finds a new kind of magic in the hills above Grantville and The Gurdies. 
My war on pittosporum
Don’t be fooled by the beautiful foliage and sweetly scented flowers, writes Richard Kemp. This plant is a monster. 
The secret life of orchids
July 16, 2021 - Dick Wettenhall delves into the underworld of this miraculous plant (including sexual deception) and reveals the threat posed by sand mining to some of Victoria’s rarest orchid communities. 
Treasure island
July 29, 2021 - In June a team of naturalists headed for French Island in search of some small brown bumps on top of some brown bark. What they found there was beyond their wildest dreams, reports Catherine Watson 
Will your feet be the end of me?
July 16, 2021 - When it comes to walking tracks, it's not all about us, writes Julie Thomas. 
Hail the whales!
June 18, 2021 - Our whales are back, earlier and in greater numbers than usual on their annual migration north to breed. Photo: Lisa Schonberg 
A labour of love
March 23, 2021 - Daryl Hook farewells the farm and wildlife haven he has created over 40 years. Story and photos by Geoff Ellis. 
What’s happening to our bush?
May 7, 2021 - Wonthaggi’s intrepid seed collectors brave the elements and a dwindling supply of seed to preserve our bush. Terri Allen reports 
The joy of gardens
May 21, 2021 - For young children, gardens are part adventure playground, part moving feast, writes John Coldebella. 
Songs of praise
May 7, 2021 - In Toe Pecker, Liz Low has found a friend who knows how to greet and farewell. 
Tiger, tiger, turning tight
Feb 13, 2021 - A sensor camera in a garden shed catches a tiger snake doing battle with a mouse trap. Video by Gil Smith |
A little thing called Tryssglobulus
July 9, 2024 - Only two specimens have ever been collected and one of them was found in the Western Port Woodlands. Ian Pascoe tells the tale of his favourite fungus. 
Don’t mess with my miniature creatures
May 10, 2024 - Tiny insects, bacteria and fungi keep our forests functioning, writes Dick Wettenhall in an extract from his guide book to the hidden world of the Gurdies Nature Conservation Reserve. 
Parrot puzzle
May 15, 2024 - The discovery of a rarely seen Eastern Ground Parrot in Inverloch has local birdwatchers wondering if there might be others around. Dallas Wyatt reports. 
Silver lining for little old penguin
April 3, 2024 - One of the oldest penguins ever seen at the Phillip Island mega-colony has returned to sea after five weeks of intensive rehab. 
Greg Johnson Q&A
April 18, 2024 - The newly elected president of the Phillip Island Conservation Society learned activism from some of the best. 
Nirvana Park
April 19, 2024 - Ivee Strazzabosco created a magnificent garden, but nature always wins in the end. By Catherine Watson 
Lucky Laribee
Oct 17, 2023 - The story starts in July with a very sick wombat. That’s when a dedicated team stepped in. 
The woman with the x-ray eyes
Feb 23, 2024 - Melissa Lowery sees things that no one else does. And she’s transformed our knowledge of the dinosaurs that once roamed Bass Coast. 
Who, me?
Oct 13, 2023 - “Some people call me adorable. Others call me a murderer.” Harry Hyper Highpurr purrs his heart out to Matt Stone 
The call of nature
Oct 20, 2023 - We call them nature strips but only a few of them deserve that title. Catherine Watson surveys the good, the bad and the ugly. 
Caring for Country, Inverloch style
Aug 15, 2023 - Smoke from Aunty Sonia Weston’s welcome fire swirled around those converging for the Caring for Country celebration, writes Sally McNiece. 
This one’s for Nature!
May 17, 2023 - Having worked in concrete for most of his career, artist Phil Henshall calls time on sand mining in woodlands. 
Operation Fairy Tern
Jan 27, 2023 - Three summers ago, 31 fairy tern pairs fledged 49 chicks on Churchill Island. Since then, not a single chick has survived. 
Call of the wild
Dec 14, 2022 - Linda Cuttriss visits Scenic Estate Reserve and finds Nature has reclaimed it despite the best efforts of developers, boy racers, vandals and even conservationists. 
Tiny glider knocks ‘em for six
Sept 15, 2022 - Finding the world's smallest gliding mammal in The Gurdies Nature Conservation Reserve was a dream come true for Dave Newman. 
On the koala trail
June 3, 2022 - Once koalas were hunted to the point of extinction. Catherine Watson joined a hunt for their survivors. 
Time for a ceasefire
Feb 17, 2023 - Sally McNiece calls for a ceasefire from the chainsaw brigade while there’s still some remnant vegetation left to save. 
Bandicoots’ wild anniversary
Oct 20, 2022 - Duncan Sutherland still has vivid memories of the night he and a team of rangers released 67 eastern barred bandicoots on Phillip Island. 
Man of the trees
Oct 17, 2022 - Sally McNiece goes bush with Ringo Gannon and learns that when it comes to significant trees size isn’t everything. 
Summer of strangeness
March 23, 2022 - Feral tomatoes, transgender nuts and ravenous birds … summer was full of surprises for local gardeners, reports John Coldebella 
Back to nature
June 4, 2022 - In the 1960s and 70s a dodgy developer sold 337 seaside blocks on Phillip Island, many to overseas buyers. The former housing estate is now a conservation success story. 
Big cat sighting adds to mystery
Feb 11, 2022 - The Grantville area has long been a hot spot for big cat sightings. Meryl Tobin reports 
The next small thing
March 9, 2022 - Ed Thexton reports on the latest in nest box technology, including new methods to deter Indian mynas and other raiders. 
Where we belong
Feb 11, 2022 - Walking on the Corinella foreshore, Alison Normanton vows to do her bit to preserve it for future generations. 
The wonder of the woodlands
Nov 5, 2021 - Ed Thexton marvels that this remnant of a lost world has survived against the odds. 
Island flock prospers
Sept 24, 2021 - While South Australia’s Cape Barren geese are doing it hard, our local geese are looking right at home. 
How to stay sane
Sept 24, 2021 - In these tense times, nature is our best friend, writes Terri Allen. 
The good life
August 27, 2021 - How our houses can make or break us, the first in a series on housing by Zoe Geyer. 
Shelf life
June 18, 2021 - When you dip a camera into a rock pool and fire it off, there’s no telling what you’ll get. But every now and then it’s magic, writes Helen Keellings. 
The incredible journey
February 13, 2021 - A chance sighting prompted Gil Smith to learn more about the short-finned eel and its epic journey from Deep Creek to the Coral Sea. Now he fears the impact of sand mining on the creatures that call this area home. 
Saving the planet, a paddock at a time
June 4, 2021 - For 20 years Phillip Island carbon farmer Bob Davie has been a voice in the wilderness. Suddenly everyone is listening, writes Catherine Watson. 
Mystery Road
June 4, 2021 - Geoff Ellis and Neil Rankine made good use of their COVID daily exercise time to fill in one of the missing links on the proposed San Remo-Inverloch trail. 
Living with creeks
July 2, 2021 - Rivers and waterways are serious, writes Ed Thexton, but creeks are a different matter. 
Here be dragons – and cows
March 23, 2021 - Picasso and Dali decide on a challenge: who can design the most outlandish and bizarre fish. The wondrous result is living in a bay near you, writes Mark Robertson. 
The scarlet pimpernel of Wonthaggi
April 22, 2021 - An intrepid young fox doesn’t seem to play by the the rules, writes a half-admiring John Coldebella. Cartoon by Natasha Williams-Novak |