Little Desert Podcast Project

In this episode we will talk about the implications of the Little Desert Dispute for us in Victoria today. We will hear from Matt Ruchel, Executive Director of the Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA). The VNPA, which was heavily involved in the 1969 campaign for the Little Desert, is still today one of the leading voices for nature conservation movement in Victoria. We will also hear from Joan Philips, who is the Executive Director of the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council (VEAC). VEAC is the successor organisation of the Land Conservation Council, which was a direct outcome from the Little Desert dispute. And we will talk to Zoe Wilkinson via telephone, who is the Parks Victoria Area Chief Ranger for the Wimmera. Zoe is overseeing the nature conservation work that is happening on-the-ground at the Little Desert national park today.Interviewees:Matt Ruchel, CEO Victorian National Parks AssociationJoan Phillips, Executive Officer, Victorian Environmental Assessment CouncilZoe Wilkinson, Area-chief ranger for the Wimmera, Parks Victoria

Although it is now protected as a national park, time does not stand still in the Little Desert. Even to this day the region remains a hotbed for social and environmental innovations in Victoria. In this episode we will look beyond the Desert’s dramatic history that led to the 1969 conservation controversy, and turn to some recent highlights. We will be hearing from Brett Harrison, who is the Executive Officer of the Barengi Gadjin Land Council. They achieved the first successful case of Native Title Consent Determination in Victoria. Together with the retired farmers and naturalists couple Maree and Graham Goods we will do a little inventory of the diverse and beautiful flora and fauna that still lives today in the Little Desert, and hear about the changes in local agriculture. We will also be talking about one of the latest innovations in nature conservation called “rewilding” -- with Ben Holmes from Conservation Volunteers Australia.Interviewees:Brett Harrison, CEO of Barengi Gadjin Land CouncilMaree and Graham Goods, authors of the photographic guide book: Birds and plants of the Little Desert.Ben Holmes, Conversation Volunteers Australia

In this episode, we explore the rise of environmental consciousness in Australia and relationship between urban and regional groups. We will hear from environmental historian Don Garden and gain a deeper understanding of the broader social context of the campaign. Local resident Whimpey Reichelt also shares his personal experience of the campaign.Interviewees:Don Garden, environmental historian (University of Melbourne)Raymond ‘Whimpey’ Reichelt, Wimmera local and founder of the Little Desert Nature Lodge

The campaign to protect the Little Desert in the late 60’s contributed dramatically to the changing of the political landscape in Victoria. The campaign became a key part of Victoria’s environmental history. In this episode we will unpack the historical context of the campaign that led to the substantial extension of the Little Desert National Park and how this campaign contributed to the changes in Victorian political processes. We will hear about the ideas and events that became a part of this historic campaign. We interview Malcolm Calder about his personal involvement in the campaign and about the extraordinary work of other key players.Interviewee:Malcolm Calder, retired botanist (University of Melbourne) and member of the Save our Bushlands Action Committee

In this our final episode on the marine environment of Victoria, we take a seat inside a workshop that took place in 2019, focused on partnerships between organisations and groups that are caring for country, Sea Country. We’ll explain what is known as 'NYAMAT MEERING' -- referred to in the phrase ‘sea country’ -- as we work towards understanding roles and definitions of rightsholders, stakeholders and the many different modes of engagement for local inhabitants in this watery space. In order to do that we will be visiting Gunditjmara country and will speak with Damein Bell, CEO of Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners’ Aboriginal Corporation, and group of Gunditj Mirring staff. Gunditj Mirring represents the Native Title interests of the Gunditjmara peopleThis episode is copyright of Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation. It was produced in collaboration with Federation of Victorian Traditonal Owner Corporations (FVTOC), Gunditj Mirring and VNPA.

90% of Victorian coast is public land, and community organisations like the Victorian National Parks Association are committed to keep it like this. In this episode we further explore which role political processes have played in protecting nature as well as the ongoing threats we will need to address when it comes to managing marine National Parks and Sanctuaries. We will hear (among others) from Geoff Wescott, who has been deeply involved with shaping coastal and marine environmental policies in Victoria. In 2015 he chaired the expert panel that advise our current 2018 Marine and Coastal Act.Interviewees:- Geoff Wescott, board member of the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council and Honorary Research Fellow at Deakin University- Shannon Hurley, Coastal Campaigner VNPA- Mark Rodrigue, Parks Victoria, State-wide Leader - Marine and CoastsPhoto Caption: Celebrating the establishment of MPA at Ricketts Point From left to right: Mark Stone (Parks Victoria Chief Executive 1998-2010), Dianne James (chair of Victorian Coastal Council), Sherryl Garbutt (Minister for Environment and Conservation, 1999-2006), Sylvia Earle (well known around the world as a marine biologist and advocate) and Chris Smyth (marine campaign officer VNPA).

National Parks are one of the few mechanisms that we have that protect “whole ecosystems,” which is different to looking at individual threatened species. From a natural resource management perspective our Marine National Parks and Sanctuaries are sites of complex interactions and multiple interests. Many researchers and land managers have dedicated their working lives to the protection of our beautiful National Parks. Their work on environmental awareness connects to the work of community advocates, who are often driven to dedication through passion.Interviewees:- Joan Lindros, Geelong Environmental Council and former president of VNPA- Shannon Hurley, Coastal Campaigner VNPA- Mark Rodrigue, Parks Victoria, State-wide Leader - Marine and Coasts

In this episode we celebrate the achievements that the Victorian community has initiated over the past decades including the creation of our system of Marine National Parks and sanctuaries in 2002. We pay our tribute to the political legacy of previous community activism, so we’ll look closely at the community-led campaign that lasted more than 10 years leading to the creation of the world-first system of Marine National Parks and sanctuaries. We will hear from two of the community organisers, who got the ball rolling.Interviewees:- Tim Allen, former coordinator of the Coastal Community Network- Chris Smyth, former VNPA coastal campaigner

This episodes brings together a number of perspectives to outline how particular natural spaces – in our case the underwater world - entered the public imagination of Victorians and sparked a political discussion that led to their wider protection.We will chat with Mark Rodrigue from Parks Victoria, who looks after our Marine Parks and Sanctuaries in Victoria before we’re actually embark on a short boat ride across Port Philip Bay and to go swimming with dolphins. Judith Muir, from Polperro Dolphin Swims, will join us and share with us her experience with the Bay as educator and eco-tourism operatorInterviewees:- Mark Rodrigue, Parks Victoria, State-wide Leader - Marine and Coasts- Judith Muir, Eco-tourism operator, Polperro Dolphin SwimsPhoto credit: Phil Watson2012

The Bay is our point of departure into the creation of Marine National Parks and Sanctuaries in Victoria. Our first episode looks broadly at at a wider environmental context including the bay's social and geological time -- because Port Phillip Bay is very rich in both.Graham Patterson, a local historian and avid bushwalker, will talk and walk us around Port Philip Bay. Explaining its geological as well its more recent European Settlement history -- while he introduces us to some of the current environmental threats facing the bay. We also will hear from Sandie Webb speaking about her special connection to the Jawbone Marine Sanctuary, an ecological gem just out of Williamstown in Melbourne.Interviewees:- Graham Patterson, local historian and author of "Coastal guide to nature and history: Port Phillip Bay"- Sandy Webb, Jawbone Marine Sanctuary Care GroupPhoto credit: Kade Mills