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

In this episode I speak with ecologist and musician Sean McConnell, who also performs his song Baarka Ballad, written about the plight of the Baarka (Darling River).

We talk about Sean’s experiences growing up in the Riverina through cycles of drought and flood, and the extraordinary biodiversity of the region’s floodplain forests and wetlands. We discuss the evidence of Barapa villages across the floodplain, documented in Koondrook State Forest on the NSW side of the river, including extensive pond systems that were used to harvest fish.

Our conversation reflects on the profound changes that have occurred since colonisation: river regulation, widespread land clearing, the early land grabs by squatters and selectors and the short-lived economic booms that were so often accompanied by long-term environmental degradation.

Sean shares what inspired him to write Baarka Ballad: the heartbreaking mass fish kill on the Baarka in 2021, the remarkable voyage of Tuesday Browell down the river in an Egyptian-style handmade wooden boat to draw attention to its plight and the ongoing illegal extraction of water across the Murray–Darling Basin.

Finally, we talk about the power of music to help us process and transmute feelings of helplessness in the face of ongoing environmental destruction, and how the ancient practice of singing to Country has long been part of maintaining life and relationship.

A research paper on Barapa villages and constructed ponds can be found here.

Listen to some of Sean's music here.

For comments, feedback or requests for future content on Just Ecology, please email karljust3@gmail.com

Many listeners would be familiar with the highly skilled use of fire to manage vegetation that has been practiced by First Nations peoples of Australia for thousands of years. What surprised me was learning that my own ancestors were also using fire to shape parts of the landscape across what is now the United Kingdom — in some places for more than five thousand years. Curious about this long history, I reached out to one of the leading authorities on the subject – Matt Davies.

Matt is a leading expert in fire ecology and land management, currently serving as the Director of Agriculture for the Falkland Islands Government. He is internationally recognized for his extensive research on muirburn—the traditional Scottish practice of managed heather burning—— and on the complex relationships between fire, biodiversity and carbon in these landscapes.

In this conversation we explore the long history of fire use across parts of the U.K., stretching back to the end of the last Ice Age. We discuss how the combined influences of burning, grazing and clearing helped shape the distinctive heather moorlands we see today.

Matt explains what these heather ecosystems look like, how burning practices changed during the upheavals of the Industrial Revolution, and how fire became central to the management of grouse shooting estates. We also explore the contemporary debate about whether burning should now be phased out to encourage forest expansion, or whether more nuanced approaches might recognise the ecological and cultural value of these long-managed landscapes.

Some of Matt's research can be found here: Moorland Burning Research and here: https://scholar.google.fr/citations?user=CslCJjcAAAAJ&hl=th

For comments, feedback or requests for future content on Just Ecology, please email karljust3@gmail.com

In this episode I sat down with botanist and ecologist Kate Bennetts to explore the floodplain forests and wetlands of the Riverina. With more than two decades of experience at the forefront of wetland restoration, Kate brings deep insight into how water — and the loss of it — shapes these great riverine landscapes. As Principal of Fire, Flood & Flora, she has dedicated her career to understanding how these ecosystems function, decline and recover.

We begin by exploring what makes floodplain forests and wetlands so ecologically rich and distinctive. From there, the conversation turns to the profound changes these landscapes have undergone — the displacement of First Peoples, widespread tree clearing and the alteration of natural flooding regimes.

Kate explains how environmental water allocations work in practice, and why carefully timed flows are critical to sustaining River Red Gum forests and the diverse wetland plant communities beneath them. We also delve into history, reflecting on observations from the 1850s Blandowski Expedition, and discuss recent research Kate has been involved in examining the allelopathic effects of Red Gum leaf litter on wetland vegetation.

The episode finishes with a discussion about Kate’s on-ground restoration — including collaborative work with Traditional Owners — and what it will take to ensure these floodplain ecosystems remain resilient in a drying and highly regulated river system.

If you have time before the 1st of May 2026, please make a submission for the updated Murray Darling Basin Plan, calling for more environmental water for our rivers wetlands: https://getinvolved.mdba.gov.au/2026basinplanreview

Links to the 1970's research on the allelopathic effect of Red Gum leaves can be found here: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2424020

Links to the the recent research on the allelopathic effect of Red Gum leaves that we discussed can be found here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/emr.70031?af=R

Some of the books mentioned in the podcast:

Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Life by William Blandowski

The Victorian Bush: its Original and Natural Condition by Ron Hateley

For this episode I caught up with dear friend Trace Balla.

Trace is a multi-award-winning "story catcher" and community artist based on Djaara Country in central Victoria. She is renowned for her nature-inspired graphic novels, such as the CBCA-winning Rockhopping and Rivertime, which use detailed cartoon-style illustrations to explore themes of environmental stewardship, gratitude, and connection to Country.

We recently had a chat out in the bush in central Victoria were we talked about Trace’s daily walks in nature and how important this practice is for inspiring her work. We reflected on place-based names for Country, as opposed to colonial names that have been stamped across the Australian landscape, before hearing about Trace’s experiences running nature and art workshops for kids. We talked about learning about ecology through drawing, spontaneity, and how walking through Country without a plan can lead to you unexpected and magical experiences.

Trace was the designer of the Just Ecology artwork and we have worked on several art-ecology projects together.

This is a conversation about slowing down, listening deeply, and letting Country — rather than schedules or systems — lead the way.

You can find out more about Trace and her work at: https://traceballa.com/

For comments, feedback or requests for future content on Just Ecology, please email karljust3@gmail.com

It was a real honour to interview Emeritus Professor Stuart Hill. Stuart began studying ecology in the 1960s, and his PhD research conducted in a cave in Trinidad in the late1960s was among the first whole-ecosystem studies to examine community and energy relationships. His career spans decades of research, teaching and active engagement across multiple disciplines.

Over the years, Stuart has taken a particular interest in soil biology, entomology, social ecology and organic agriculture, and he brings a rare additional perspective through his formal training in psychology.

In our conversation we covered a wide range of topics, beginning with insights into his extraordinary understanding of life in soils, before exploring the role of human psychology in the ecological crisis. We also discussed several of Stuart’s ideas from his paper ‘10 Common “Mistakes” to Avoid, and “Needs” to Meet, When Seeking to Create a Better World’.

I’m deeply grateful that Stuart took the time to share his knowledge and reflections, and I hope you enjoy the conversation.

Stuart has an amazing collection of his resources on his website: https://www.stuartbhill.com/

For comments, feedback or requests for future content on Just Ecology, please email karljust3@gmail.com