Science

When we returned to our bushfire-ravaged rural home at Malua Bay, on the NSW South Coast, on New Year's Day, the last thing we expected to find were tiny green survivors in the blackened ruins of our garden. The only patch of colour was an old rhubarb plant, and tucked right at the base of its shrivelled leaves were tiny...

Researchers at the Australian National University (ANU) are designing and building a new infrared telescope that will soon be able to study cosmic events such as a star being born and the formation of new galaxies as they occur. The telescope, called DREAMS (the Dynamic REd All-sky Monitoring Survey) will be located at the historic Siding Spring Observatory in northern NSW and will monitor the...

There has been a close encounter of the space junk kind as two large satellites have caused a potentially dangerous collision that has been watched by scientists around the world, as well as a researcher from the Australian National University. Leading space expert and researcher at the ANU School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Dr Brad Tucker, said the two pieces of old space...

Conservation groups are outraged at the relaxation of rules within the protected waters of the Batemans Marine Park. Member for Bega, Andrew Constance and NSW Agriculture Minister, Adam Marshall last week announced that five sites had been identified for increased access prior to the summer school holidays – Brou Lake (South), Clarks Bay (Freshwater Bay), Forsters Bay, Montague Island (East and...

Those who grew up lucky enough to have the beach at their back door will be familiar with the annual migration of Mutton Birds. As a kid, I remember my local beach being blanketed in their grey feathered bodies; washed ashore dead with the tide. Fears of pollution in the water were soon put to one side once people realised...

With the implications of climate change growing louder in community consciousness, one group has been concentrating on land, soil and food production in innovative ways. ‘Land to Market Australia’ (L2MA), based on the NSW Southern Tablelands, has been named Grand Champion of the 2019 NSW Landcare Awards for the Australian Government Innovation in Agriculture Award. The 2019 Landcare Awards, presented...

While living in my husband's homeland in Montana, USA, I became aware of the concept of 'preppers,' people who think that the world will end imminently and are getting prepared by moving to a remote area, learning survival skills like hunting and stockpiling goods they think will be useful at the end of the world. Yesterday, after seeing emergency preparedness checklists...

A rare seahorse found in NSW coastal waters has been given additional protection with the state's Fisheries Scientific Committee (FSC) deciding to list the species as endangered. Following a review of the nomination and a public consultation period, the FSC, an independent committee of seven scientists, determined White’s Seahorse is at high risk of extinction in the near future. Named...

You are invited to join local naturalists and visiting entomologists and ecologists on a search for butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers and bugs along the foreshore of Lake Curalo in Eden this Sunday. Bega Valley Shire Council is partnering with Atlas of Life to host an Insect Ramble! Council’s Natural Assets Officer, Jessica O’Brien, believes the event is a golden opportunity to...

Wondering how the Far South Coast's fledging koala population is going? A workshop tomorrow, November 6 at Tanja is a good place to get answers and join the conservation effort. "There was a koala sighting on Doctor George Mountain Road about two months ago," says National Parks Threatened Species officer, Chris Allen, who has been studying koalas for about 25...

Mogo Zoo without Sally Padey?! At the end of this month that will be a reality. It's something Sally herself is coming to terms with. "The sound of the lions roaring, it just resonates right into your soul - I am going to miss that so much," Sally told ABC South East NSW. Aside from being Sally's home for the...

Native grasses are a key component in building a sustainable farming future according to one of the region's expert land managers. David Eddy, Senior Land Services Officer with South East Local Land Services has been mesmerised by big open spaces since his days bushwalking and camping as a boy with his nature-loving, country raised parents. "It seemed to me that native...

Blink and you'll miss it! What was once light-years away is now closer than ever thanks to researchers from the Australian National University (ANU), who are using optical technologies to revolutionise systems that we use every day. From monitoring systems for safer driving, moving holograms on your phone to super-fast, light-based WiFi, the research is a step closer with $34.9 million...