Finding Melbourne's Nature

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Ancient river red gums stand among the houses of South Morang, sheltering a patch of grassy woodland cared for by the Friends of Hillcroft Park.
In this episode, I walk with artist and conservationist Kyoko Imazu, who established the group after moving to the area. Having learnt from experienced volunteers at Wilson Reserve in Ivanhoe, she’s now bringing neighbours together to weed, plant and get to know the nature around them.
We talk about her fascination with murnong, propagating indigenous plants at home, and the connections between conservation and her work in printmaking, paper cutting and shadow puppetry. Along the way, we explore how caring for a local reserve can change the way you see your neighbourhood and your place within it.
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Neil Blake OAM has spent decades noticing and protecting nature in Melbourne’s urban landscape.
We walk along Darebin Creek in Reservoir, a place Neil knows incredibly well. He’s the Port Phillip Baykeeper, founding director of the Port Phillip EcoCentre and, in his own words, a “Tawny Tragic”.
As we search for Tawny Frogmouths along the creek, Neil shares his journey from growing up beside the Murray River to becoming a St Kilda park ranger and a lifelong advocate for urban waterways and wildlife. We talk about citizen science, Little Penguins, microplastics, Imperial Blue Butterflies, the importance of communication in conservation, and why building relationships can be as important as the science itself. 
Neil has also used music throughout his life to connect people with environmental issues. And at the end of the episode, you’ll hear a song written and performed by Neil beside Darebin Creek, with the creek itself as his backing band. 
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https://findingmelbournesnature.com
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Some of us have a relationship with Mullum Mullum Park without even realising it. If you’ve travelled through the EastLink tunnels, you’ve passed beneath this patch of bushland in Melbourne’s east.
Above the tunnels is a whole world that’s easy to miss. Forests and creek lines are home to an incredible diversity of wildlife, including the threatened Southern Toadlet.
I walk through Mullum Mullum with ecologist and herpetologist David De Angelis, President of Frogs Victoria. We talk about the fight to protect the Mullum Mullum Valley, the decline of Southern Toadlets around Melbourne, chytrid fungus, burrowing crayfish, and the reptiles and frogs that David has spent much of his life studying. Along the way, an unexpected encounter with a Tiger Snake takes the conversation in a slightly different direction.
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Southern Brown Bandicoots were once among the most common and widespread mammals around Melbourne. Today their populations are much more fragmented, making the population at Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne especially important.
For this episode, I walk through the gardens with Eilish Roberts, Southern Brown Bandicoot Outreach Officer at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria.
We talk about what bandicoots need to thrive, why Cranbourne has become such an important stronghold for them, and what it will take for them to persist in Melbourne’s growing suburban landscape. Eilish also explains why bandicoots are such important ecosystem engineers, turning over huge amounts of soil, spreading fungi and seeds, and helping create healthier conditions for plants and other wildlife.
Eilish cares deeply about bandicoots, and her work with communities is helping people understand the importance of this endangered native mammal.
The bandicoots at Cranbourne are a great example of what conservation around Melbourne can look like, and what it will take to keep threatened species as part of our suburbs into the future.
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Gidja Walker OAM has spent more than four decades helping people understand and care for the Mornington Peninsula. An ecologist, ethnobotanist and artist, she has an extraordinary ability to see the connections between geology, plants, animals, water, history and culture.
In this episode, we spend time with Gidja on the southern Nepean Peninsula, exploring the Coastal Moonah Wodlands and Calcareous Swales that make this part of Melbourne so distinctive.
Our conversation moves through ancient Moonah, fungi and orchids, lost fauna, the wildlife living in Gidja’s own garden, and the importance of protecting the remnants of vegetation that have survived around us. Along the way, Gidja reflects on a lifetime spent observing, learning and working to protect the natural world.
Explore more walks, photographs and episodes:
https://findingmelbournesnature.com
Follow on Instagram:
@findingmelbournesnature