Finding Melbourne's Nature

Finding Melbourne's Nature
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Nature

  Finding Melbourne’s Nature is a walking conversation series exploring the wild places within the city.  Ecologist Ben Cullen walks through reserves, wetlands and remnant bushland across Melbourne/Naarm with Traditional Owners, First Nations voices, conservationists, scientists and community members, each choosing a place that matters to them.  Together they walk and talk about what lives there, what’s changed, what needs protecting, and their own journey in learning about and caring for nature.  You’ll hear footsteps on tracks, birds overhead, wind in the trees, and the city never too far away. 

  1. 10 Aug

    Yellingbo Nature Conservation Area with Bruce Quin

    Send us Fan Mail Yellingbo Nature Conservation Area is a fascinating place. Covering around 600 hectares of forest, swamps and winding creek lines in the Yarra Valley, it is home to two critically endangered species: the Helmeted Honeyeater and the lowland population of Leadbeater’s Possum. In this episode, I join senior ornithologist Bruce Quin on his rounds through Yellingbo, walking between supplementary feeding stations and encountering Helmeted Honeyeaters along the way. Bruce has spent more than 33 years working with the Helmeted Honeyeater and has become one of the people most closely associated with its recovery. At its lowest points, the wild population fell to just 60 birds. Today, there are around 230 Helmeted Honeyeaters living in the wild across three populations.  Their story is a remarkable example of what it takes to bring a species back from the brink of extinction. Habitat restoration, supplementary feeding, captive breeding, genetic rescue, monitoring and the work of many organisations and people have all played a part.  As we walk, Bruce shares some of the extraordinary knowledge he has built over more than three decades with these birds. It’s a story not only about the Helmeted Honeyeater, but about what we can learn from its recovery and how that knowledge can help us care for threatened species into the future. Finding Melbourne’s Nature is a series of walking conversations through reserves around Melbourne.

  2. 2 Aug

    Newport Lakes with Dr Dominique Hes

    Send us Fan Mail Newport Lakes is one of Melbourne's most remarkable examples of ecological restoration. Once a working bluestone quarry, it has been carefully transformed into lakes and a rich variety of habitats that now support a remarkable diversity of wildlife. It isn't a recreation of the landscape that once existed here, but an example of how a profoundly altered place can become ecologically rich once again. In this episode of Finding Melbourne's Nature, I walk through the reserve with Dr Dominique Hes, researcher, educator and author of The Stories of Newport Lakes. Dominique has spent much of her career exploring how people form relationships with places, and how those relationships shape the way we care for them. As we walk, she shares the story of Newport Lakes, the community that fought to protect it, the people who helped shape it, and why understanding the story of a place can change the way we see it. This is a conversation about restoration, community, and the idea that even landscapes changed by people can become thriving places for both nature and us.

  3. 15 July

    Gresswell Forest with George Paras

    Send us Fan Mail George Paras has spent more than four decades caring for Gresswell Forest. For more than 36 of those years, he worked as a ranger at La Trobe’s Nangak Tamboree Wildlife Sanctuary, helping restore this forest and the surrounding bushland. Today, he continues to work in ecological restoration and environmental education, and is an incredible source of knowledge when it comes to how these systems actually work. In this episode, we walk through Gresswell Forest in Melbourne’s north-east, one of the city’s earliest ecological restoration sites. As we go, George shares stories from decades on the ground, from fish moving through Melbourne’s waterways to dormant seed banks, butterflies, sugar gliders and ancient River Red Gums. More than anything, this is a conversation about relationships. George explains how plants, fungi, insects, birds and mammals are connected in ways we rarely notice, and why understanding those connections is key to restoring healthy landscapes.

  4. 8 July

    Uambi Reserve with Dr Kaori Yokochi

    Send us Fan Mail What happens when we make the night brighter? In this episode of Finding Melbourne's Nature, we head to Uambi Reserve in Heathmont with wildlife ecologist Dr Kaori Yokochi from Deakin University to explore the hidden world of microbats, darkness and urban ecology. Kaori explains why darkness is just as important to ecosystems as daylight, how artificial light is affecting wildlife across Melbourne, and why something as simple as closing your curtains or changing the lights around your home can make a real difference. Along the way we talk about microbats, dark corridors, citizen science, growing up in rural Japan, and why cities still have the potential to be incredible places for wildlife. I loved every minute of this experience. Kaori has an incredible gift for explaining complex ideas with warmth and clarity, and I learnt something every time she spoke. Recorded on Trust for Nature's beautiful Uambi Reserve in Heathmont.

  5. 27 June

    Professors Hill Reserve with David Cameron

    Send us Fan Mail This is our most botanical episode yet. Prepare to get a little plant nerdy. Professor's Hill Reserve, in North Warrandyte within Nillumbik Shire, might only cover five hectares, but it contains one of Melbourne's richest and most significant patches of native bushland. In this episode, I walk with botanist David Cameron, whose work has shaped the way Victoria understands and protects its native flora. Over five decades, David has surveyed vegetation across the state, helped develop the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas, assessed threatened plant species, and become one of Victoria's leading botanical minds. As we wander through Professor's Hill, David reveals how botanists read a landscape. From rare orchids and mosses to towering eucalypts, every few steps uncover another clue about how this remarkable reserve functions. We also hear the story of how David's knowledge helped save Professor's Hill from development, with Nillumbik Shire Council ultimately acquiring the land and protecting it as a public reserve. It's a fascinating reminder that careful science, community advocacy and local government can work together to conserve places that might otherwise have been lost. Whether you're a seasoned plant enthusiast or simply curious about the hidden stories beneath your feet, this episode offers a rare opportunity to see the Australian bush through the eyes of one of Victoria's most respected botanists.

  6. 17 June

    Pinkerton Forest with Daryl Akers

    Send us Fan Mail At Pinkerton Forest in Mount Cottrell, on Melbourne’s western edge, we’re walking through one of the last remaining patches of grassy woodland in this part of the state. In this episode of Finding Melbourne’s Nature, I sit down with Daryl Akers, who’s been closely involved in caring for this reserve over many years. We talk about what this place once was, a much larger landscape of woodland and grassland, and what’s left now. As we walk through the site, Daryl shares the story of the forest’s recovery. Old grey box trees, some hundreds of years old, natural regeneration starting to come through, and the steady work of removing weeds and rebuilding the understory. We also talk about what’s at stake. Ongoing development across Melbourne’s west, the loss of habitat, and the role small patches like this play as refuges for wildlife. It’s a quiet place, but there’s a lot going on. Birds of prey overhead, hollows being fought over, kangaroos moving in as surrounding land changes. And behind it all, a small group of volunteers doing the long, steady work of keeping it going.

  7. 9 June

    Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands with Kinjia Munkara-Murray

    Send us Fan Mail At the Edithvale Seaford Wetlands, I’m walking with Kinjia Munkara Murray, a proud Tiwi and Rembarrnga woman, and someone who sees a whole world most of us miss. From the start, we’re stopping constantly. Looking at ants, watching movement on the ground, noticing things I would have walked straight past. Kinjia has been into insects for as long as she can remember, and it shows. As we walk, she opens up the diversity of ants around Melbourne, how different species live, and how much is going on in even a small patch of ground. We talk about how insects are often overlooked, despite the huge role they play in ecosystems, turning over soil, spreading seeds, pollinating plants, and keeping everything in balance. There’s also a different way of understanding them. Kinjia shares how insects are thought about through Tiwi knowledge, where behaviour and relationships matter just as much as names. This walk might shift your perspective. You start to realise just how much is happening beneath your feet.

  8. 2 June

    St Andrews with Wendy Probert

    Send us Fan Mail Out towards St Andrews on Melbourne’s north-eastern edge, some of the most important habitat isn’t in reserves at all, it’s along the roadside. In this episode of Finding Melbourne’s Nature, I walk with Wendy Probert, a long-time member of the Australian Native Orchid Society and a director of the Australian Orchid Foundation. Wendy has spent decades searching for native orchids, and as we move slowly along the roadside, she introduces me to the species that occur around Melbourne, how to recognise them, and what makes them so unusual. We talk about the role roadsides play in conservation, how orchids depend on very specific relationships with fungi and pollinators, and why they’re such good indicators of the health of a landscape. It’s a slower kind of walk. A lot of stopping, a lot of looking, and a reminder that some of the most important parts of our environment are easy to miss if you don’t take the time.

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About

  Finding Melbourne’s Nature is a walking conversation series exploring the wild places within the city.  Ecologist Ben Cullen walks through reserves, wetlands and remnant bushland across Melbourne/Naarm with Traditional Owners, First Nations voices, conservationists, scientists and community members, each choosing a place that matters to them.  Together they walk and talk about what lives there, what’s changed, what needs protecting, and their own journey in learning about and caring for nature.  You’ll hear footsteps on tracks, birds overhead, wind in the trees, and the city never too far away. 

Information

  • Creator
    Finding Melbourne's Nature
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    14
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Finding Melbourne's Nature
  • Show Website
    Finding Melbourne's Nature

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