The SEI Podcast Series

Experiencing a disaster is often the catalyst for communities to realise the importance of being prepared, particularly when people have been forced to rely on each other in the absence of outside help. This vignette highlights how some local communities have since formed grassroots resilience groups to ensure that recovery, climate adaptation and preparation for future disasters occurs at the local community level.   ‘Stories are the Toolkit’ is a vignette series that illuminates community-led action. The stories are based on interviews with 68 individuals who, in their different ways, contributed to community-led response, recovery and adaptation across three regions in New South Wales: the Northern Rivers, the Hawkesbury and the Blue Mountains. Listeners are advised that this vignette describes the aftermath of catastrophic flooding. It may be distressing to some listeners, so please take care. If you need to talk to someone, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. 

During and after disasters, social media platforms become critical communication tools that enable the sharing of information, linking of donations and volunteers with those who need assistance, and help local groups to coordinate recovery activities. This vignette highlights how social media can aid small or remote communities who find themselves beyond the reach of government, emergency management and social service agencies and in need of external support to bring in what is needed. ‘Stories are the Toolkit’ is a vignette series that illuminates community-led action. The stories are based on interviews with 68 individuals who, in their different ways, contributed to community-led response, recovery and adaptation across three regions in New South Wales: the Northern Rivers, the Hawkesbury and the Blue Mountains. Listeners are advised that this vignette describes flood-affected homes and communities. It may be distressing to some listeners, so please take care. If you need to talk to someone, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. 

Community-led actions are enabled through their ability to draw on local networks, skills and knowledges to respond swiftly and flexibly in times of crisis. This vignette describes how a family drew upon their ‘everyday’ networks around work, school, sports and their neighbourhood to organise response and recovery support across multiple floods.‘Stories are the Toolkit’ is a vignette series that illuminates community-led action. The stories are based on interviews with 68 individuals who, in their different ways, contributed to community-led response, recovery and adaptation across three regions in New South Wales: the Northern Rivers, the Hawkesbury and the Blue Mountains.  Listeners are advised that this vignette mentions flooding and bushfire events. It may be distressing to some listeners, so please take care. If you need to talk to someone, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. 

Disaster-affected communities frequently emphasise the need to ‘know your neighbours’ – know who they are, what their needs and plans may be and what skills and resources they have. This vignette demonstrates how for some communities this takes the form of warden or street facilitator networks; people who understand the lay of the land, can serve as a point of contact for advice and organise street-level disaster preparation and readiness activities.‘Stories are the Toolkit’ is a vignette series that illuminates community-led action. The stories are based on interviews with 68 individuals who, in their different ways, contributed to community-led response, recovery and adaptation across three regions in New South Wales: the Northern Rivers, the Hawkesbury and the Blue Mountains. Listeners are advised that this vignette mentions bushfire events and describes the lead-up to the 2019-20 bushfire crisis. It may be distressing to some listeners, so please take care. If you need to talk to someone, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. 

Flood-affected communities do not remain idle when the need is urgent. This vignette covers one way in which community members organised a system of tracking and coordinating boat rescues to save lives and to minimise the substantial risk taken by those on the water. ‘Stories are the Toolkit’ is a vignette series that illuminates community-led action. The stories are based on interviews with 68 individuals who, in their different ways, contributed to community-led response, recovery and adaptation across three regions in New South Wales: the Northern Rivers, the Hawkesbury and the Blue Mountains. Listeners are advised that this vignette describes people stranded on their roofs due to rising floodwaters. It may be distressing to some listeners, so please take care. If you need to talk to someone, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. 

In recent years, communities across New South Wales have faced catastrophic bushfires and floods. These have been described as ‘unprecedented’ in their scales and as ‘the new normal’ due to climate change. In many respects, these disasters have had compounding impacts as people endure them one after another and concurrently with other crises – an ongoing global pandemic, disruptions to supply chains, inflation, and a housing crisis. ‘Stories are the Toolkit’ is a vignette series that illuminates community-led action. The stories are based on interviews with 68 individuals who, in their different ways, contributed to community-led response, recovery and adaptation across three regions in New South Wales: the Northern Rivers, the Hawkesbury and the Blue Mountains. 

In this instalment of SEI's four-part Climate and Biodiversity Crises Series, in partnership with Henry Halloran Trust, an expert panel will discuss how concepts of multispecies justice can inform planning for nature-based solutions, striving to rebalance the relationship between human development and the environment. Timestamps:00:53 - Welcome and introduction11:49 - How does multispecies justice influence policy in the EU?17:39 - What are the trade-offs between meeting our housing needs in Australia, and preserving nature?24:26 - What is the nature roadmap for the built environment?32:52 - Council strategies38:26 - How would a focus on multispecies justice change how we approached urban planning?45:39 - The black roof ban52:48 - How do developers respond to the focus on nature and biodiversity?1:00:58 - Shifting thinking away from making nature conform to our expectations1:04:44 - Q+A begins Speakers:Nicole Gurran (Chair), urban planning researcherGwilym Griffiths, urban greening expertAdrienne Keane, researcher and urban plannerElham Monavari, Green Building Council of AustraliaChristopher Raymond, University of Helsinki

In this instalment of the SEI podcast series, it is discussed how the biodiversity crisis is inextricably linked to the climate crisis, and we can’t save the climate by destroying nature in the process. In fact, we need to repair nature to help solve climate change. The opening panel of the Sydney Environment Institute’s Climate and Biodiversity Crises Series explored the broader planetary crisis and the interconnections between the climate and biodiversity crises.In partnership with the Australian Conservation Foundation and as part of Sydney’s first Climate Action Week, a panel of leading voices from academia, not-for-profit, business and government discussed the need for a unified approach. Protecting biodiversity serves as both a defence against climate change and a system threatened by it. Embracing this holistic perspective will be crucial for a resilient and thriving future.Timestamps00:56 - Introduction09:41 - Learning from Indigenous knowledges for a positive nature future14:40 - How has the Australian Conservation Foundation's messaging transformed?20:17 - What does science tell us about the interlay of the dual biodiversity and climate challenges?28:50 - How is the business sector responding to climate and biodiversity shifts?40:22 - How can we learn from Indigenous stories as key knowledge?45;24 - How are government departments integrating Indigenous cultural knowledge with western science?52:21 - How can business move from short-term business models to long-term climate solutions?58:30 - Why is it important that we shift the dominant narrative to reflect the larger planetary crisis?1:05:16 - Q+A beginsSpeakersDanielle Celermajer (Chair), Sydney Environment InstituteMitch Gibbs, Indigenous marine biologistBasha Stasak, Australian Conservation FoundationGuy Williams, consultant in nature positive solutionsJane DeGabriel, conservation scientist at the NSW Government

In this instalment of the SEI Podcast Series, writer Dr James Bradley  joins new scholarship that reckons with humanity’s complex relationship to the natural world. Through the lens and narratives of the ocean, it offers vital new ways of understanding and being in the world, and how we anticipate our climate future. Hear James expand on these ideas alongside Maria Byrne, Professor of Marine Biology at the University of Sydney and world expert on echinoderms; Tishiko King, proud Zenadth Kes/Torres Strait Island woman, marine biologist and climate campaigner; with Guardian Australia’s Helen Sullivan, who hosted this event.This event was held in partnership with Sydney Ideas.Timestamps:0:55 - Welcome from Helen Sullivan2:07 - How did you approach such a vast topic like the ocean?4:39 - How has this book changed you?9:20 - Living on an island when waste washes up on your shores20:04 - The importance of sea urchins ecologically27:50 - Massive loss of abundance36:34 - Lived reality of Indigenous people in the Torres Strait Islands Speakers:Dr James Bradley OAM, writer, critic and author of Deep WaterProfessor Maria Byrne, marine biologist at the University of SydneyTishiko King, scientist and climate campaignerHelen Sullivan (Chair), columnist and world news reporter at The Guardian