Animals play critical roles in ecosystems, but they are broadly overlooked in assessments of mine site restoration success says Sophie Cross, an ecologist at Curtin University.

She tracked Australia’s largest lizard species, the perentie, using VHF radio and GPS tracking, and walked hundreds of kilometres through unmined and restoration bushland on a mine site in the mid-west region of Western Australia for her study published in the Australian Journal of Zoology.

A new land management tool using Aboriginal knowledge

Ngan’gi speakers know it’s time to look for freshwater crocodile eggs when the red kapok trees near the Northern Territory’s Daly River burst into flower.

This can occur at a different time each year, but the environmental link is solid.

A Darwin-based scientist has converted this link and other intimate Aboriginal knowledge of Australia’s landscape into an environmental management tool. [continue reading…]

This year, thanks to funding from the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science, Research and Tertiary Education through the Inspiring Australia initiative, and partners in other states, we’ve expanded the program to include state finals in:

• Queensland, supported by the University of Queensland;
• Victoria, supported by Scienceworks;
• New South Wales, supported by ANSTO and;
• South Australia

Here’s the state finalists – we’ll announce the national finalists in the next week or so. [continue reading…]

Some of 63 Unlocking Australia’s Potential science communication grants totalling $5 million announced today by the Minister for Science and Research, Senator Chris Evans.

For the official announcement from the Minister; State by State releases; and a full list of grant recipients; go online to www.scienceinpublic.com.au/inspiringaus
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A total of $5 million has been awarded across three levels of grant categories, small, medium and large, for projects to be delivered in 2012 and/or 2013 and/or 2014.

The prime objective of the program is to increase the engagement of Australians in science and it has prioritised projects that engage people who may not have had previous access to or interest in science-communication activities. Inspiring Australia is an initiative of the Australian Government.

Below is the full list of grants received in each state. [continue reading…]

Is that angry bird Australian, art and science combine to explain free radicals and more.

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Wombat combat, the science of ageing live on stage and more.

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Farming in the desert, hi-tech “QR Codes” to be placed on walking trail and more.

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New technology for cleaning up nuclear spills, kids wearing the wrong seatbelts and re-writing the textbook on muscles and are just some of the stories we found interesting in Australian science in the last week.
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