Conservation

The forty-spotted pardalote is one of Australia's most endangered birds and is only found in tiny pockets of white gum woodland on Tasmania's east coast. Ecologically, it's probably one of the most remarkable birds on the planet, says wildlife ecologist Dr Sally Bryant. That's because it farms its own food.

Guides, especially local guides, give a great deal of added value to people who are traveling the planet and who love nature, says specialist guide on Bruny Island, Cat Davidson. Being out with someone who lives in a place and understands a place, does give you so many more layers to your experience.

Living where we do now, we are very, very much connected to place, writes the Chair of the Friends of North Bruny, Simon Allston. It's a magical place and a really special place to live. It's increasingly obvious it's an extraordinary place on a planetary level, and we're doing everything we can to look after its precious natural environment.

The ground parrot is one of only three ground-dwelling parrots in the world, says wildlife ecologist Dr Sally Bryant. It is a fantastic species about which she knew little when she started a two-year project to assess its conservation status. That project taught her about sound.

You can never replace looking into the eyes of a little pademelon or something in the pouch, or holding a devil or hearing their noise at night, writes acclaimed Tasmanian wildlife scientist Dr Sally Bryant. There's nothing that will ever replace those natural connections.

Bird ecologist Dr Catherine Young always said she wouldn't follow in her brother's footsteps, into environmental science. But growing up in South Africa with a mother who loved wildlife she was surrounded by it, and it wasn't long before it beckoned her as well.

For writer Tim Winton, it's no secret the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo coast in his native WA is a place he feels intrinsically linked to, and duty-bound to protect. Here, he describes the power of eco-tourism over big industry and why we should leave our wild special places as we find them.

I think I'm going to blame my parents. I grew up on the shore of Loch Ness in Scotland and they own a garden nursery, so I was permeated with plant names since day one, says specialist bird and nature guide Cat Davidson, of her early connection to nature.

Benjamin Tacud is an irreplaceable figure in Panay's conservation community. His transformation to protector of the critically-endangered bird he once pursued, exemplifies the true spirit of conservation.

"It's just a place that you feel very alive and you feel nature feeling very alive around you," says specialist guide with Inala Nature Tours, Cat Davidson of Bruny Island in southern Tasmania. It has amazing, diverse habitat types, specialist birds and animals and a strong community. It is home.

We will often be sent a wish list by someone before they even arrive on Bruny Island, Inala Nature Tours guide Cat Davidson says of visiting bird-watchers. Nearly every single time the critically-endangered swift parrot or the endangered forty-spotted pardalote is high on the list.

"I'm not proud that I've finished it, to be honest. I'm proud that I've survived it," says acclaimed Australian author Tim Winton of his new novel Juice. "...it seems to be unleashing a kind of picked-up feeling of frustration and rage at climate inaction." We catch up with Tim in Hobart during his book tour.