Friends, Enemies, Quolls & Ice
Spark Plug Sunday: One article, one film, one podcast and one event.
Feel good, Shoalhaven.
- Cat
READ: A New Era of Conservation
I'm excited today to feature a fantastic article from my tireless better half, Rob Barrel, about the canopy-busting conservation work of UOW biologist Dr Katarina Mikac. Combining grassroots citizen science with high-tech drone surveys of rich South Coast forests, Mikac's passion is finding and saving quolls, gliders and other endangered wildlife.
Rob attended one of Dr Mikac's town meetings where her message was clear:
"Private landholders are key to conservation — to keeping native species alive. Each tree, each log, each connection counts."
"Only a small portion of Australia is in National Parks; the rest is in private hands. Developers aren’t walking into national parks to fell big old trees, but they will try on urban edges and on private land."
Read the whole story about how farmers, scientists and communities are collaborating to protect habitats and save iconic species from extinction.
WATCH: Friendship Knows No Borders
This is my favourite find of the week! The Multicultural Communities Council of Illawarra has a Shoalhaven hub and I managed to nab a ticket to their launch of four local short films about that most important and infinitely variable of all human experiences: Friendship.
Don't worry, after the launch tomorrow night at Nowra's Roxy Cinema, all four films will go up (one by one) on the organisation's U & ME website and YouTube channel. If you haven't already watched the project's 18 previous shorts made about Illawarra people, under the filmmaking guidance of Sandra Pires from Why Documentaries, turn off the foul news about D.Trump and P.Hanson, and instead enjoy charming and insightful true stories of unlikely cross cultural bonds.
Above is the first short film from 5 years ago, Mark and James. I dare you not to smile. The simplicity and honesty of these profiles is a breath of fresh air and our communities need more of it.
MCCI and Roxy have opened up extra space for the U&Me Shoalhaven launch tomorrow, so click below now to grab one of the final FREE tickets.
LISTEN: Rock Peaceniks to Peace Protests
This week I'm sneaking in two interviews from Triple U & Col Hesse.
Australian music icon, Ross Wilson played the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre just this weekend with his all-star band The Peaceniks to celebrate 50 Years of Hits, including the Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock favourites. For those of us who like any excuse to trip back to the 70s and 80s (but missed the show) you can get a terrific insight into Wilson's ageless vibe on Triple U FM's Soundcloud podcast.
When that chat ends, stay online for a more frantic, but eye-opening, interview with Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah who manages to passionately argue global politics, history and religion while doing her morning school drop off. The award-winning Australian author, lawyer, sociologist and human rights advocate was booted off the 2026 Adelaide Writers’ Week line-up on “cultural sensitivity” grounds, sparking the withdrawal of hundreds of authors and the cancellation of the festival. Randa's 2025 novel, Discipline, explores censorship and the cost of academic and media silence against the backdrop of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Listen to Col Hesse's Friday morning Triple U interviews via Soundcloud
Got community news, reels or conversations? Send links: spark@catholloway.com