Did you know Australia has one of the highest deforestation rates in the developed world? About 20% of Queensland's vegetation has been bulldozed since colonisation -- one million hectares in the last three years alone -- mainly for cattle farming. What impact is this having on the Great Barrier Reef, and what can we do to fix it? To find out, this week we're chatting with Dr Maximilian Hirschfeld, Water Quality Campaign Manager at the Australian Marine Conservation Society.

Take Action:

• Sign a Submission to strengthen Australia's nature laws to prevent deforestation and other threats to our oceans
• Sign the Petition asking the Australian Government for a Stronger Water Pollution Reduction Plan

Support the show

Help Keep Word on the Reef Afloat!
Please take 2 minutes to fill out our Word on the Reef Listener Survey to help us apply for funding for the show!

PROTECT THE REEF - Sign these Petitions Now!

• Australian Marine Conservation Society: Australia, it's time to lead on Climate Action!
• Divers for Climate: Sign the 'I'm a Diver for Climate' National Statement
• Australian Conservation Foundation: No New Coal and Gas!
• Queensland Conservation Council: Take Strong Climate Action and Build a Positive Renewable Future!
• Our Islands Our Home: Protect the Torres Strait Islands from Climate Change
• Greenpeace: Save the Great Barrier Reef!
• WWF Australia: Protect Nature
• Rising Tide: ...

Spring has sprung and it’s baby-making season on the Great Barrier Reef! In this episode we talk coral spawning with marine scientist Dr Katie Chartrand, plus, we dive into the world of mangrove forests with CAFNEC's Shannon Bredeson.

More information:

• JCU Tropwater Spawning School
• CAFNEC's Mangrove Watch Program

Support the show

Help Keep Word on the Reef Afloat!
Please take 2 minutes to fill out our Word on the Reef Listener Survey to help us apply for funding for the show!

PROTECT THE REEF - Sign these Petitions Now!

• Australian Marine Conservation Society: Australia, it's time to lead on Climate Action!
• Divers for Climate: Sign the 'I'm a Diver for Climate' National Statement
• Australian Conservation Foundation: No New Coal and Gas!
• Queensland Conservation Council: Take Strong Climate Action and Build a Positive Renewable Future!
• Our Islands Our Home: Protect the Torres Strait Islands from Climate Change
• Greenpeace: Save the Great Barrier Reef!
• WWF Australia: Protect Nature
• Rising Tide: ...

Marine biologist and scuba legend Steve Sinclair is back again this week to finish revealing the Top 50 Dive Sites in Australia. Steve has spent over five decades exploring every reef, wreck and cave from Tasmania to the Top End — and now he’s sharing his secret spots with us!

From world-famous coral gardens on the Great Barrier Reef to secret, world-class dive spots you’ve never heard of, Steve shares insider stories and tips from a lifetime beneath the waves.

Plus — find out how you could win free dive trips by joining Steve’s Top 50 challenge and ticking off dives from your bucket list!

Image: Steve diving at the world-famous Cod Hole in October 2025.

Join the challenge: 50greatdives.com

Support the show

Help Keep Word on the Reef Afloat!
Please take 2 minutes to fill out our Word on the Reef Listener Survey to help us apply for funding for the show!

PROTECT THE REEF - Sign these Petitions Now!

• Australian Marine Conservation Society: Australia, it's time to lead on Climate Action!
• Divers for Climate: Sign the 'I'm a Diver for Climate' National Statement
• Australian Conservation Foundation: No New Coal and Gas!
• Queensland Conservation Council: Take Strong Climate Action and Build a Positive Renewable Future!
• Our Islands Our Home: Protect the Torres Strait Islands from Climate Change
• Greenpeace: Save the Great Barrier Reef!
• WWF Australia: Protect Nature
• Rising Tide: ...

Think you know Australia’s best dive sites? Think again! Marine biologist and scuba legend Steve Sinclair has spent over five decades exploring every reef, wreck and cave from Tasmania to the Top End — and now he’s revealing the Top 50 Dive Sites in Australia.

From world-famous coral gardens on the Great Barrier Reef to secret, world-class dive spots you’ve never heard of, Steve shares insider stories and tips from a lifetime beneath the waves.

Plus — find out how you could win free dive trips by joining Steve’s Top 50 challenge and ticking off dives from your bucket list!

Join the challenge: 50greatdives.com

Support the show

Help Keep Word on the Reef Afloat!
Please take 2 minutes to fill out our Word on the Reef Listener Survey to help us apply for funding for the show!

PROTECT THE REEF - Sign these Petitions Now!

• Australian Marine Conservation Society: Australia, it's time to lead on Climate Action!
• Divers for Climate: Sign the 'I'm a Diver for Climate' National Statement
• Australian Conservation Foundation: No New Coal and Gas!
• Queensland Conservation Council: Take Strong Climate Action and Build a Positive Renewable Future!
• Our Islands Our Home: Protect the Torres Strait Islands from Climate Change
• Greenpeace: Save the Great Barrier Reef!
• WWF Australia: Protect Nature
• Rising Tide: ...

What do underwater art museums, bomb tests, and citizen science have in common? They're all part of the story of the Great Barrier Reef’s past, present—and possible future.

Our guest this week is Dr. Adam Smith—freediver, marine biologist, and founder of Reef Ecologic, a Townsville-based social enterprise leading innovative reef conservation through research, education, and community action.

In this episode, we dive into how art, science, and storytelling are being used in powerful ways to protect one of the world’s most iconic ecosystems. You'll discover how public art installations beneath the sea are connecting people to the reef, how citizen science is turning everyday adventurers into ocean guardians, and what we can learn from extreme events like ship groundings and out-of-control seaweed outbreaks.

Support the show

Help Keep Word on the Reef Afloat!
Please take 2 minutes to fill out our Word on the Reef Listener Survey to help us apply for funding for the show!

PROTECT THE REEF - Sign these Petitions Now!

• Australian Marine Conservation Society: Australia, it's time to lead on Climate Action!
• Divers for Climate: Sign the 'I'm a Diver for Climate' National Statement
• Australian Conservation Foundation: No New Coal and Gas!
• Queensland Conservation Council: Take Strong Climate Action and Build a Positive Renewable Future!
• Our Islands Our Home: Protect the Torres Strait Islands from Climate Change
• Greenpeace: Save the Great Barrier Reef!
• WWF Australia: Protect Nature
• Rising Tide: ...

Today we're traveling back to South Australia for an update on the devastating toxic algal bloom that's been unfolding there over the last seven months, and what it it's been like for the divers who know and love these waters.

Marine Biologist and Divemaster Sarah Franke from Divers for Climate has just returned from a research trip to learn about how the disaster is impacting the South Australian community. She'll also take us inside the Senate Inquiry into the disaster, and let us know which of SA's dive sites are still safe to visit.

• Sign the 'I'm a Diver for Climate' National Statement
• www.instagram.com/diversforclimate

Support the show

Help Keep Word on the Reef Afloat!
Please take 2 minutes to fill out our Word on the Reef Listener Survey to help us apply for funding for the show!

PROTECT THE REEF - Sign these Petitions Now!

• Australian Marine Conservation Society: Australia, it's time to lead on Climate Action!
• Divers for Climate: Sign the 'I'm a Diver for Climate' National Statement
• Australian Conservation Foundation: No New Coal and Gas!
• Queensland Conservation Council: Take Strong Climate Action and Build a Positive Renewable Future!
• Our Islands Our Home: Protect the Torres Strait Islands from Climate Change
• Greenpeace: Save the Great Barrier Reef!
• WWF Australia: Protect Nature
• Rising Tide: ...

First Nations people have been caring for land and sea along the Great Barrier Reef Coast for thousands of years. In this powerful interview, Traditional Owner Gavin Singleton explains the enduring connection First Nations people have with the Reef, what they're doing to help protect it, and how we can all foster a stronger connection with each other and the Reef.

The didgeridoo recording at the end of this episode is from Gavin's 2018 TEDx Talk at JCU.

More information:

• Dawul Wuru Aboriginal Corporation
• Yirrganydji Land and Sea Ranger Program

💸 WIN $100! Fill out our Word on the Reef Listener Survey before 30 September 2025 to go in the draw. ENTER HERE.

Support the show

Help Keep Word on the Reef Afloat!
Please take 2 minutes to fill out our Word on the Reef Listener Survey to help us apply for funding for the show!

PROTECT THE REEF - Sign these Petitions Now!

• Australian Marine Conservation Society: Australia, it's time to lead on Climate Action!
• Divers for Climate: Sign the 'I'm a Diver for Climate' National Statement
• Australian Conservation Foundation: No New Coal and Gas!
• Queensland Conservation Council: Take Strong Climate Action and Build a Positive Renewable Future!
• Our Islands Our Home: Protect the Torres Strait Islands from Climate Change
• Greenpeace: Save the Great Barrier Reef!
• WWF Australia: Protect Nature
• Rising Tide: ...

Scott Reef, Australia’s largest remote offshore reef, is a breathtaking sanctuary for corals, fish, rare sea snakes, nesting turtles, and pygmy blue whales. But this natural wonder is under threat from a mega gas drilling and carbon dumping proposal. Fossil fuel campaigner Louise Morris from the Australian Marine Conservation Society joins us to explain what’s at stake and how we can fight back.

Plus: we unpack Australia’s new 2035 climate target with AMCS Reef Campaigner Lissa Schindler — and why experts say it’s not enough to protect our oceans.

Thumbnail Image Credit: Nush Freedman Photography

• Sign the Petition: Help Save Scott Reef from Woodside's Gas Plans
• Documentary Film: Coral's Last Stand
• Cairns Snap Action: 'Sleep-In For Climate,' Monday 22 September, 4pm
• Read the Australian Government's recently released National Climate Risk Assessment Report Summary & Sign the Petition

Support the show

Help Keep Word on the Reef Afloat!
Please take 2 minutes to fill out our Word on the Reef Listener Survey to help us apply for funding for the show!

PROTECT THE REEF - Sign these Petitions Now!

• Australian Marine Conservation Society: Australia, it's time to lead on Climate Action!
• Divers for Climate: Sign the 'I'm a Diver for Climate' National Statement
• Australian Conservation Foundation: No New Coal and Gas!
• Queensland Conservation Council: Take Strong Climate Action and Build a Positive Renewable Future!
• Our Islands Our Home: Protect the Torres Strait Islands from Climate Change
• Greenpeace: Save the Great Barrier Reef!
• WWF Australia: Protect Nature
• Rising Tide: ...