The Great Barrier Reef has just experienced its worst summer on record, with cyclones, severe rainfall, flooding, and its most extreme coral bleaching event ever. The World Heritage Committee has expressed concerns that the Australian Government isn't doing enough to protect the Reef, particularly regarding its climate policies, and advised the Reef may face a possible 'In Danger' listing. To explain what that means and what we need to do about it, our guest this week is Reef and World Heritage Expert Dr Jon Day.

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• Sign the Petition, asking the Australian Government for stronger policies to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
• Support Word on the Reef on Patreon
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram
• If you'd like to ask a question, be a guest on the podcast or suggest a topic, contact: info@wordonthereef.org

Tahn Miller is a Master Reef Guide who has spent 14 years observing and teaching people about magical creatures on the Great Barrier Reef. Join us as we swap crazy stories about close encounters with these incredible animals, while counting down the Top 8 Fantastic Beasts of the Great Barrier Reef and Where to Find Them! (JK Rowling reference, for the Muggles out there).

• Follow @TahnMiller on Instagram
• Follow Tahn on YouTube

YOU CAN HELP

• Sign the Petition, asking the Australian Government for stronger policies to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
• Support Word on the Reef on Patreon
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram
• If you'd like to ask a question, be a guest on the podcast or suggest a topic, contact: info@wordonthereef.org

Winter is an incredible time to see, hear, and even swim with whales on the Great Barrier Reef! But they also get up to some pretty weird things, and today we'll learn all about the secrets of whales from someone who has dedicated his life to studying them.

• Sign the petition to stop whale entanglements in shark nets
• Learn more about "Humpbacks and High Rises"
• Help whales with the Australian Marine Conservation Society's whale protection campaign.

YOU CAN HELP

• Sign the Petition, asking the Australian Government for stronger policies to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
• Support Word on the Reef on Patreon
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram
• If you'd like to ask a question, be a guest on the podcast or suggest a topic, contact: info@wordonthereef.org

It's official - we are in the midst of the world’s worst coral bleaching event on record, affecting two thirds of corals globally, spanning some 64 countries and territories. We've already explored some of the impacts on the Great Barrier Reef - this week we'll head overseas to find out about the impacts in other countries.

To see the map discussed in this episode: https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/noaa-confirms-4th-global-coral-bleaching-event

YOU CAN HELP

• Sign the Petition, asking the Australian Government for stronger policies to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
• Support Word on the Reef on Patreon
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram
• If you'd like to ask a question, be a guest on the podcast or suggest a topic, contact: info@wordonthereef.org

In 1967, it was discovered that the Queensland government had secretly leased out more than 200,000sqkm of the Great Barrier Reef for oil drilling. A small group of unlikely heroes banded together to save the Reef. Their courageous story of hope against seemingly insurmountable odds holds a lesson for us all.

YOU CAN HELP

• Sign the Petition, asking the Australian Government for stronger policies to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
• Support Word on the Reef on Patreon
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram
• If you'd like to ask a question, be a guest on the podcast or suggest a topic, contact: info@wordonthereef.org

The Great Barrier Reef wasn't always considered a natural wonder worth protecting. 😮 In 1967, a small group of volunteers had to fight a battle to save it from being dug up for fertiliser and concrete. ⛏️ Today we meet two of those champions, and visit the place where it all started.

Episode Image: Eddie Hegerl (left) and John Busst. Source: Friends of Ninney Rise.

References:

• Daley, Ben, and Griggs, Peter (2006) Mining the reefs and cays: coral, guano and rock phosphate extraction in the Great Barrier Reef, 1844-1940. Environment and History, 12 (4). pp. 395-433.
• Wright, J. (2014). The Coral Battleground (3rd ed.). Spinifex Press.
• Bowen, J., & Bowen, M. (2002). The Great Barrier Reef: History, Science, Heritage. Cambridge University Press.
• McCalman, I. (2015). The Reef: A Passionate History (Reprint ed.). Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

See also: www.ninneyrise.com

YOU CAN HELP

• Sign the Petition, asking the Australian Government for stronger policies to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
• Support Word on the Reef on Patreon
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram
• If you'd like to ask a question, be a guest on the podcast or suggest a topic, contact: info@wordonthereef.org

🐢 Sea turtles can grow to the size of a table, navigate using magnets in their brain, and fight off gangs of sharks. 🦈 But after 100 million years in our oceans, their existence is now under threat. This week we visit Raine Island with Marine Biologist and Emmy-winning cinematographer Richard Fitzpatrick to find out why.

YOU CAN HELP

• Sign the Petition, asking the Australian Government for stronger policies to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
• Support Word on the Reef on Patreon
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram
• If you'd like to ask a question, be a guest on the podcast or suggest a topic, contact: info@wordonthereef.org

This week we visit a coral nursery near Port Douglas, to see how tourism operators are teaming up with scientists to care for their patches of reef. The Coral Nurture Program is showing promising results - but what are its limitations, and what role does it play in protecting our Reef? 🪸

YOU CAN HELP

• Sign the Petition, asking the Australian Government for stronger policies to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
• Support Word on the Reef on Patreon
• Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram
• If you'd like to ask a question, be a guest on the podcast or suggest a topic, contact: info@wordonthereef.org