Join us for a series of audio-escapes featuring fascinating talks by Tasmanian scientists and artists, with music composed by Tasmanian musicians. Each episode is paired with a suggested walking location in lutruwita/Tasmania, but you can listen from anywhere in the world. (Note: Sci Art Walks is best enjoyed with fresh air.)
Cradle Mountain
In search of a devil facial tumour disease vaccine
Talk by Dr Andy Flies with music by Emily Sanzaro
Tassie Devil populations are at risk of extinction due to a devastating transmissible cancer that has wiped out huge numbers of the iconic species. But their plight has catalysed groundbreaking research into devil immune systems, and the search for an effective vaccine against the deadly tumour is well underway. The upshot may be that we pull the devil back from the brink, while also discovering crucial insights into other wildlife diseases, including those thought to underlie the Coronavirus pandemic.
GASP! Trail, Glenorchy
On risk
Talk by David Walsh Music by Zac Henderson
Humans are flawed evaluators of past decisions. We place far too much emphasis on outcomes, with little consideration of inherent risk. When we learn to appreciate the importance of alternative histories, the ghosts of our past decisions come back to haunt us, or perhaps we finally appreciate the broker who sold us that insurance policy we never collected on. Perched just above the Derwent River, trekking through David Walsh’s past and present stomping grounds, a chance to view Mona, and the world, through his distinct point of view.
Knocklofty Reserve, Hobart
Reigniting aboriginal fire culture in Tasmania
Talk by Andry Sculthorpe and Billy Paton-Clarke with music by Emily Wurramara
Many Australians view fire as a destructive force, but there’s more than one type of fire. Aboriginal people have been burning this country for centuries, helping to encourage native vegetation, improve food availability for humans and animals, and restoring balance in the ecosystem. Knocklofty Reserve was a very different environment not so long ago, but when we look out at the vegetation there today, we rarely see what’s been lost and what’s misplaced. Reigniting Aboriginal fire culture in Tasmania is a crucial step towards restoring our connection to country and our ability to understand and respect our fragile habitats.
Cataract Gorge, Launceston
Using maths and evolution to connect all living things
Talk by Professor Barbara Holland with music by Brian Ritchie
The field of phylogenetics describes how all living things are related, and can be traced back to a common ancestor (one of Darwin’s key insights). As you wander through the ancient geological formation of Launceston’s Cataract Gorge, a reflection on using mathematical tools to understand evolution, species diversity, and what ties us all together.
Cockle Creek to South Cape Bay
Exploring the last stop on the earth
Talk by First Dog on the Moon with music by Emily Sheppard
A joyful meditation on the end of the world, taking refuge in Tasmania’s secluded and stunning environments, and drinking good whisky along the journey. Emerging at South Cape Bay, one of the most southern points in the inhabited world, take a moment to gaze out at the great nothingness before you. Perhaps this is where humanity ends and nature takes over.
Lake Pedder
Rewilding Tasmania: the ecological challenge of restoring Lake Pedder
Talk by Christine Milne, Bob Brown, Distinguished Professor Jamie Kirkpatrick, Tabatha Badger and Todd Dudley with music by Tilly Martin and Julius Schwing
When Tasmania’s iconic Lake Pedder was flooded in 1972 to create a reservoir in the service of hydroelectric power, a unique wilderness was drowned, and now lies 15 metres beneath the surface, dormant but apparently intact. What would it take to reverse the course of history, drain the impoundment, and restore the flooded lake to its original glory? Is such a goal even ecologically possible? Meander through Tasmania’s Southwest National Park while contemplating the effort to undo our past actions and rewild our world.
The Nut, Stanley
The secret life of mutton birds
Talk by Dr Jennifer Lavers with music by Maggie Abraham
The small, brown, humble-looking mutton bird may not seem so exquisite upon first glance (or first sniff), but their modest appearance belies their incredible story. From throwing themselves off a cliff for their first flight and not returning to land for five years, to flying round-trip to Antarctica every few days to fish for their growing chicks, these birds are true Tasmanian superheroes. Walking along the Nut, with evidence of mutton birds everywhere around you, spare a moment to appreciate their splendour and to listen to the warning they have for all of us.
Wineglass Bay Walk, Freycinet
As Tasmania’s waters warm, what happens to our marine species?
Talk by Professor Gretta Pecl with music by Michael Fortescue
Climate change and rising sea temperatures are pushing Australian coastal marine species south, in search of cooler waters and more suitable habitat. But Tasmania’s east coast is pretty much the stop of last resort for many vulnerable species. To those gazing out over the dazzling Wineglass Bay, the changes occurring below the surface may be invisible, but their effects are already altering our ecosystems and ways of life.
Remarkable Cave to Crescent Bay
Walk slow, look low: seeing the world from a naturalist’s perspective
Talk by Dr Cathy Byrne and Dr Simon Grove with music by Warren Mason and Ben Salter
When you go for a walk in the bush, you enter the realm of small species. Insects abound in our natural world, but many of us rarely take the time to look for them or wonder about their stories. Whether you make it 100 metres out of the Remarkable Cave car park, or all the way to Crescent Bay, here’s a chance to tune into the incredible diversity and intrigue of the insect world. Full of scandal, sex, murder, and mystery, you’ll never look at a clump of leaves or rotting tree bark the same way again.
About the Sci Art Walks Project
Sci Art Walks is a project by Beaker Street Festival, an annual celebration of science and art in Hobart, Tasmania. The unusual circumstances of 2020 inspired us to innovate, and create something that would get people away from their screens and out into nature. You might say Sci Art Walks is a project for a pandemic. In times of uncertainty and anxiety, many of us find solace in our natural world. Creating these episodes was also a great opportunity to continue to facilitate collaborations between scientists and artists, and showcase some of the amazing talent and groundbreaking scientific research coming out of Tasmania.
