Spiders are divisive subjects amongst the vast majority of non-scientific audiences. Arachnophobia, misinformation or misidentification regarding spider bites, and cultural stigma can all inhibit learning due to limited receptiveness, discrimination and bias. Such factors often compromise effective communication regarding the importance of spiders in ecology, and in other contexts. However, much ecological information can be encapsulated into children’s literature to promote incidental learning. I will art-iculate how I have designed a children’s book to incorporate ecological roles and diversity of Australian spiders.

Once upon a time there was an eastern pygmy possum who lived in a beautiful woodland full of tall Eucalyptus trees and Banksia bushes with shiny leaves and giant yellow and orange flowers. One day, the little possum woke up and smelled something strange – smoke! A fire was burning all around her, and soon her home was nothing but blackened trunks and embers. Join her adventures as she navigates a fearful post-fire landscape of predatory cats and birds, makes some new friends, and tries to find shelter and food in the burnt remains of her woodland. How will she survive? Will she ever be able to return to her favourite Banksia? This story was written for toddlers to help them learn in a fun way about some of the processes and threats affecting Australia’s woodland ecosystems and dependent species. Australia is home to amazing ecological stories and unique biodiversity that is being lost at unprecedented rates. I hope that teaching children early about the wonders of nature as well as its threats will help the new generation be better informed about their impacts on biodiversity and have a greater understanding of how to reduce their impacts and preserve our ecosystems before they are lost. This story about the effect of a bushfire on an eastern pygmy possum is the start of my journey to engage children through story-telling and art.

Ecology is so often made up of tables, graphs and models that represent a myriad of charismatic, fluffy, beautiful, and sometimes funny species. Nature is inherently hilarious – you just have to know where to look. From the bumblings of birds, to trees stubbornly growing sideways out of rockfaces, to the frog named the “pobblebonk” (honestly) – there is much humour to find in the natural world. Earlier this year I was a RAW Comedy 2019 finalist and I told jokes about urban green space research and the inner-city biodiversity habitat crisis. These jokes got laughs! This talk will feature a “tight five” comedy set on ecological topics. But it will also give tips on using humour, analogies, and a love of nature to connect with the general public. Using humour is relevant not just to stand-up comedy, but to many forms of performance: including research presentations. Often the most engaging presentations use humour in some way through memes or puns. The fate facing many species and indeed ecosystems is extremely dire. And although we shouldn’t make light of the situation, we need to engage people with the plight of the natural world through every means necessary.

Human activities are having a profound detrimental impact on our planet’s biodiversity, yet we have not observed a commensurate shift in people’s mind-set to achieve a more harmonious relationship between people and nature. As such, the need to shift the publics’ understanding of our ecological impact continues to activate the role of science communication. There is mounting interest in integrating art with science as an influential communication practice to tackle ‘wicked’ environmental issues. This study sought to design a synergistic approach to communicating the importance of biodiversity in urban environments by integrating participatory art and ecology. Creating art inspired by science can increase the public’s understanding of biodiversity through provoking an emotional response and creating pathways to sustainable ways of being that can initiate positive behaviour changes. The arts can provide a platform for expression and reflection on critical issues which traditional education and outreach methods typically cannot. Grounded on the heart, head and hand framework, our study explored the impacts and outcomes from participatory art-science experiences delivered at The Living Pavilion, a temporary, Indigenous-led event space that took place in Melbourne during three weeks in May 2019. Through three case studies we illustrate the positive impacts of participatory artistic inquiry in facilitating ecological literacy and a heightened awareness and understanding of biodiversity in urban environments.

Art is an especially effective way to communicate ecological concepts and information. As Brian Cox points out, science itself is an emotional response to nature, just as music or art is. Perhaps this is why art and ecology go together so well. Communicating ecological concepts through art allows us to communicate with diverse audiences, and personalises concepts in a way that sticks with an audience. However, art can do so much more than communicating information. The act of creating a piece of art helps the artist understand and retain the science. The collaborative process of creating art about science can build trust – between different artists, between the artist and the scientist, or potentially between disciplines or sectors.

However, a challenge for all those rocking bureaucrats (and many others) is this: what is the role of the arts in our work and in our results-focussed world? Is it all just a waste of time? When is art the right way to achieve your communications goal?

In this presentation, two ‘rocking’ ecologically- and artistically-minded bureaucrats will reflect on the role of art in communicating ecology and share recent examples of our artistic ecological communication endeavours, through song and cartoons.

Most commonly, science public engagement deploys the so-called “deficit model”, where by the scientist provides information to the audience to fill a perceived gap or deficit in knowledge. This top-down approach has come under increasing criticism as it makes a number of inaccurate assumptions, most notably that that the public’s perceived lack of engagement with science is a consequence of their lack of understanding while simultaneously failing to recognise that science, at its core, is a continued and ongoing debate.

Sci-art, the confluence of science and art, has been proposed as a more equitable mechanism for science public engagement but in practice can suffer from the same criticisms as the deficit model, not least because the partnership between scientist and artist is often inequitable it’s self. In response to these issues, we created the multi-media installation Gaiamycota, a conceptual work developed through a series of documented experiments at the interface between science and conceptual art. Gaiamycota explores the state of what remains of the soil and its ecology, it’s acute predicament and foretells of a method to address this, given a global collective and cultural will. As a result, Gaiamycota creates a reflective space facilitating interaction between all stakeholders.

In this presentation, we will discuss the development of Gaiamycota, it’s impact, the lessons learned during its inception and how this is subsequently being used as a foundation for the development of public art investigating contemporary issues in food security in Australia.

The boom in popularity of natural history in the nineteenth century and the unparalleled novelty of Australian nature to Europeans has left a rich legacy of science communication for Australian ecology, framed around the art created by a diverse and creative community of illustrators, engravers, and entrepreneurs. I examine how the iconic illustrations and the messages linked to these illustrations in seminal works in Australian natural history from 1813-1890 relate to our current understanding of ecology and the communication of science today. The art and narrative of these historical works is linked to the here and now, identifying commonalities in scientific communication that have persisted for over 200 years, as well as how messages delivered resonate in current conversations about nature, ecology and conservation. These include concerns raised over the introduction of non-native species, the destruction of landscapes, and the lack of protection for native species, concerns that remain central to the management of our unique ecosystems today. Other common messages, particularly the historical presentation of indigenous narratives, are anathema to modern ecology. Overall, while the huge difference between natural history writing in the 19th century and the way we do, and present ecology today is apparent, many of the observations presented are the foundation for the models we develop and hypotheses we test today. The images and narratives are also a solemn reminder of how little has changed despite over a century of ecological research.

Large trees are keystone structures that accrue unique habitat attributes only over centuries (hollows, peeling bark, complex canopy structure). In modified landscapes, mature trees are often targeted for removal due to human activities (e.g. urban expansion). Increasingly, the loss of mature trees is ‘offset’ with mass tubestock plantings, which cannot provide the full complement of habitat resources that many taxa depend on for survival. Could installing felled mature trees as vertical habitat provide a complementary short-term offsetting measure? We tested the installation of 10 vertical habitat structures at an offset site in the Molonglo Valley, Canberra, including 5 utility poles and 5 dead trees enriched with habitat features (carved hollows, perch sites) intended to mimic some of the functions of mature trees. We measured changes in bird species richness using a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) design and found a four-fold and seven-fold increase in mean native bird species richness at utility poles and dead trees, respectively. With proof of concept, we installed an 11th vertical structure at the site comprising of one large remnant tree converted into a habitat sculpture titled ‘Life Support’. The design and construction of Life Support drew on cross-disciplinary expertise from architects, structural engineers and ecologists to create a multi-functional structure, providing habitat for wildlife and a focal point in the landscape for community education. We demonstrate a novel technique to adaptively reuse salvaged mature trees and habitat resources (hollows) for both restoration and engagement purposes.