Tertiary Catalogue

This episode looks at how scientists use the presence of radioactive carbon-14 atoms in nature to determine the age of ancient artifacts. This dating technique is called radiocarbon dating. The programme also explains how carbon-14 is continuously being produced high up in the atmosphere. If it wasn't for this continuous production, radio carbon dating just wouldn't be a thing. Show Less

What if people could be the secret to transforming ocean deserts into rich forests filled with an abundance of life? Join two marine scientists as they explore how a hands-on approach to marine restoration is working to revive marine kelp forests in South Korea. During their trip, they witness how a deep connection with the ocean is inspiring change. In Korea, this connection runs across society, from a hundreds year old guild of female free divers to the Korea Fisheries Agency using the latest techniques to manage their kelp forests. By recognising that while people may take from the sea, people can also take care of the sea, they are charting a new course to thriving kelp forests all around the world. Show Less

Plankton are really important. The fish and almost everything else you can see in the ocean are only about ten percent of what is really there. Hordes of tiny organisms, so small it takes a microscope to see most of them, are the biggest biomass in the sea. Plankton contribute half the oxygen we breathe. They draw down carbon dioxide which helps keep our planet cool and they have created the oil which we still depend on. This video provides an important introduction to plankton. Show Less

Regenerating Australia is a 17-minute short film based on a four-month interview process with a diverse group of Australians who shared their hopes and dreams for the country's future. Set on New Year's Eve of December 2029, a news anchor is ending the nightly bulletin with a look back at the decade 'that could be’; a decade that saw Australia transition to a fairer, cleaner, more community focused economy. The film is a construction of news reports and press conferences featuring high profile journalists, politicians, business leaders and citizens such as Kerry O'Brien, Sandra Sully, Gorgi Coghlan, Patrick Abboud, Larissa Behrendt and David Pocock. *** Make sure to get your free copy of the 'Regenerating Australia' School Action Toolkit! The School Action Toolkit is a comprehensive resource for Primary and Secondary schools and covers key information about the film and the free educational resources (https://www.coolaustralia.org/regenerating-australia-education-resources/), as well as being loaded with tips to guide you through planning a successful and sustainable screening event. There is also a Take Action chapter which outlines personal and collective actions you can share with students, staff and parents. A comprehensive Action Planning Guide will walk you through a ‘whole school approach’ process for defining and planning sustainability and regenerative initiatives. Access your free copy of the 'Regenerating Australia' School Action Toolkit by subscribing to the Regenerators newsletter (https://theregenerators.co/regenerating-australia/educators/#subscribe) and you'll receive an email with a link to download it. Show Less

Filmed in the Amazon and Borneo, this resource illustrates and explains the key environmental and land use changes occurring in tropical rainforests and explores the effect they're having on the carbon ad hydrological cycles. We accompany scientists up flux towers as they monitor CO2 emissions and find out why they're digging soil pits to examine decomposition rates. A fantastic case study to deepen students' understanding of carbon and water cycles. Show Less

With stunning footage shot in the Canadian tundra, this title identifies and explores the physical and human factors, including climate change, that affect carbon and water cycles in the tundra We see the research and monitoring techniques scientists are using to identify and record these changes and look at the reasons this data is gathered. The resource shows how these same techniques can be used by students as part of their own fieldwork investigations. Show Less

Using a variety of examples from around the world, this clip looks at how unplanned urban growth, rapid industrialisation and a lack of environmental controls is causing water pollution and impacting on human health. Examples include the impacts of the textile industry in Dhaka, and how mining, oil extraction and the use of agricultural pesticides is causing water pollution in the Amazon. Show Less

This clip provides a number of different examples of how mangroves and tropical rainforests can be sustainably managed. Examples from the Sundarban mangroves and Amazon rainforest include: eco-tourism, controlled logging and the role of international treaties and agreements, creation of nature reserves and national parks, developing more sustainable agricultural practices and creating alternative livelihoods. The benefits and challenges of the different approaches are considered. Show Less

This clip compares how tropical rainforests and mangroves have adapted to their environments. We explore how despite sharing the same climatic conditions, mangroves face an additional challenges because of their coastal location. We see examples of how rainforests have adapted to their warm, damp environment including: the forest structure, drip tip leaves, lianas, buttress roots, epiphytes. This is then compared with how mangroves have adapted to survive in brackish water and waterlogged soil, i.e. through root adaptations. Filmed in a variety of rainforest and mangrove locations around the world. Show Less

This clip considers the functions or both rainforests and mangroves in the environment. The importance of rainforests as water catchment, climate regulator, green lungs of the earth, carbon store and biodiversity hotspot are all considered. We then look at how mangroves protect coasts from cyclones, waves and floods, clean our water, store carbon and create biodiversity hot spots including important habitats for nurseries for the world's fish stocks. Filmed in a variety of rainforest and mangrove environments, including the Amazon and Borneo rainforest and the Sundarban mangroves. Show Less

This clip considers the economic, environmental and social impacts of overusing mangroves and rainforests, including potential for economic development, deforestation, loss of habitat and biodiversity, environmental pollution, increased risk of flooding, soil erosion, impact on climate, loss of natural resources, loss of indigenous lands and livelihoods. Footage from the Amazon shows the impacts of rainforest deforestation from logging and palm oil plantations. Footage from the Sundarban mangroves shows the impacts of over fishing and shrimp farming. Show Less

With clear graphics, maps and extraordinary footage filmed in a variety of rainforests and mangroves around the world, this title describes the conditions needed for tropical reinvests and mangroves to grow. It considers the role of soils and climate and the importance of year round high and continuous precipitation and warm temperatures. Show Less

This clip describes and shows how people use rainforests and mangroves. Examples include: as sources of timber, medicines and foods, for oil and mineral extraction, as home to indigenous peoples and as tourist destinations. Filmed in the Amazon and Sundarban mangroves. Show Less

With clear graphics, maps and footage filmed in a variety of rainforest environments, including the Amazon and in a variety of mangrove forests, including the world's largest (the Sundarbans), this title describes the distribution of tropical rainforests and mangroves around the world, identifies the world's key areas and describes how their distribution has changed over time. Show Less

The Great Southern Reef is dominated by a canopy forming seaweed species, Ecklonia radiata. This kelp, sometimes called common kelp or golden kelp is known as a foundation species as it provides food, shelter and habitat for hundreds of species. Seaweeds also play an important role in slowing climate change by taking carbon out of the atmosphere. Show Less

Every year SARDI aquatic sciences send a team of scientists to Pt. Lowly SA, to assess the population of the Giant Australian Cuttlefish aggregation. Divers swim 50m transects counting the cuttlefish to calculate how many animals per square meter there are. On a single transect they can count hundreds of cuttlefish. In the late 90s the population estimate was around 180,000 and appeared stable. In 2005 the population decreased a little, but from about 2009 onwards the scientists started to see a concerning reduction in the population, dropping to just 13,000 animals in 2013 - less than 10% of earlier estimates. Many questions were raised about what was causing that decline. Was it pollution, disease, aquaculture, fishing? Because the area is highly utilised by many different people and organisations, there was a lot of speculation. Scientists tried to assess each potential driver, but did not find a clear link or relationship to any one driver in isolation. Show Less

Giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) are an iconic canopy forming seaweed that can grow over 35 metres long and up to half a metre each day. Like trees in a forest, giant kelp modifies the environment and the resulting conditions favour a huge diversity of other species. Dr. Cayne Layton from the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies explains his research on restoring Australia's giant kelp forests. Cayne and his team are examining selected individuals from a range of these remaining populations to examine how warm tolerant their offspring are of warmer water. Show Less

Whaledreamer, songman, storyteller. These are just a few ways in which Bunna Lawrie represents the Mirning Aboriginal tribe and tells the story of his country and fight for land and sea protection along the Great Southern Reef. Born and raised along the Nullarbor at the head of the Great Australian Bight, Lawrie adopted his community’s culture, laws and tradition at an early age growing up to be a Mirning senior elder and medicine man. Show Less

Leading Australia’s largest marine restoration initiative, The Nature Conservancy has committed to protect and restore 60 shellfish reefs right across the Great Southern Reef with the aim of recovering the critically endangered marine ecosystem. This includes the habitats in Port Phillip Bay where we were able to spend a day with these leading marine researchers looking for a new suitable shellfish restoration site within the bay. Show Less

“It’s all about the food, and about the reefs that provide that food,” Ocean Grown Abalone’s (OGA) Managing Director, Brad Adams, claims as he explains how the sustainable abalone reef system works. Adams grew up in remote western Australia along the Great Southern Reef, where he and his family have a deeply rooted relationship with aquaculture and the fishing industry. Show Less

Warrnambool native and eco-activist, Colleen Hughson, first began her beach clean-up initiative after spending time walking along the Shelly Beach, a remote, rugged stretch of coastline near her hometown. During an illness she would frequent the beach taking time to unwind and relax but couldn’t help but noticing that day in, day out, the beach was dotted with white, plastic sticks. Show Less

Southern Bluefin Tuna are world renowned as one of the most sought after by fisheries for their delicate meat. An invaluable resource to Australia's economy, the fishery is a multimillion dollar industry. Back in the 1960s and 70s, the southern bluefin tuna was highly overfished and were a high volume low value fishery. In this video, tuna researcher Kirsten Rough explains how extensive research and strict regulations have helped develop the fishery which is now sustainable and maintains a low volume yet high value output. Show Less

Aboriginal heritage is a central element in Aboriginal spirituality and is inseparable from the natural environment which is associated with dreaming stories and cultural learning that links Aboriginal people with who they are and where they belong. The Wadandi Saltwater) People of the South West corner of Australia have a long association with the natural resources linked to both land and sea country. Zac Webb is a Wadandi-Pibulmun cultural custodian from the Noongar nation, an Aboriginal region spanning southwestern Australia along the Great Southern Reef near Margaret River, and one of the last speakers of their native language. As custodians of their country, the Noongar people have a continuous cultural, physical and spiritual relationship with the land and sea. Having been taught by his family who have continuously lived on Wadandi Boodja for generations, he has a wealth of knowledge of his people’s culture. “if you look after the country, the country will look after you because we are part of the country and she is a part of us ”explained Wadandi custodian and Undalup Association chairperson Zac Webb. This concept is key to what the Great Southern Reef is all about. Caring for where we live, connecting to sea country and seeing ourselves as local stewards of a larger interconnected system. Webb encourages Aussies to “Get out, get amongst it. Learn about your local places, get a sense of pride and belonging. Ownership of that place knowing that you don’t need to be an indigenous person to feel a connection to a place. All people indigenous and non-indigenous feel a connection to country.” Show Less