CMS member Emma Hamasaki was recently interviewed about That's What I Call Science (TWICS) podcast, which she co-hosts with CMS student Olly Dove.
KEY POINTS
CMS extend a huge congratulations to the That’s What I Call Science team who won a Eureka award last for science outreach. The award recognised the significant impact of the Tassie based volunteer-run radio show and podcast on Edge Radio.
See Eureka Prize winners here: https://australian.museum/get-involved/eureka-prizes/2023-eureka-prize-winners/
TWICS Eureka Prize entry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7l4OvLtzoQ
CMS Director Prof Gretta Pecl signs open letter to Australian Government: ‘Australia must accelerate climate action, not climate annihilation’, published in New York Times. The letter urges Australia to follow the advice of the United Nations, the International Energy Agency (IEA), and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and prevent any further new fossil fuel developments.
More details: https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/australias-fossil-fuel-hypocrisy-called-out-on-the-world-stage/
Read the open letter here: https://australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Scientist-Experts-Open-Letter-The-Australia-Institute.pdf
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ voices and engagement in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Advice to inform the Australian Government towards Assessment Report 7
An independent report to the Australian Government
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have lived in Australia for thousands of generations and through changes in the climate. Knowledges of how to manage Country (traditional estate) to ensure ecosystem health, food sources, and sustainability of Peoples through these changes have been passed down through Traditional methods. Much of these Indigenous Knowledges provide insights on how to adapt to the changes occurring now and projected into the future under the more rapid and human-induced climate change.
Until the most recent IPCC Assessment Report (AR6; IPCC, 2022), minimal inclusion of Indigenous data had occurred. Research was commissioned by the Australian Government ahead of the IPCC Assessment Report 7 planning discussions in August 2023, to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Knowledges and perspectives are directly presented by First Nations scholars and Knowledge holders themselves.
To guide the approach, a research team was formed comprising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scholars, IPCC Lead Authors, and researchers with skills in cultural competency. Adjunct Professor Sandra Creamer AM (Waanyi Kalkadoon, The University of Queensland), Dr Vinnitta Mosby (Meriam Nation, Torres Strait, James Cook University), Associate Professor Brad Moggridge (Kamilaroi, University of Canberra) and Lillian Ireland (Melukerdee, legal scholar) are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scholars who bring cultural Knowledges and diverse Country representation to this group. Dr Nina Lansbury (non-Indigenous, The University of Queensland) and Professor Gretta Pecl (non-Indigenous, University of Tasmania) are AR6 Lead Authors who worked alongside the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander team.
Read the Executive Summary (PDF, 329.7 KB)
Read the Appendix of ‘Summary for the People: IPCC Assessment Report 6- Australasia’ (PDF, 711 KB)
Cite as: Lansbury, N., Moggridge, B., Creamer, S., Ireland, L., Buckley, L., Evans, G., Milsom, O., Pecl, G., and Mosby, V. (2023), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ voices and engagement in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Advice to inform the Australian Government towards IPCC Assessment Report 7, An independent report commissioned by the Australian Government (Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water), Canberra.
For further details, contact Dr Nina Lansbury at the School of Public Health, The University of Queensland: n.lansbury@uq.edu.au
CMS Deputy Director Dr Beth Fulton gave a keynote talk at ACSME 2023 (Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education), on 30 August 2023. Ever the engaging speaker, Beth highlights the value of maths in a climate-changed world.
Conference theme: The changing climate of science education
Talk title: Highlighting the value of maths in a climate-changed world
Abstract: The world’s oceans are changing rapidly as climate change takes water temperatures to levels that have rarely been seen in the past million years, with the IPCC indicating that if emissions are not reduce then by the end of the century global temperatures will rise to levels not seen for many millions of years. On top of this human use of the ocean is accelerating and diversifying rapidly. Maths lets us create these reconstructions and projections, but also provides a tool for helping people interested in a system explore the potential futures – the possible, plausible, probable and preferable. There are many different kinds of maths that can be used to synthesise the science of climate change and system function, together creating tangible, informative and engaging scenarios. Unfortunately, the Australian public’s numeracy can make sharing the interpretations more difficult. STEM education is critical not only for Australian science to deliver around climate change and ocean use, but also for the public and decision maker’s capacity to use that information.
Conference details: 2023 Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education, 30 August – 1 September 2023.
Location: Sandy Bay campus of the University of Tasmania and online.
The CMS held our annual showcase event in Hobart/Nipaluna on 11th August 2023, with over 160 people in attendance ranging from our members and students, to government representatives, industry representatives, researchers, and traditional owners and custodians.
The day was structured around a series of stakeholder panels which allowed stakeholders to shape discussion and agendas, as well as short presentation sessions for our interdisciplinary researchers, and Q&A sessions for open dialogue. The day prompted some important discussions, and ignited some important networking/collaboration relationships.
Please view the CMS Showcase 2023 Agenda
Please view the CMS Showcase 2023 Report
We would like to thank all who attended, presented, and supported this event, and we can't wait to host our Showcase event again next year!
Congratulations to the Curious Climate Tasmania (CCT) team who were a finalist, and one of two ‘highly commended’ awards in the International Green Gown Awards, part of the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, in the ‘Benefiting Society’ category.
CCT delivers public-powered scientific engagement, bridging the gap between experts and audiences with credible, relevant information about climate change. CCT is different from most science communication projects in that content is driven by its participants. It asks the Tasmanian community what they want to know about climate change, and responds directly to their questions.
The Curious Climate Tasmania team is a collaboration across UTAS but led by Professor Gretta Pecl (IMAS/CMS) and Dr Chloe Lucas (GPSS/CMS) and is a novel and highly successful science engagement program that links experts and the broader community to provide credible, relevant information about climate change but is importantly driven by public interests.
Read more and watch a short video here: University of Tasmania, Australia | Green Gown Awards.
Around half of all life on Earth is on the move because of climate change, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Many species’ habitats are changing, forcing them to move, while others are fleeing harm’s way as new predators move in.
This staggering statistic shows just one of the ways climate change is impacting species at both ends of the Earth. In this week’s episode of The Conversation’s climate podcast Fear & Wonder, we travel from the Arctic to Tasmania to see how these changes are playing out.
Listen to conversations with Finnish fisherman and IPCC scientist Tero Mustonen about the changes he has observed in his locale, and Australian marine ecologist and IPCC author Gretta Pecl, whose research has helped map the rapid redistribution of life on Earth
The Tasmanian Forests & Forest Products Network held its southern Burgers, Beers and Bright Ideas event in Hobart earlier this month, and attendees were intrigued by CMS' member Professor Swee-Hoon Chuah, who presented to the audience about behavioural insights and nudges, and spoke about how industry could apply these behavioural insights to bring about behaviour change in the context of diversity and inclusion.
Prof. Chuah said businesses have started implementing ‘inclusion nudges’ to encourage diversity and inclusion.
“McKinsey & Co. for instance, have been using nudges featuring memorable stories or visuals designed to activate inclusive behaviours and make them stick,”.
Read more about Prof. Chuah's presentation on behavourial economics here.
CMS co-hosted the inaugural Curious Climate Showcase on Feb 28th at CSIRO in Salamanca. The event, which was opened by UTAS Vice-Chancellor Prof Rufus Black, sought to celebrate the success of the two programs including the many awards they have received - and to thank the many climate experts who have volunteered their time and expertise to providing climate information to answer questions submitted to the programs.
In 2021-2, 50 classes from schools around Tasmania brainstormed climate questions and submitted their 456 ‘must ask’ questions to the Curious Climate Schools program. The Curious Climate Schools team then enlisted the expertise of over 80 climate experts (from CMS and other organisations) to provide responses to children in formats that were interesting and accessible to them - check out the Curious Climate and Curious Climate Schools websites here:
oin our roving Curious Climate scientists, Gretta and Chloe as they share their insights on the success of the Curious Climate mission with the new UK based SWIPE SciComm magazine.
Read the article here
