Eco Futurists
By Professor Andy Lowe
Eco Futurists is more than a podcast, it’s a platform for conversation, bringing together people with fresh perspectives, innovative solutions, and a shared commitment to a sustainable tomorrow.
From scientific experts and industry pioneers to artists, adventurers, and community leaders, we spotlight those making a difference locally and globally. These are the voices of Eco Futurists working to create a greener, brighter future for our planet.
Supported by The Environment Institute, Adelaide Uni
Can We Really Eat the Invaders? (video)
The ABC TV series Eat The Invaders has sparked curiosity—and controversy—by asking a bold question: Can we eat our way out of Australia’s invasive species crisis?
Who better to answer this question than some of the creators of this wild and thought-provoking show, Matthew Bate and Poppy Fitzpatrick? In this episode, host Prof Andy Lowe celebrates their bold vision, of turning a complex environmental issue into a conversation-starter (or perhaps tasty appetiser) for everyone.
From cane toads to cats, they took a fun, fresh approach to a topic that’s often met with frustration and fatigue. But here’s the catch though: while eating invasive species might make for great TV, science tells us it’s not going to be the miracle cure. So what is? Andy unpacks the hard reality of tackling this environmental crisis—where suppression strategies like targeted viruses and ecosystem restoration come into play.
One thing’s for sure: this series has people talking again, and we’re here to keep the conversation going. So, what do you think—would you put cane toad on your plate?
Andy and his colleague, Professor Phill Cassey, served as scientific advisors for the show, ensuring that the balance between entertainment and ecological accuracy was spot-on.
* video cast available on Spotify https://tinyurl.com/45ft9epy and YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@EcoFuturists
Eco Futurists is supported by the Environment Institute https://www.adelaide.edu.au/environment/ at the University of Adelaide http://www.adelaide.edu.au/.
Learn More
Book: Eat the Problem by Kirsha Kaechele of Monahttps://shop.mona.net.au/products/eat-the-problem?srsltid=AfmBOoqRQnzTe6kOsR_LR7_nxOYzB0jt67rVuEPVJy7s-aV4gVJnhOPf
Eat The Invaders on ABC iviewhttps://iview.abc.net.au/show/eat-the-invaders
Closer Productionshttps://closerproductions.com.au/episodic/eat-the-invaders
University of Adelaide press release, Eat The Invadershttps://www.adelaide.edu.au/newsroom/news/list/2025/01/03/university-academics-help-abc-host-eat-the-invaders
Professor Phill Casseyhttps://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/phill.cassey
Get In Touch
You can contact Eco Futurists podcast ecofuturists@gmail.com
Enjoying the show? Rate, review, and share it with your friends to help listeners like yourself explore their inner Eco Futurist.
Science in the media in a post truth world
We live in a time when algorithms track our every click through the media scape and keep feeding us similar information. So how do we know when we’re being duped? How do we ensure that the scientific ‘fact’ we’re consuming is, in fact, truthful, and how do we get science fact out there? In this episode host Prof Andy Lowe and guest science communicator and ex-The Conversation editor Sarah Keenihan https://www.sarahkeenihan.com get real about cutting through the noise and identifying trustworthy science in a post truth world.
Eco Futurists is supported by the Environment Institute https://www.adelaide.edu.au/environment/ at the University of Adelaide http://www.adelaide.edu.au/.
Learn More
Sarah Keenihan https://www.sarahkeenihan.com
Australian Science Media Centre https://www.smc.org.au
The Conversation https://theconversation.com/au
Get In Touch
You can contact Eco Futurists podcast here andrew.lowe@adelaide.edu.au
Enjoying the show? Rate, review, and share it with your friends to help listeners like yourself explore their inner Eco Futurist.
When the invaders are locked out: bringing back threatened native species in outback Australia
When the continent of Australia was settled by Europeans they came with their cats, foxes, rabbits and any number of foreign animals. It didn’t take long for these ‘invaders’ to destabilise delicate ecosystems and lead to a wave of the extinction amongst native animals. In this episode host Prof Andy Lowe is joined by Katherine Tuft https://tinyurl.com/mrxf6sy3 and Nathan Manders https://tinyurl.com/33hwtjv8 of Arid Recovery https://aridrecovery.org.au, an independent not-for-profit advancing conservation science for Australian threatened species in Roxby Downs South Australia. They explore the challenges and wins of the 25 years of Arid Recovery’s existence, and explore ideas for the future of conservation in the world’s arid lands.
Learn More
Arid Recovery https://aridrecovery.org.au
Arid Recovery Sunset Tour https://www.roxbydowns.sa.gov.au/lifestyleandsport/visitor-information/attractions/arsunsettour
Arid Recovery Education and School Visits https://aridrecovery.org.au/visit/education-and-group-visits
Get In Touch
You can contact Eco Futurists podcast here andrew.lowe@adelaide.edu.au
Enjoying the show? Rate, review, and share it with your friends to help listeners like yourself explore their inner Eco Futurist.
A walk in the park? The park systems that help shape our cities, cultures, and civic identities
Whether they be nature parks in cities or urban areas in nature, what’s the process for navigating how cities and nature come together? How do people use and move through these spaces? Host Prof Andy Lowe is joined by Matthew Skjonsberg, Director of the Praxis Institute in Switzerland, and author of Living Cities: Three Centuries of Years of Park Systems https://www.park-books.com/en/product/living-cities/1477?preorder=1 to explore the rich cultural history of park systems, as well as the challenges facing people in their stewardship of both cities and parks moving forward.
Eco Futurists is supported by the Environment Institute https://www.adelaide.edu.au/environment/ at the University of Adelaide http://www.adelaide.edu.au/.
Learn More
Book - Living Cities: Three Centuries of Years of Park Systems https://www.park-books.com/en/product/living-cities/1477?preorder=1
Governor’s Island Projecthttps://www.west8.com/projects/governors-island/
Madrid/Rio Riverfront Projecthttps://www.west8.com/projects/madrid-rio/
Exhibition - Water Designs: l’eau dessine la villehttps://www.epfl.ch/campus/art-culture/museum-exhibitions/archizoom/water-designs-leau-dessine-la-ville/
School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, University of Adelaide
https://set.adelaide.edu.au/architecture-and-civil-engineering/
Get In Touch
You can contact Eco Futurists podcast here andrew.lowe@adelaide.edu.au
Enjoying the show? Rate, review, and share it with your friends to help listeners like yourself explore their inner Eco Futurist.
Citizen Scientists: the willing and able who are helping drive research forward
They may not have research degrees or formal qualifications,but there are millions of people globally putting their hands up to and participating in Citizen Science projects. Community science puts ordinary citizens front and center in often groundbreaking research, with amazing results. In this episode host Prof Andy Lowe has a delightful conversation with Dr Erinn Fagen-Jeffries https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/erinn.fagan-jeffries and Prof Frank Grützner https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/frank.grutzner about the lessons learned in the evolution of Citizen Science projects, echidna poo, and a new insect named ‘Oreo’.
Eco Futurists is supported by the Environment Institute https://www.adelaide.edu.au/environment/ at the University of Adelaide http://www.adelaide.edu.au/.
Learn More
Echidna CSI https://www.adelaide.edu.au/environment/research/citizen-science/echidna-csi/echidna-csi-mobile-app
Insect Investigators https://insectinvestigators.com.au
Sci Starter https://scistarter.org
Australian Citizen Science Association https://citizenscience.org.au
Dr Erinn Fagan-Fagan Jeffries https://www.erinnfagan-jeffries.com
Get In Touch
You can contact Eco Futurists podcast here andrew.lowe@adelaide.edu.au
Enjoying the show? Rate, review, and share it with your friends to help listeners like yourself explore their inner Eco Futurist.
The Cycle of Influence, Laws and Nature
What is the Law's role, locally and internationally, in implementing good practises and emerging technologies to remedy declining biodiversity and a changing climate? Are legal systems too cumbersome to act with the urgency demanded by academia, community and industry?
In this stimulating episode we speak with Dr Phillipa McCormack
Postdoctoral Researcher https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/phillipa.mccormack, and Dr Kerryn Brent.
Eco Futurists is supported by the Environment Institute https://www.adelaide.edu.au/environment/ at the University of Adelaide http://www.adelaide.edu.au/.
Previous episodes dealing with law:
Exotic plants and animals: the illegal wildlife trade happening right under your nose
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ecofuturists/episodes/Exotic-plants-and-animals-the-illegal-wildlife-trade-happening-right-under-your-nose-e28vvrp/a-aaarn51
What’s the currency of biodiversity?
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ecofuturists/episodes/Markets-for-nature--Whats-the-currency-of-biodiversity-e21peum/a-a9k9g49
Water: too much, too little, too dirty
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ecofuturists/episodes/Water-too-much--too-little--too-dirty-e23doak/a-a9p5t2u
Get In Touch:
You can contact Eco Futurists podcast here andrew.lowe@adelaide.edu.au
Enjoying the show? Rate, review, and share it with your friends to help listeners like yourself explore their inner Eco Futurist.
Trees are not the problem: taking a holistic approach to reverse deforestation
When you disregard human factors and ignore faulty systems, you might just be left up the creek without a paddle. CIFOR ICRAF has been tackling the deforestation dilemma for decades; and considers forests as part of a larger integrated system rather than an isolated problem. In this episode, CIFOR DG Robert Nasi Susie with host Prof Andy Lowe about how to influence the broader economic system to change the course of biodiversity loss and societal inequity across the globe.
Eco Futurists is supported by the Environment Institute https://www.adelaide.edu.au/environment/ at the University of Adelaide http://www.adelaide.edu.au/.
Learn More
CIFOR ICRAF https://www.cifor-icraf.org
Get In Touch
You can contact Eco Futurists podcast here andrew.lowe@adelaide.edu.au
Enjoying the show? Rate, review, and share it with your friends to help listeners like yourself explore their inner Eco Futurist.
Keeping curiosity: youth reflections on Dr Jane Goodall’s quest for a more sustainable future
Join us in this energetic and motivating episode with Tiahni Adamson (Young South Australian of the Year 2024) and Shannon Evenden (Science Communicator with The Green Room). They talk all things kids, nature, and how being more like mud not stone might be just the answer to our conservation and climate change challenges.
Eco Futurists is supported by the Environment Institute https://www.adelaide.edu.au/environment/ at the University of Adelaide http://www.adelaide.edu.au/.
Learn More
Jane Goodall Institute Australia https://janegoodall.org.au
The Forest of Hope https://forestsofhope.com.au
Uluru Statement from the Heart https://ulurustatement.org/the-statement/view-the-statement/
CH4Global https://ch4global.com
Green Adelaide https://www.greenadelaide.sa.gov.au
The Green Room https://thegreenroompodcast.com
Get In Touch
You can contact Eco Futurists podcast here andrew.lowe@adelaide.edu.au
Enjoying the show? Rate, review, and share it with your friends to help listeners like yourself explore their inner Eco Futurist.
Jane Goodall on nature education, empathy, local focus, and some timeless advice from her mother
Jane Goodall is a living icon. While we’re most familiar with Jane’s conservation promotion through her work on animal behaviour, she also works tirelessly reaching out to the younger generation, fostering a global community of conservation. Jane was recently in Australia and as part of a public lecture spoke with Eco Futurist host Prof Andy Lowe during The Jane Goodall Institute’s ‘Reasons for Hope Tour’. This podcast is a recording of this public ‘fire side chat’ with Jane.
Eco Futurists is supported by the Environment Institute https://www.adelaide.edu.au/environment/ at the University of Adelaide http://www.adelaide.edu.au/.
Learn More:
Jane Goodall Institute Australia https://janegoodall.org.au
Roots and Shoots Australia https://janegoodall.org.au/roots-shoots/
Jane Goodall Institute https://janegoodall.org
Roots & Shoots USA https://rootsandshoots.org
Reasons for Hope Tour https://janegoodall.org/event/reasons-for-hope-tour-australia-adelaide-australia-adelaide-town-hall/
Get In Touch
You can contact Eco Futurists podcast here andrew.lowe@adelaide.edu.au
Enjoying the show? Rate, review, and share it with your friends to help listeners like yourself explore their inner Eco Futurist.
Action as the antidote to despair: creative pathways for young adults to connect with community and conservation
It can be easy to get overwhelmed by all the information we have around the effects of changing climate. How do young adults in particular combat ‘eco anxiety’ while at the same time maintaining motivation to be part of the solution amidst a rapidly escalating sense of urgency around environmental conservation efforts?
In this episode we speak with Kirsty Bevan CEO of Nature Conservation Society of South Australia https://www.ncssa.asn.au and Acting CEO of Conservation Council of South Australia https://www.conservationsa.org.au and Maddie McShane Nature Advocacy Researcher and Campaigner, and Director of Earth Jam! https://www.ncssa.asn.au/earth-jam/
Eco Futurists is supported by the Environment Institute https://www.adelaide.edu.au/environment/ at the University of Adelaide http://www.adelaide.edu.au/.
Learn More:
Earth Jam! https://www.ncssa.asn.au/earth-jam/
Nature Conservation Society of South Australia https://www.ncssa.asn.au
Conservation Council of South Australia https://www.conservationsa.org.au
Adelaide City Council https://www.cityofadelaide.com.au
Music SA https://www.musicsa.com.au
South Australian Grassroots Ecosystem https://sagrassroots.org
Get In Touch
You can contact Eco Futurists podcast here andrew.lowe@adelaide.edu.au
Enjoying the show? Rate, review, and share it with your friends to help listeners like yourself explore their inner Eco Futurist.
Sowing the seeds for the future of health, resilience, and environmental protection
Have you ever had a memory from childhood that took you back to nature? Maybe it was the smell after the rain, freshly cut grass, or the warmth from of the sun on your skin. How do our experiences of the natural world as children affect us as adults? Are these effects lasting or do we need to ‘top up’ our nature reserves to reap the full benefits that nature has to give? How can we fill our ‘nature cup’ when the demands of day-to-day modern existence can often pull us away from the natural environment?
In this episode we explore all this an more with Human Geographer Melissa Nursey-Bray Deputy Director, Institute of Sustainability, Energy and Resources (ISER), https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/melissa.nursey-bray and Dr Mark Kohler Senior Lecturer School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Medica
l Sciences https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/mark.kohler
Eco Futurists is supported by the Environment Institute https://www.adelaide.edu.au/environment/ at the University of Adelaide http://www.adelaide.edu.au/.
Learn More:
School of Psychology https://health.adelaide.edu.au/psychology/
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences https://health.adelaide.edu.au
Wellbeing in Learning and Development Lab (WiLDlab): https://wildlabadelaide.org/.
Youth Symposium on Human Nature Connection in the Anthropocene: https://www.adelaide.edu.au/environment/events/list/2023/11/a-symposium-on-human-nature-connection-in-the-anthropocene
Roots and Shoots Australia: https://rootsandshoots.org.au/.
Jane Goodall Institute Australia Resource Boxhttps://janegoodall.org.au/australian-programs-resourcebox/
Review Article: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.10128
Children & Nature Network: https://www.childrenandnature.org/
Institute of Sustainability, Energy and Resources (ISER) https://www.adelaide.edu.au/iser/
Finding the Fab Five https://storymaps.arcgis.com/collections/61ca6f9be4354e808146e47e0a59a7d0
Adaptation Community Environment Research Group (ACE) https://able.adelaide.edu.au/socialsciences/adaptation-community-environment/
Department of Geography, Environment and Population https://able.adelaide.edu.au/socialsciences/departments/department-of-geography-environment-and-population
Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Education (ABLE) https://able.adelaide.edu.au
Get In Touch
You can contact Eco Futurists podcast here andrew.lowe@adelaide.edu.au
Enjoying the show? Rate, review, and share it with your friends to help listeners like yourself explore their inner Eco Futurist.
You can’t build an ego when caring for a stream
Eco Futurists is supported by the Environment Institute www.adelaide.edu.au/environment/ at the University of Adelaide www.adelaide.edu.au/.
Learn More:
Black Duck Foods www.blackduckfoods.com.au
Nature Festival www.naturefestival.org.au
You can contact Eco Futurists podcast here andrew.lowe@adelaide.edu.au
Enjoying the show? Rate, review, and share it with your friends to help listeners like yourself explore their inner Eco Futurist.
Exotic plants and animals: the illegal wildlife trade happening right under your nose
In this episode we speak with Prof Phill Cassey researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/phill.cassey and PhD student Charlotte Lassaline both from the School of Biological Sciences set.adelaide.edu.au/biological-sciences/ as well as from the Invasion Science and Wildlife Ecology Group www.cassey-invasion-ecology.org at the University of Adelaide www.adelaide.edu.au/ . We examine what it’s going to take to conserve and recover ecosystems in a world where wildlife is being traded not only in secret corners of the internet, but often right in front of our eyes.
Eco Futurists is supported by the Environment Institute www.adelaide.edu.au/environment/ at the University of Adelaide www.adelaide.edu.au/.
Learn More:
School of Biological Sciences University of Adelaide set.adelaide.edu.au/biological-sciences/
Invasion Science and Wildlife Ecology Group University of Adelaide www.cassey-invasion-ecology.org
You can contact Eco Futurists podcast here andrew.lowe@adelaide.edu.au
Enjoying the show? Rate, review, and share it with your friends to help listeners like yourself explore their inner Eco Futurist.
Nature deprivation: the real consequences
Are you getting the best microbes on offer? What are microbes anyway and why should we care?
If you’ve ever heard of the term “microbiome” you probably relate it to gut health, but there’s so much more to it! It’s all around us, and in us, and affects our brains, immune systems, stress levels, and psychological state.
Join us for this episode where we speak with Dr Jess Stanhope and Prof Phil Weinstein about how public health is effected by urban environments and the promising future for disease prevention and treatment in the reversal of global urban nature deprivation.
This podcast is supported by the Environment Institute https://www.adelaide.edu.au/environment/ at the University of Adelaide https://www.adelaide.edu.au. Learn More:
School of Allied Health Science and Practice University of Adelaide https://health.adelaide.edu.au/allied-health/
School of Public Health University of Adelaide https://health.adelaide.edu.au/public-health/
Green Adelaide https://www.greenadelaide.sa.gov.au
Hosted by Prof Andy Lowe https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/andrew.lowe, Interim Director of the Environment Institute https://www.adelaide.edu.au/environment/ University of Adelaide You can contact Eco Futurists podcast here https://www.adelaide.edu.au/environment/ Enjoying the show? Rate, review, and share it with your friends to help listeners like yourself explore their inner Eco Futurist.
Under the surface: shedding light on ‘ocean blindness’
What happened when the head of Engineering for Google Australia and the Professor and author behind Australia’s first ever textbook on Marine Ecology came together? Nothing short of the miraculous bringing back to life of an extinct ecosystem in the waters of Australia's biodiverse southern coastline.
And what’s next on the sparkly horizon?
In this podcast episode find out how the founders of AusOcean, Alan Noble and Prof Sean Connell, are stretching traditional models of marine conservation efforts through open-source hardware and software, and low-cost ways of public engagement. They are a driving force shedding light on the ‘ocean blindness’ that muddies our understanding of biodiversity conservation in marine ecosystems, looking to reverse the tide of extinction in our oceans.
This podcast is supported by the Environment Institute at the University of Adelaide.
Learn More:
Marine Biology at the Environment Institute, University of Adelaide
Hosted by Prof Andy Lowe, Interim Director of the Environment Institute University of Adelaide
You can contact Eco Futurists podcast here
Enjoying the show? Rate, review, and share it with your friends to help listeners like yourself explore their inner Eco Futurist.
Water: too much, too little, too dirty
Water is finally back on the global table after 46 years of not being discussed at a global scale conference. Conservation, salinity, pricing, agriculture, cultural use - the list goes on. Is the subject of 'water rights' at risk of getting lost in an endless talk fest? Where do we start when trying to come up with solutions to the many water issues we face on a local and global scale? What even are ‘water rights’?
In this podcast episode host Prof Andy Lowe Interim Director of the Environment Institute University of Adelaide, speaks with Assoc Prof Peter Burdon and Prof Sarah Wheeler, both from the University of Adelaide. Sarah is a water economist from the School of Economics and Public Policy, and Peter is an expert in environmental law from the Adelaide Law School.
Eco Futurists is supported by the Environment Institute at the University of Adelaide.
Learn More:
United Nations 2023 Water Conference
Water for First Nations - The Murray-Darling Basin Authority
You can contact Eco Futurists podcast here
Enjoying the show? Rate, review, and share it with your friends to help listeners like yourself explore their inner Eco Futurist.
Markets for nature. What’s the currency of biodiversity?
Markets for nature. What’s the currency of biodiversity?
Nature is threatened, but it is also messy and complex. Ecologist try to untangle the mess of conservation, governments and industry. Small landowners are trying to help too. How do we work to save life on Earth?
How do we get the scale of investment required to restore our degraded land? Can we create markets for nature? Where does the money come from? And who are the buyers?
In this episode host Prof Andy Lowe Interim Director of the Environment Institute University of Adelaide, speaks with renowned ecologist Prof Hugh Possingham about the need to set aside 30% of every different kind of habitat for conservation in order to sustain the health of our global biodiversity and to establish biodiversity markets to drive these outcomes.
Eco Futurists is supported by the Environment Institute at the University of Adelaide.
Learn More:
Prof Hugh Possingham is currently Chief Councillor of the newly created Biodiversity Council and Chief Scientist of Accounting for Nature, and has recently been Queensland Chief Scientist and Chief Scientist of The Nature Conservancy, the world’s largest environmental non-government organisation. Hugh is also the Chair of The Environment Institute at the University of Adelaide.
You can contact Eco Futurists podcast here
Enjoying the show? Rate, review, and share it with your friends to help listeners like yourself explore their inner Eco Futurist.
Hearts & Minds. Can science inspired music be a solution to climate change?
Can music, the arts and humanities help us work together across traditional science and industry boundary lines to come up with a solution to climate change?
In this episode host Prof Andy Lowe Interim Director of the Environment Institute University of Adelaide, speaks with Airan Berg, Artistic Director of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra’s Floods of Fire Citizens’ Orchestra event , and Professor Anna Goldsworthy, Director of The Elder Conservatorium of Music at the University of Adelaide.
Together they discuss the arts as communicator of complex human situations, a flawed system for tackling climate change, and how working openly between the sciences and the humanities can unite hearts and minds for a better future.
Eco Futurists is supported by the Environment Institute at the University of Adelaide.
Learn More:
Floods of Fire will be performing for the first time ever at a FREE event Friday 3 March 2023 in Elder Park Adelaide, starting at 7:30pm ahead of Spinifex Gum as part of the Adelaide Festival.
You can contact Eco Futurists podcast here
Enjoying the show? Rate, review, and share it with your friends to help listeners like yourself explore their inner Eco Futurist.
Thinking solutions
IPES Values Assessment Video
vimeo.com/735690263
We would like to acknowledge the University of Adelaide’s:
School of Social Sciences
Institute for Sustainability Energy and Resources
Environment Institute
Prof Christopher Raymond
Biography: Prof Raymond is Professor of Sustainability Science (Sustainability Transformations and Ecosystem Services) at the Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science, University of Helsinki, Finland. He is jointly based at the Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme in the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, and the Department of Economics and Management in the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry. His research interests include sense of place; nature-based solutions; the social valuation of nature; and the conservation of biodiversity. Since 2018, Prof. Raymond has been Coordinating Lead Author (Chapter 2) of the IPBES Values Assessment.
Music, the language of inspiration
Festivals - a platform for fun and knowledge
As the world tipped
Reaching a sustainable future
Rewilding a city
Leading for sustainability
Monuments in the forest
Capturing peoples’ spark
Rebuilding Australia’s native oyster reefs
Here is a short video of the Eureka Awards, highlighting some of the key partners associated with the work: youtu.be/Drkl61DGqcM
The state of the world’s forests
Cool bees and Air Bee'n'Bee
Discovering and protecting Africa’s lost virgin rainforest
Motivating a community to plant 35 million trees?