Corals, kelp and creative conservation in Australia

If current conditions line up just right, much of the Great Barrier Reef could soon suffer another catastrophic bleaching event, so how are conservationists reacting to threats like this in Australia? "We could lose a huge part of the reef by February," says Newscast guest Dean Miller of the Forever Reef Project, so his team is racing to add the final coral specimens to its huge "biobank" of coral species before then, for use by researchers and conservationists. Work like this was featured at the first international edition of the famed South by Southwest (SXSW) festival and conference (October 15-22, 2023 in Sydney), and Mongabay spoke with multiple people engaged with coral and kelp reforestation, plus sustainable agriculture. On this edition of the Mongabay Newscast, guests also include John "Charlie" Veron from the Forever Reef Project, Mic Black from Rainstick, and Adriana Vergés from the Kelp Forest Alliance, detailing their projects and the challenges they're tackling. Related Reading Scientists strive to restore world's embattled kelp forests Hope, but no free pass, as Pacific corals show tolerance to warming oceans Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, from Apple to Spotify, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips. If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps! See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find and follow Mongabay on all the social media platforms. Image Caption: Healthy coral in the Great Barrier Reef. Image by Jonas Gratzer for Mongabay. Please share your thoughts and feedback! [email protected].