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Fighting frog fungus; tech meets nature; saving animals with viral videos; and finding what else is in croc-filled billabongs

National Science Week Saturday 9 to Sunday 17 August 2025

Great National Science Week wildlife stories up for grabs now around Australia

• Australia is big! CSIRO wants volunteers to find and photograph our flora and fauna – national
• Frog saunas and spa treatments fight deadly fungus – Canberra
• Call of the wild: why citizen scientists need tech upskilling – Gold Coast and online
• Why birds and humans need to adapt their homes for climate change – online, via Melbourne
• Why do whales sing and breach when they migrate? – Brisbane
• Join the real-world cast of CSI: eDNA - solving eco-crimes with environmental DNA – Melbourne
• Schoolchildren explore croc-filled billabongs with baited underwater cameras – Ramingining, NT
• Zoo poo, singing frogs, and elephants using infrasound – Western Sydney
• Why sharks have been around for 500 million years – Ballarat event, with talent from Adelaide
• Bird spotters and bug catchers wanted – Renmark, SA
• The art of endangered birds & environmental activism – Wyangala and Cowra, NSW
• Meet the science-comedy duo making viral videos to save wildlife – Gawler, SA
• Tell us what you hear at night – Tasmania

See details below and visit ScienceWeek.net.au/events to find stories in your area.

Scientists, experts, performers and event organisers are available for interview throughout National Science Week.

Read on for direct contact details for each event, or contact Tanya Ha, [email protected] or 0404 083 863; or Shelley Thomas, [email protected] or 0416 377 444.

Media centre here. Images for media here.

Help wanted to find where our wild things are – national 

Australia’s science agency is recruiting a citizen science army to help find and photograph species found nowhere else on Earth. 

There are 15 million species in CSIRO’s collections. But with such a vast country, scientists need help finding where and how widely these species are spread.

‘CSIRO Wild Watch’ marks the first national science experiment aimed at supersizing research data in the Atlas of Living Australia.

The agency wants schools, families and community groups to sign-up, head outdoors and snap photos of flora and fauna. They’re particularly looking for sightings of shark and ray eggs, yellow/orange lichen, snails, wattle, and Australian flowering heaths (Epacris).

Australia is home to more than half a million species, with the majority (70%) found nowhere else in the world.

Saturday 9 August – Sunday 17 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/csiro-wild-watch/

Available for interviews:

• Kate Maiden, CSIRO National Science Experiment lead
• Ruth Carr, CSIRO Director of Education and Outreach
• Other scientists

Interview footage of Kate Maiden, and video footage and photographs of young people completing the experiment are available for media use.

Media enquiries: SJ Stevenson, [email protected] or 0432 067 655.

 

Frog saunas and spa treatments fight deadly fungus – Turner, ACT

Canberra scientists are employing surprising tactics to help frog populations fight the deadly chytrid fungus.

Join a DIY frog sauna workshop and twilight wetlands walk with ACT FrogWatch program’s Anke Maria Hoefer and meet University of Canberra amphibian researchers using frog saunas, spa treatments and trace metals such as copper and zinc.

Thursday 14 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/science-in-and-out-of-the-pub-frogs-fungus-and-funky-metals/turner/

Media enquiries: Anke Maria Hoefer, [email protected] or 0429 066 046.

University of Canberra researchers involved in the project:

Jarrod Sopniewski - postdoctoral research fellow, Centre for Conservation Ecology and Genomics: https://researchprofiles.canberra.edu.au/en/persons/jarrod-sopniewski

Jarrod is spearheading a project that focuses on installing frog saunas and spas around suburban wetlands in Canberra in preparation for the reintroduction of the locally extinct Green and Golden Bell Frog species.

Milad Esmaeilbeigi - PhD researcher, Centre for Applied Water Science, who is investigating the interactions of metals in water and chytrid fungus: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=peVvDowAAAAJ&hl=en

 

Birds and humans need to adapt their homes for climate change – online via Melbourne

Why are bird nests so diverse, and what can we learn from nature’s architects? 

Meet University of Melbourne’s Dr Iliana Medina Guzman, who has studied hundreds of nests around the world. She showcases innovative construction techniques that illustrate the evolution of animal behaviours and tackles the question: ‘Will birds successfully adapt their nests as the climate warms?’.

Monday 11 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/bird-nests-around-the-world-natural-wonders-with-climate-clues/

Media enquiries: [email protected] or (03) 8344 4123.

 

Call of the wild: why citizen scientists need tech upskilling – Gold Coast and online

Wildlife monitoring is being transformed by new technologies, including eco-acoustics, thermal imaging, drones, artificial intelligence and remote 4G cameras. But it can be hard for citizen scientists and rural and remote communities to keep up with how these tools can make it easier to track populations and identify environmental changes.

The ‘Tech Meets Nature Showcase’ will be delivered as a free in-person and livestreamed event (registration essential) at Griffith University’s Gold Coast campus. It will connect Indigenous rangers, researchers and community groups, providing education on use of these technologies and open-source tools to protect a range of iconic species, from koalas to glossy black cockatoos, platypus and malleefowl.

Experts include:

• Minyumai rangers – blending Traditional Knowledge with 4G cameras, drones and acoustic monitors to protect koalas, dingoes and glossy black cockatoos.
• Quandamooka ranger and rehab expert, Dan Crouch and Dan Carter – combining cultural knowledge and science for land management—from drone surveys of koalas to fire history, feral control, and swamp daisy recovery.
• Dr Daniella Teixeira (QUT) – acoustic monitoring for glossy black cockatoos.
• Dr Douglas Kerlin (Griffith University) – reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions with tech.
• Dr Mark de Bruyn (Griffith University) – eDNA to assess biodiversity at massive scales—unlocking insights from sediment to sea for both extinct and living species.
• Dr Tamielle Brunt (PlatypusWatch) – eDNA and platypus conservation. 
• Joshua Cooper (National Malleefowl Recovery Group) – malleefowl conservation through LIDAR.

The event is organised by the independent conservation and research association Glossy Black Conservancy. 

Tuesday 12 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/tech-meets-nature-showcase/southport/

Media enquiries:  Samantha Morris, [email protected] and [email protected] or 0421 709 519.

 

Why do whales sing and breach when they migrate? – Brisbane, QLD

What challenges do whales face during their annual migration from Antarctica to Australia? Does whale song and the act of breaching aid navigation? And what can we learn from whale snot and poo.

Ask wildlife biologist and author Dr Vanessa Pirotta at an adults-only ‘Science Night’ at Queensland Museum’s SparkLab.   

Friday 15 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/science-night-whales-with-dr-vanessa-pirotta/south-brisbane/

Media enquiries: Christine Robertson, [email protected] or 0417 741 710 and Kylie Hay, [email protected] or 0434 565 852. 

Dr Vanessa Pirotta is available for media interviews.

Dr Vanessa Pirotta is a renowned wildlife scientist. Her research uses innovative technologies for wildlife conservation, working collaboratively across marine/terrestrial environments and merging cutting edge tech to access animals in unique ways (think whale snot drones and AI to detect illegal wildlife trafficking).

 

Join the real-world cast of CSI:eDNA - solving eco-crimes with environmental DNA – Melbourne

Think David Attenborough meets CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Don your lab coat, safety goggles and gloves and help a team of scientists solve eco-crimes by collecting and analysing environmental DNA (eDNA).

Step into a mock crime scene full of physical evidence, environmental samples and contextual clues that need to be deciphered. The eco-crime could relate to water pollution, endangered species trafficking, biodiversity loss, climate change or deforestation.

Learn how to collect environmental samples from water, soil and air, avoiding crime scene contamination with scientists including ‘eDNA Detective’ Mariea Pacheco (applied field ecologist), and 'FungiGirl' Ema Corro (mycologist). Then, conduct eDNA extraction and analysis using the world’s first portable DNA laboratory, the ‘Bento Lab’, before crunching genetic data and using DNA barcoding.

Friday 15 August – Sunday 17 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/csi-edna-solving-eco-crimes-with-environmental-dna/brunswick/

Media enquiries: Mariea Pacheco, [email protected] or 0422 114 795.

Mariea Pacheo (project lead and applied field ecologist) and Emma Corro (mycologist and neurodivergent scientist) are available for media interviews. 

Mariea can discuss environmental DNA applications and citizen science engagement. Emma can speak about accessible science education and fungal DNA analysis.

 

Schoolchildren explore croc-filled billabongs with baited underwater cameras – Ramingining, NT

For the first time, school children from the Northern Territory’s remote Ramingining community will observe interactions between aquatic life in freshwater billabongs. 

The ‘Fin-tastic’ initiative, led by the Arafura Swamp Rangers Aboriginal Corporation, turns the tide on lesser-known ecosystems within Indigenous communities due to presence of Baru (crocodiles), making them off-limits for swimming.

Students will use baited remote underwater cameras to identify Guya (fish) and learn about species traits, movement and cultural significance. 

Multiple sessions from Saturday 9 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/fin-tastic-science-solving-the-mysteries-of-the-underwater-world/winnellie/

Media enquiries: Darcy Roeger, [email protected] or 0474 012 062.

Darcy Roeger, from Arafura Swamp Rangers Aboriginal Corporation, and Justin Gaykamangu, from Ramingining School, are available for media interviews.

 

Zoo poo, singing frogs, and elephants using infrasound – Bungarribee, NSW

How do wild animals and insects communicate? What can animal poo samples and genetics tell us? And why do bats rely on ultrasonic sounds for hunting, while elephants produce infrasound?

Ask the experts at Sydney Zoo, as they lead a program of special activities.

Plus, tap into First Nations Knowledge on the ‘Bungarribee Dreaming’ experience, led by Aboriginal guides.

Saturday 9 – Sunday 17 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/sydney-zoo-presents-national-science-week-decoding-the-wild/bungarribee/

Media enquiries: Natasha Budinski, Sydney Zoo Media Manager, [email protected] or 02 7202 2558.

 

Why sharks have been around for 500 million years – Ballarat, VIC

A 30-foot shark with a saw blade of jagged teeth protruding from its lower jaws. Sharks fossilised during mating. And new insights into the megalodon, the largest shark that ever lived, measuring 66 feet.

Flinders University palaeontologist Professor John Long reveals how sharks have outlasted multiple mass extinction events to remain at the top of the ocean’s food chain.

The author of The Secret History of Sharks: The Rise of the Ocean’s Most Fearsome Predators will also showcase ancient fossils, including a megalodon tooth.

Friday 15 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/the-secret-history-of-sharks/ballarat-central

Media enquiries:  Professor John Long, [email protected] or 0408 148 660.

 

Bird spotters and bug catchers wanted – Renmark, SA

Renmark Irrigation Trust is seeking citizen scientists to help document birds and bugs making a comeback to restored Murray River floodplains.

Participants will look for native woodland and wetland birds (Saturday 10 August) and learn how to collect, identify and preserve insects for Renmark’s first floodplain invertebrate record. 

Sunday 10 August and Saturday 16 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/birds-and-bugs-wetlands-wonders-of-renmarks-restored-floodplains/renmark/

Media enquiries: Freya Harrihill, [email protected] or 0404 344 003.

Renmark Irrigation Trust ecologist Freya Harrihill, who will lead the activities, is available for media interviews.

 

The art of endangered birds & environmental activism – Wyangala and Cowra, NSW

Exploring endangered birds through drawing, collage and wet collodion photography will be one of the highlights of a series of workshops, talks and exhibitions focused on environmentalism during ERTHWRX25.

The multi-day event celebrates 10 years of science, arts and cultural programming across Central West NSW, and also features Wiradjuri night sky stories with cultural knowlede holder Doug Sutherland.

The initiative is orgnised by the CORRIDOR project (a not-for-profit multidisciplinary arts and cultural organisation) and Orange Cowra Cabonne Science Hub, bringing together community, scientists, cultural knowledge holders, artists, architects, ecologists, and academics.  

Key topics include:

• Biodiversity conservation and regenerative farming
• Cultural museum collections and First Nations astronomy
• Global wildlife disease and planetary systems
• Soil health, mycology and earth sciences
• Circular economies, water sustainability and renewable energy

Saturday 9 August & Sunday 10 August (The CORRIDOR Project, Wyangala)
www.scienceweek.net.au/event/erthwrx25/wyangala/  

Saturday 16 August & Sunday 17 August (Micro Gallery Cowra)

Media enquiries: Phoebe Cowdery, [email protected] or 0413 910 697.

 

How to deal with wild, uninvited house guests – Gawler, SA

Spiders in cars, possums in the roof, snakes in walls, koalas drinking from swimming pools or a kangaroo banging on your door. 

Urban ecologist Professor Chris Daniels and comedian Eddie Bannon reveal why a host of wildlife take up residence in Aussie neighbourhoods. The duo decodes surprising, funny and complex animal behaviours captured in viral videos on social media.

They are presenting the science-comedy show in Gawler with social enterprise Zoodle TV which donates all profits to wildlife charities in support of animal conservation and research. 

Friday 8 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/zoodle-on-the-road-hidden-animal-housemates/gawler/

Media enquiries: Gerd Winter, [email protected] or 0490 523 151.

Professor Chris Daniels and Eddie Bannon are available for media interviews.

 

Tell us what you hear at night – online, Tasmania

Bookend Trust is recruiting citizen science ‘CallTrackers’ to record proof of life of noisy nocturnal wildlife, including ultrasonic chirps of nine bat species and booms of the rare and mysterious Australasian bittern.

Participants will use state-of-the-art sound recorders to capture wildlife calls, helping scientists and conservationists track changes in populations and habitats over time.

Online workshops will be held during Science Week providing information on how to book a survey spot, borrow and use recorders, upload recordings to the Acoustic Pipeline website, and make identifications. Trained ‘CallTrackers’ go into the field from September to March across Tasmania.

Monday 18 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/discover-calltrackers-online-2/

Media enquiries: Clare Hawkins, [email protected] or 0400 889 336

Available for interview: Dr Clare Hawkins, a threatened species zoologist who established the NatureTrackers program of citizen science projects coordinated by the Bookend Trust, and astrophysicist-turned-wildlife acoustician Dr Jim Lovell, who is 'CallTrackers' Citizen Science Coordinator.

 

About National Science Week

National Science Week is Australia’s annual opportunity to meet scientists, discuss hot topics, do science and celebrate its cultural and economic impact on society – from art to astrophysics, chemistry to climate change, and forensics to future food.

First held in 1997, National Science Week has become one of Australia’s largest festivals. Last year about 3 million people participated in more than 2,000 events and activities.

The festival is proudly supported by the Australian Government, CSIRO, the Australian Science Teachers Association, and the ABC.

In 2025 it runs from Saturday 9 to Sunday 17 August. Event details can be found at www.scienceweek.net.au.