A unique podcast initiative – aimed at educating children about living in harmony with wildlife – has been so successful that it may be rolled out into other community projects.
BatPod is a choose-your-own-adventure journey, where listeners tackle a challenge that Sunshine Coast Council conservation officers face on a regular basis: trying to balance the wellbeing of the community with local flying fox roosts.
Sunshine Coast Council’s natural areas conservation officer and BatPod narrator Tyron de Kauwe said the new podcast sent students on a conservation mission with a twist, and allowed them to learn about the importance of flying foxes.
“As more people move to the Sunshine Coast, we do need to find ways to co-exist with wildlife peacefully because they live here, too,” he said.
“Flying foxes are an incredibly important native species that are vital to our environment.
“While they can be smelly and noisy neighbours, we have found that educating our community on the importance of flying foxes and their roosting habits has improved tolerance of the species.
“By sharing these messages with children, in a fun and interactive way, we hope to create empathy for the species and our natural areas from a young age, which continues through to adulthood when they may be impacted by some of the issues.”
Flying fox roosts have earned the ire of residents living in neighbourhoods throughout the region in recent years.
Sunshine Coast News has previously reported on how the council installed a sprinkler system in the treetops at Porter Park in Golden Beach, to ease conditions for residents who live beside a flying fox roost, and on council efforts to uncover community knowledge about flying foxes to improve its future education and conservation efforts for the species.
In this groundbreaking initiative, BatPod listeners are faced with a problem and have to make a choice on what they think is the best solution.
The story’s progression depends on the choices they make.
“Sometimes they’ll get it right or sometimes they’ll get it wrong and have to go back a step to reconsider their actions,” Mr de Kauwe said.
“And they have to do it all within the available budget.
“They have to think critically and consider the needs of both wildlife and our community – and try to find a balance.”
Mr de Kauwe said initial feedback on BatPod had been positive and encouraging.
“We’ve been told that children have been fully engaged in the journey and are keen to complete the mission,” he said.
“The idea grew from flying fox education talks that I usually present in classrooms which I always get great feedback from, and I wanted a way to be able to reach more students across the region.
“When I connected with the podcast producer Monika O’Hanlon, who suggested the choose-your-own adventure style, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to achieve that goal.
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“We also partnered with local Traditional Custodian Elders Uncle Lyndon Davis (Kabi Kabi) and Uncle BJ Murphy (Jinibara) to give students a better understanding of the long-standing connection that exists between local people and our native wildlife.
“This element of the story also builds our understanding of cultural values and the importance to First Nations people of custodianship and repatriation of knowledge.”
Mr de Kauwe said the council had invested $21,000 from the Sunshine Coast Environment Levy into the podcast since the first discussions in January this year.
“This style of podcast is a first for Sunshine Coast Council and it’s been a really fun and interesting process that’s shown us how we might use podcasts more creatively and for other community projects,” he said.
Mr de Kauwe said the council was in the process of sharing the podcast with Sunshine Coast schools in the hope it could be used as a fun end-of-year activity, as well as being incorporated in learning opportunities next year.
It also will be part of a curriculum-linked flying fox conservation package which is in development.
Environment Portfolio Councillor Maria Suarez said the podcast was another example of council using different channels to get important messages to our community in new and interesting ways.
“This would be great to listen to on the way to and from school or work if you are the passenger and it’s also a great resource for teachers to use in the classroom,” she said.
“BatPod is not your average podcast and I encourage students to listen in.”
The podcast is available on popular podcast platforms, YouTube and on the council website, so class groups or individuals can listen in wherever they have Wi-Fi.
Visit the council website for more tips on living with flying-foxes and the Regional Flying Fox Management Plan.
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