A local collaboration is turning one of the Sunshine Coast’s biggest environmental stories into something people can actually sip, hear and experience.
The region’s UNESCO-recognised Biosphere Reserve has become the focus of a new partnership between the University of the Sunshine Coast and local distillery Sunshine & Sons, with researchers and makers creating a gin aimed at bringing the concept to life in a more tangible way.
UniSC researchers partnered with the distillery to create Sunshine Coast Biosphere Gin, designed as a multi-sensory project connecting people with the landscape and sustainability values behind the internationally recognised reserve.
Senior lecturer in Design and Creative Ecologies researcher Dr Leah Barclay said the project grew from a desire to find new ways to engage people beyond traditional brochures, reports and awareness campaigns.
“While those approaches have their place, we wanted to bring the biosphere to people’s senses. To let them taste it, hear it, feel it,” Dr Barclay said.
“We want to create a sensory connection between people, this incredible natural environment, and the sustainability values central to it.
“When you taste something that comes directly from this landscape, it creates a connection that’s very different from reading about it.”
Developed using locally sourced botanicals from within the biosphere, the gin reflects both the flavours and sustainability values of the region. It features elderflower and native black myrtle and is produced on Kabi Kabi Country using 100 per cent reclaimed spirit.
Sunshine & Sons founder and director Michael Conrad said the aim was to capture the character of the Sunshine Coast while embedding biosphere principles into the production process.
“It’s flavoured with black myrtle which the Kabi Kabi people called ‘Woombye’ – a word all Sunshine Coast locals will know – and elderflower which has become a fixture in the landscape here,” Mr Conrad said.
“It gives you a soft, floral gin with a subtle spice.”
The experience extends beyond taste. The bottle label features illustrations by UniSC Master of Creative Arts student Kali Maunder, depicting local marine species inspired by the Sunshine Coast Marine BioBlitz held in August 2024.
“The individual drawings on the label were referenced directly from images collected locally by UniSC researchers and citizen scientists, and I tried to represent a diverse range of the wonderful beings that reside in our waters,” Kali said.
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A QR code on the bottle links to an underwater soundscape recorded by Dr Barclay using hydrophones along the biosphere coastline. The audio opens with a dawn chorus and the voice of Kabi Kabi songman Uncle Lyndon Davis before moving through sounds of whales, dolphins, fish and reef ecosystems.
The project is now informing a toolkit designed to help other local producers build biosphere values into their own products.
“This gin shows how creative, sensory experiences can connect people to place in meaningful and lasting ways,” Dr Barclay said.
“The idea of a biosphere is something people here are still growing to understand. They might know the term but not necessarily what it means for them, for their business, or for the way they connect with the natural environment around them.”
