Chrissie Goldrick, Australian Geographic Society Chair.
Background
Chrissie Goldrick was appointed Chair of the Australian Geographic Society in August 2023 having served as Editor in Chief of Australian Geographic for the previous decade, and last year she marked 25 years with the much-loved media brand. Over the decades, as well as travelling to write and shoot feature stories, Chrissie has acted as a leader and host on numerous Australian Geographic Society expeditions. Before taking over as Chair of the Society, she chaired the advisory committees on adventure and conservation grants, and the awards committee that produces the renowned annual AG Society Gala Awards in which the brightest and best of Australian conservation and adventure are honoured.
Australian Geographic Dean Reid, Chrissy Goldrick, Brad Walker
Photo Credit Aussie Ark
To provide insights into threatened species, and the Australian Geographic Awards for Nature, Tim Langdon, publisher of Eco Voice, had the pleasure of facilitating a Q & A with Chriss
Q1. How important is it to shed light on threatened species in Australia?
There are many causes vying for our attention, so it can be hard to prioritise nature and obscure animal species over urgent human needs. However, we all need a healthy natural environment in order to thrive; and it’s this critical relationship between our well-being and that of nature that is at the heart of everything we stand for at Australian Geographic.
Q2. What are the Australian Geographic Awards for Nature?
We have launched a new funding program that aims to create a greater impact. Fewer individual grants than in the past, but bigger amounts of money. This way we will identify people and projects that are being effective already and have the potential to scale up. We will be looking at projects tackling the big issues like climate change impacts, biodiversity loss, feral invasive species, and pollution.
Q3. What are some examples of threatened species that you would like to highlight?
Without prejudicing the outcome of our competitive grant process, there are certain keystone native species whose survival is critical to many other species besides, and for whom landscape scale ecosystem restoration is the only way forward, which is the scale at which we all need to be working.
Q4. What is the importance of Australian Geographic Awards for Nature?
Restoring nature and saving species is an expensive undertaking, and while our funding is only a drop in the ocean of what’s needed, the source of our funds is Australian Geographic, one of the nation’s longest running magazine publications and a much-loved and highly trusted media brand. Our readers know their support provides vital funds to the Australian Geographic Society, so we can run programs like this one that will be effective in making an important impact on the urgent issues, which we also address through our expert storytelling in the pages of the magazine and all our digital channels.
Q5. In addition to the Awards, how do you actively encourage others to care about Nature?
We actively encourage others to care about nature through the Australian Geographic magazine, our books, documentaries, digital channels and social media, photo competition and exhibitions, including our ground breaking immersive cinematic experience “Our Country”, but also through travel opportunities, where we encourage people to get out and engage with nature both for their own benefit and that of nature itself.
We have been educating, informing, and entertaining Australians about what makes this country so unique and so worth preserving, since the very start in 1986 when no one else was covering this area of interest. We use beautiful photography to engage attention and follow up with well researched, fact-checked, well-written stories so our audience is well informed on the issues and able to make informed decisions for themselves.
Q6. How can publications, such as Eco Voice, play their part in highlighting threatened species and awards, such as the Australian Geographic Awards for Nature.
The Australian Geographic Awards for Nature will, each year, champion the work of inspiring nature heroes who are striving to make a difference through projects that involve community effort, informed by science using evidence-based methods and with potential to grow.
We will be communicating their stories in photos, stories, and video to inspire hope and encourage all Australians to get involved no matter how large or small their contribution. We hope Eco Voice and others will come along with us and amplify those stories and help bring attention to the good work being done in the hope that together we can start to change the narrative on our ever-growing environmental crises.
ABOUT ECO VOICE
First published in 2003, Eco Voice is your go-to publication for sustainability news in Australia. Eco Voice prides itself as an independent news platform with a clear focus on sustainability, with articles coming from a diverse range of contributors – all levels of government, corporations, not-for-profits, community groups, small to medium sized businesses, universities, research organisations, together with input from international sources. Eco Voice values community, conservation and commerce. Eco Voice is a media partner of the prestigious Australian Banksia Sustainability Awards – The Peak Sustainability Awards.
ABOUT AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
The Australian Geographic Society is a not-for-profit which supports Australian individuals and organisations who lead the way in nature conservation, scientific research, public education aimed at positive environmental outcomes, and the advancement of human knowledge through exploration.
t’s our vision to foster a community of well-informed passionate Australians who are committed to finding solutions to the multiple threats facing our natural world. It’s the Society’s mission to offer financial and practical support along with expert storytelling in the pages of the Society’s flagship bi-monthly publication, The Australian Geographic magazine and our many other channels of communication.
The Australian Geographic Society’s members are the many thousands of loyal subscribers to the award-winning Australian Geographic magazine.
