The story of a budding science communicator – why I’m excited to share science
Late last year, I met Paul and Simon at the Royal Society of Victoria's celebration for the 50th anniversary of Earthrise, following which, they invited me to be a part of the Scientell team. I'm budding science communicator as well
Seven essential steps to effective communication
Scientell is a science and environment communication business. We take complex, often technical information and present it in a compelling way for audiences such as policy makers. The product could be a brochure, report, book, website, video, or a traditional
Communicating Climate Change Internationally
The international climate change assessment body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has launched a communication guide for scientists, put together by Climate Outreach — a UK-based team of social scientists and communication specialists focused on climate communication. The IPCC’s
When in doubt, cut it out: editing tips
Recently I edited a large, complex scientific report. As an editor, one of the first things you do is remove extraneous words. Why force a reader to read two or more words, when one will do? As I worked through the
Writing in Nature, naturally
Scientell’s new home, the historic Royal Society of Victoria building, houses a stunning library that includes the first edition of the journal Nature. It’s clear that people communicated science in 1869 differently from now. The first research article in that first issue
Lead influencing crime, Ice drug contaminating homes, and other highlights from CleanUp2017
700 scientists, engineers, regulators and other environmental professionals from more than 20 countries have been in Melbourne this week at the biennial CleanUp global forum. CleanUp 2017, organised by the Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment
Winning, even if you don’t win (and we did)
Recently our company Scientell won the 2016–17 Monash Business Award in the Micro Business category. My co-Director, Simon Torok, said in his acceptance speech in front of a packed ballroom, ‘We were delighted to have been nominated for this award
Today Al Gore reminded me that when someone tells you something, do something
Ten years ago I saw the Al Gore film, An Inconvenient Truth. Driving home from the cinema that night, I passed a car with its headlights off – and flashed my headlights at them using the local language for ‘you’ve
Climate change and health: the future isn’t what it used to be
Climate change could have far‐reaching consequences for human health across the 21st century. But there is at least some good news on how health systems are adapting. ‘It doesn’t take an extreme weather event to have an extreme health impact,’ said
How to write a media release
Scientell prepared this summary for members of the Ecological Society of Australia, who have employed us to provide communication support and advice. Despite the rise of social media, writing and distributing a media release is still a very effective way of communicating
Everyone has a good story
I had the privilege of interviewing half a dozen of Australia’s newest ecologists this week, after more than $1 million in funds for students were announced by the Ecological Society of Australia. In speaking with just six of the 100 students
Being a mentor can feel like being a mentee – in a good way
Discussing the communication of scientific and technical information with the next generation, and influencing their thinking about it, is something I’d like to do for all students. As Director of the science communication company Scientell, I see it as vital
Imagining the future: a guide to the incredible inventions just over the horizon
We are living in a rapidly changing world – when most of today’s primary school students grow up, they’ll have jobs that don’t exist right now, and they’ll be using technologies that haven’t been invented, to solve things we