While Bogong Moth numbers have increased since the collapse of 2017 and 2018 due to the devastating drought across south-eastern Australia, their numbers remain dangerously low. They have failed to return to some long-term survey sites. While the La Niña weather pattern assisted numbers in 2022-2023, numbers in 2023-2024 were lower and grave concerns are held for future years under a changing climate.

Despite the advances made in modelling, translating ‘climate change’ into ‘weather change’ remains a major challenge for Earth System sciences. We cannot build new wind farms if we don’t know where strong, consistent winds will be, nor make informed decisions about new water catchment and storage infrastructure without more accurate data about future rainfall frequency and intensity.

Future careers will rely heavily on ‘21st century skills.’ To aim higher for science education, we require a multifaceted approach that addresses the diverse needs of students, integrates relevant content, and provides robust support for teachers. STEM can too often be perceived as “too difficult” or not interesting by students throughout their education.

Australia is in a STEM crisis. The low uptake of science and mathematics subjects by school students, and dwindling interest in STEM-related tertiary courses, has led to chronic shortages of skilled STEM professionals at a time when these subjects are playing greater roles in our lives, and economies. So what reforms are needed to build scientific competency at a tertiary level?

Of all the world’s oceans, the Southern Ocean absorbs the majority of human-generated heat and carbon, helping to slow the pace of climate change and keep our planet liveable. Meanwhile, the vast ice sheets of Antarctica act as an ‘air conditioner’ for our planet, reflecting 50-70% of incoming solar radiation. The Southern Ocean is a ‘natural laboratory’ for vital scientific research, impossible to achieve anywhere else on the planet.