Dominique Hes (The Stories of Newport Lakes) and Lesley Head (Beyond Green) discuss the importance of nature for our urban environments and souls with Dave Witty (What the Trees See).

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DOMINIQUE HES has lived in the west since 2001, first in Yarraville and then in South Kingsville. The family moved into the are because of Newport Lakes. As an academic at RMIT and the University of Melbourne she wrote 6 nonfiction books about creating better, greener, fairer, more vital cities and communities. Since 2019 Dominique has worked in policy and industry training roles. All Dominique's work aims to show how we can live in a healthier, more connected and thriving community. The book Stories of Newport Lakes was written over 3 years as a case study of what is possible when a community works together and fights for their place. It is a celebration of all the people who were part of the journey from a potential tip to thriving loved bush oasis.

LESLEY HEAD is a geographer and Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Melbourne. Her research has shaped international debates about relationships between humans and nature from the deep past to the present. Her recent work focuses on the cultural dimensions of environmental issues including climate change. She has been King Carl XVI Gustaf Visiting Professor in Environmental Sciences, Sweden, and President of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. Head's recent books include Plants: Past, Present and Future (with Zena Cumpston and Michael-Shawn Fletcher) and Hope and Grief in the Anthropocene. Her work was shortlisted for The Nature Conservancy's 2023 Nature Writing Prize.

DAVE WITTY is the author of the acclaimed What the Trees See: A Wander Through Millennia of Natural History in Australia, which examines aspects of Australia’s history through our indigenous and non-indigenous trees. He is the recipient of the 2021 Rosina Joy Buckman Award in the Nature Conservancy Nature Writing Prize, and his work appears widely in Australian literary journals and publications.