Two episodes from the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia’s documentary series From the Embers, have won Bronze in the 2021 New York Festivals Radio Awards.
The competition was judged by a Grand Jury panel with members from around the world. Produced in 2020, the podcast series takes listeners to the very heart of nine communities affected by the recent bushfire crisis. The communities of the Adelaide Hills, Bairnsdale, Braidwood, Cooma, Kangaroo Island, Mallacoota, Mongarlowe, Moruya, and Omeo share their stories.
Faced with stiff global competition, the episodes stood out in their categories. “Home and Housed” won bronze in the Environment & Ecology documentary category. “The Glowing Island” won bronze in the Climate Change and Sustainability Documentary category.
“Home and Housed” looked at the millions of animals endangered by the bushfires and the people who tried to save them. Early data placed the number of wildlife lost in the bushfires at over a billion. The impact of Australia’s 2019-20 fire season on wildlife has been devastating. Before the fires hit their zenith, wildlife carers and rescuers – some defending their homes and properties at the same time, were stepping up, and strangers from around the world donated time and money, to help Australia’s wildlife.
“The Glowing Island” looked at Kangaroo Island’s oldest bee sanctuary in the world and home to one of the last disease-free koala populations in Australia. At the end of 2019, the island was scorched by fire from two lightning strikes, which lit up the bushland at Flinders Chase National Park. This resulted in uncontrollable firestorms that tore across the island at speeds the community had never seen before, scorching the earth and destroying animal habitats.
Jon Bisset, CBAA’s CEO, said, “There is no doubt that the bushfires of 2019-20 affected so many Australians and their stories needed to be told. This series was created in partnership with nine community radio stations who faced the frontline of the fires. We are grateful to the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas and the Paul Ramsay Foundation who generously supported the project. Without their help, the podcast series would not have been possible.’’
Nina Alvarez is a writer and content producer. Her interests include writing, particularly about different forms of digital communication and the many ways it can impact the flow of information through varying demographics.
