Eloise Little is a Year 10 student at Cairns State High School in north Queensland, Australia. Here shares her experiences with the Cairns State High Schools Symphony Orchestra where she is a 1st violinist and harpist.

David Burston lives in Cairns, far northern Australian.  He is passionate about helping others to build on their communication skills.  He is the volunteer Pitch Master at a local business incubator, a TEDx coach, and owner of two businesses - one marketing and instalation, and the other a communications business ‘Confidence Unlimited’.

 David is a big believer in the power of being present in life and business, a mantra that he shares with all of his clients.  Here David shares his personal experience surviving a workplace accident and how his focus on being in the present moment saved him from catastrophic injury.

Susan Lawrence arrived in Brazil in 1996 to study birds, she stayed for an incredible 6 years. The focus of her study was over 400 bird species in an area of South America. Her study was on bird populations and what makes species vulnerable to development, and how the road widths affect the living environments of avian populations.

Lee Berger has spent her life studying frogs, she started studying veterinary science. She discovers the mystery of where all the frogs have gone, and the deadly fungus that caused the dramatic decline of frogs in the tropical climates. 43 species have now become extinct and further are close to extinction. Her goal is to increase the health and lifespan of frogs in the wild.

Daryl Killan & Lou Van Rikxoort say they have the best job in the world. They talk about how they support the traditional owners of the Cape York Peninsula undertake early controlled burning. For countless generations indigenous Australians have used controlled fires for land management. They work with the landowners to manage fire plans and provide training to implement fire management plans.

The geek on the peaks, Darren tells us all about the research he conducts and how he applies science on mountains, he shares the discoveries of the incredible bio diversity on tropical north Queensland mountains. And the sweet spots in the misty subtropical mountains that creates an incredible array of flora and fauna.

Jen Frei, residing in Cairns, Australia, shares her photographs of a recent trip through Scotland and Ireland. She was fascinated by the huge variety of art and culture that she encountered, the incredible characters that she met, the immediate connection she felt with the landscapes and people .... and oh, all the Guinness that she drank.

Jun Tagami is an artist and radio announcer, raised in Japan and living in Australia since 1995.  In this presentation Jun shares his current project combining photography, Heart Sutra chanting and the natural surrounds of Cairns, his home since 2014.

Heart Sutra is one of the most famous Sutra’s in Japan, described as a conversation between the student and Buddha. This sutra has rich, strong power and waves which strengthen the student's spiritually.

According to Jun, words have power and so does nature.  This is a collaboration between the waves generated by Heart Sutra and by nature.

Listen out at 2.38 where Jun shares his powerful Heart Sutra chanting.