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[ STORY 01 ] THE LITTLE ISLAND
ACHIEVING
BIG THINGS THE LITTLE ISLAND
ACHIEVING
BIG THINGS

Dr. DEAN MILLER Dr. DEAN MILLER

Scientist, explorer,
documentary film maker Scientist, explorer,
documentary film maker

DISCOVER

LAT.LNG： 31°33'S 159°05'E

[ LHDT/UTC+11:00/LDH | YLHI ]

earth

[ INTRODUCTION ] [ INTRODUCTION ]

THE LITTLEISLANDACHIEVINGBIG THINGSTHE LITTLEISLANDACHIEVINGBIG THINGS

Lord Howe Island,
Australia
Lord Howe Island

Only a quarter the size of Manhattan and located in the remote Tasman Sea, Lord Howe Island is scoring some major wins in the battle against environmental degradation and climate change. Dr. Dean Miller went to see what lessons the island has for the wider world.

Australia Australia

Lord Howe
Island

THE
MOVIE THE MOVIE

movie

THE MOVIE THE MOVIE

[ STORY 01 ] [ STORY 01 ] THE LITTLE ISLAND
ACHIEVING BIG THINGS

“LORD HOWE ISLAND HAS THIS AMAZING DIVERSITY OF WILDLIFE.” “LORD HOWE ISLAND HAS THIS AMAZING DIVERSITY OF WILDLIFE.”

DEAN MILLER DEAN MILLER

“LORD HOWE ISLAND HAS THIS AMAZING DIVERSITY OF WILDLIFE.” “LORD HOWE ISLAND HAS THIS AMAZING DIVERSITY OF WILDLIFE.”

DEAN MILLER DEAN MILLER

“LORD HOWE ISLAND HAS THIS AMAZING DIVERSITY OF WILDLIFE.”

Australian marine scientist, explorer and documentary filmmaker Dean Miller was only about six years old when he found his vocation. “I went snorkelling in Victoria, Australia, and was immediately immersed in this other world full of life forms, colours and movement. I popped up and asked my mum, ‘How can I do this forever?’ ‘Become a marine biologist,” she said. And that was it.” But even after earning his Ph.D. in coral reef management two decades later, Dean wanted more. And a year-long field trip to study seals on Macquarie Island, between New Zealand and Antarctica, kicked off a second parallel career for him as a documentary filmmaker.

So it’s only appropriate that when we asked Dean to choose a ‘Frontier of Hope,’ a place that embodies both the climate change threat and nature’s beauty and resilience, he chose another remote island, Lord Howe Island, 700 kilometers east of Sydney. “Lord Howe Island’s a very special place,” Dean says. “A land mass caught between two worlds, where two big bodies of water, the southern influence and the northern influence, tropical and temperate, meet each other.” As a result, the island boasts an astonishing variety of temperate and tropical sea creatures, not to mention seabird colonies of several hundred thousand birds.

“LORD HOWE ISLAND HAS THIS AMAZING DIVERSITY OF WILDLIFE.”

“WHEN YOU GIVE MOTHER NATURE A CHANCE TO TAKE A BREATH, SHE RESPONDS RAPIDLY AND POSITIVELY.” “WHEN YOU GIVE MOTHER NATURE A CHANCE TO TAKE A BREATH, SHE RESPONDS RAPIDLY AND POSITIVELY.”

IAN HUTTON IAN HUTTON

“WHEN YOU GIVE MOTHER NATURE A CHANCE TO TAKE A BREATH SHE RESPONDS RAPIDLY AND POSITIVELY” “WHEN YOU GIVE MOTHER NATURE A CHANCE TO TAKE A BREATH SHE RESPONDS RAPIDLY AND POSITIVELY”

IAN HUTTON IAN HUTTON

“WHEN YOU GIVE MOTHER NATURE A CHANCE TO TAKE A BREATH, SHE RESPONDS RAPIDLY AND POSITIVELY.”

In fact, the only animals in short supply on Lord Howe Island are humans. There are just 380 permanent residents, while tourist numbers are restricted to 400 at any one time. As the remnant of an extinct volcano, the island has an extraordinarily dramatic landscape, ranging from 875-meter-tall mountains topped with cloud forests to the world’s most southerly coral reef fringing a beautiful blue lagoon. Lord Howe Island was World Heritage Listed in 1982 and declared a state marine park (meaning no commercial fishing for a 19-kilometer radius) in 1998.

Ian Hutton, a naturalist, photographer and tour guide who’s been living in the island for 45 years, was the first local expert Dean met. Ian discussed the island’s track record in eliminating invasive species, from wild pigs and feral goats to rats and mice. “The wood hen, our rare flightless bird, was facing extinction in the 1970s with only about 20 individuals surviving. Now there's about 2,000!” he says. The eradication of introduced plants, mostly weeds, is the success for which himself is most directly responsible. Thirty years ago, he set up week-long nature tours with a voluntary weeding element. These have led to the removal of 95% of introduced plants, a great example of citizen science in action.

“WHEN YOU GIVE MOTHER NATURE A CHANCE TO TAKE A BREATH, SHE RESPONDS RAPIDLY AND POSITIVELY.”

“IN CONSERVATION TERMS, THEY'VE DONE AMAZING THINGS ON LAND. UNDERWATER, IT'S A LITTLE BIT HARDER.” “IN CONSERVATION TERMS, THEY'VE DONE AMAZING THINGS ON LAND. UNDERWATER, IT'S A LITTLE BIT HARDER.”

DEAN MILLER DEAN MILLER

“IN CONSERVATION TERMS, THEY'VE DONE AMAZING THINGS ON LAND. UNDERWATER, IT'S A LITTLE BIT HARDER.” “IN CONSERVATION TERMS, THEY'VE DONE AMAZING THINGS ON LAND. UNDERWATER, IT'S A LITTLE BIT HARDER.”

DEAN MILLER DEAN MILLER

“IN CONSERVATION TERMS, THEY'VE DONE AMAZING THINGS ON LAND. UNDERWATER, IT'S A LITTLE BIT HARDER.”

The coast, however, is an area of concern. As global warming causes the ocean to rise, the waves are pushing in harder over the reef, eroding the lagoon beaches. This highlights a paradox that Dean was quick to pick up on. “In terms of conservation, Lord Howe Island has done amazing things on the land. Underwater, though, it’s a little bit harder. You can’t control the ocean ecosystem the same way,” he says. The challenge is only made harder because the Tasman Sea, where Lord Howe Island is located, is the most warming of the world’s ocean bodies. As part of this, the island experienced a severe coral bleaching event in summer 2023-24.

“The water temperature rose from 22 to 27 degrees—and stayed there. The prolonged oceanic heat wave stressed many of the temperate corals to the point of bleaching,” says Aaron Ralph, owner-operator of a local dive company and Dean’s second expert guide. Oceanic warming is having knock-on impacts on wildlife, particularly the island’s endemic clownfish. Clownfish have a symbiotic relationship with anemones, living in them in return for fertilising them. But because the anemones, like corals, are getting bleached, the clownfish are losing their homes and falling in number.

“THE OCEANIC HEAT WAVE THAT LORD HOWE EXPERIENCED THIS SUMMER WAS SOMETHING ELSE.” “THE OCEANIC HEAT WAVE THAT LORD HOWE EXPERIENCED THIS SUMMER WAS SOMETHING ELSE.”

AARON RALPH AARON RALPH

“THE OCEANIC HEAT WAVE THAT LORD HOWE EXPERIENCED THIS SUMMER WAS SOMETHING ELSE.” “THE OCEANIC HEAT WAVE THAT LORD HOWE EXPERIENCED THIS SUMMER WAS SOMETHING ELSE.”

AARON RALPH AARON RALPH

“THE OCEANIC HEAT WAVE THAT LORD HOWE EXPERIENCED THIS SUMMER WAS SOMETHING ELSE.”

“It's sad to see it being such tough going for many organisms that are the building blocks of coral reef ecosystems. The ocean’s becoming uninhabitable. In many ways, it’s an early warning sign of what we’re going to experience on land,” Dean says.  Dean himself is famous for taking active steps to safeguard the world’s corals though his Forever Reef Project. Starting with Great Barrier Reef, it aims to collect and preserve the world’s coral species in a “coral ark.” “We collect what's out there today, so we have something available for tomorrow. As long as we have everything in hand, we can tinker and play later,” Dean explains.

Coral bleaching aside, Aaron spoke enthusiastically of the island’s 350 designated dive sites, the extraordinary visibility (up to 70 meters!) of the East Australian Current’s waters, and the sheer range of animals to be seen, including Galapagos whaler sharks, massive turtles, tiger sharks, hammerhead sharks and huge manta rays. Aaron’s personal favorite dive site is Relict Reef, a 150-square-kilometer petrified reef discovered only in 2008 that features spectacular drop-offs, shelves, overhangs and prolific sea life.

“THE OCEANIC HEAT WAVE THAT LORD HOWE EXPERIENCED THIS SUMMER WAS SOMETHING ELSE.”

“WE NEED TO REALIGN OURSELVES WITH THE NATURAL RHYTHMS OF THE PLANET.” “WE NEED TO REALIGN OURSELVES WITH THE NATURAL RHYTHMS OF THE PLANET.”

DEAN MILLER DEAN MILLER

“WE NEED TO REALIGN OURSELVES WITH THE NATURAL RHYTHMS OF THE PLANET.” “WE NEED TO REALIGN OURSELVES WITH THE NATURAL RHYTHMS OF THE PLANET.”

DEAN MILLER DEAN MILLER

“WE NEED TO REALIGN OURSELVES WITH THE NATURAL RHYTHMS OF THE PLANET.”

Direct experience of the natural world in all its beauty is what inspires people to protect their shared environmental legacy. That’s certainly true of the Lord Howe Residents who beyond the broad legal protections that come with World Heritage and marine park status, have put the needs of the environment first in many aspects of their everyday lives, banning cruise liners and large-scale tourist development, installing a large solar array for electricity generation and enthusiastically adopting electric vehicles. “The management of Lord Howe Island should be held up as an example for the rest of the world for protecting both terrestrial and marine ecosystems,” Aaron declares. For his part, Ian describes the island as a “beacon of hope” and “inspiration for the world.”

First-time visitor Dean was equally upbeat. “They've done a great job on Lord Howe Island. We can learn lessons here that we can scale up to other places. Returning places to their pristine state is something we need to do to our rainforests, bushlands and oceans. If you just give Mother Nature a chance to take a breath, she responds rapidly and in a much bigger, positive way than we can imagine,” he concludes.

“WE NEED TO REALIGN OURSELVES WITH THE NATURAL RHYTHMS OF THE PLANET.”

“WE NEED TO KNOW WE HAVE AN IMPACT AND THAT CAN BE A POSITIVE IMPACT.” “WE NEED TO KNOW WE HAVE AN IMPACT AND THAT CAN BE A POSITIVE IMPACT.”

DEAN MILLER DEAN MILLER

“WE NEED TO KNOW WE HAVE AN IMPACT AND THAT CAN BE A POSITIVE IMPACT.” “WE NEED TO KNOW WE HAVE AN IMPACT AND THAT CAN BE A POSITIVE IMPACT.”

DEAN MILLER DEAN MILLER

“WE NEED TO KNOW WE HAVE AN IMPACT AND THAT CAN BE A POSITIVE IMPACT.”

INTERVIEW WITH

  • Dr. DEAN MILLER

    Scientist, explorer, documentary film maker

    PROFILE
    Dr. DEAN MILLER

    Dr. DEAN
    MILLER     Dr. DEAN
    MILLER

    Scientist, explorer,
    documentary film maker

    Dr. Dean Miller is a scientist, film maker, photographer, BBC television presenter and explorer. With a Ph.D. in marine science and business, and a wealth of scientific experience in the field from Antarctica to the Arctic, he has taken part in over 300 ocean expeditions. He is managing director and co-founder of the Great Barrier Reef Legacy, a non-profit dedicated to securing the long-term survival of the Great Barrier Reef. Its Forever Project aims to collect and preserve all 415 coral species from the Great Barrier Reef in a Living Coral Biobank.

  • IAN HUTTON

    Naturalist, photographer, tour guide

    PROFILE
    IAN HUTTON

    IAN
    HUTTON     IAN
    HUTTON

    Naturalist, photographer, tour guide

    Ian Hutton is a naturalist, photographer and tour guide. After training as a plant ecologist, he joined the Australian Weather Bureau and was sent to Lord Howe Island in 1980 for a two-year posting. Finding the island too fascinating to leave, he has lived there ever since. He became the island’s first licensed tour guide and personally spearheaded projects to rid the island of feral weeds and rats. He has published his photographs in over 20 books on Lord Howe Island.

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