If These Trees Could Talk

This week's episode is a little different.
No guest. No big story. Just an honest conversation.
Over the last few months, I've spent a lot of time exploring what growth really looks like. We've talked about success, what waits on the other side of saying no, and finding the courage to build a life around what truly matters.
Then I realised... I wasn't taking my own advice.
Somewhere along the way, I started saying no to the very things that inspired this podcast in the first place—time in nature, weekends away, meaningful conversations, and simply allowing life to unfold.
So today, I'm letting you in on a decision I've made.
If These Trees Could Talk will be returning to fortnightly episodes.
Not because we're slowing down, but because I'm choosing to protect the life that creates the stories worth telling.
If you've ever found yourself so busy creating a life that you've forgotten to actually live it, I hope this conversation reminds you to pause, take a breath, and ask yourself what really matters.
Sometimes the most important growth isn't about doing more.
Sometimes it's about having the courage to live what you already believe.
See you all next week.... 

For years, I measured my life against a definition of success that never seemed to fit. I celebrated other people's achievements with ease, yet struggled to recognise my own. It wasn't until I chose Growth as my word for the year that I began asking a different question: What if success isn't about becoming someone new, but remembering who you've always been?
Inpired by Megan's 'Diary Of' episode, I invite Megan into my own diary pages and my thought processes to explore personal growth, self-worth, mental health, resilience and self-compassion through an unexpected lesson from nature. Sitting beneath a twisted Australian eucalyptus tree, I realised I'd spent years believing there was only one right way to grow.
If you've ever wrestled with comparison, questioned your purpose, navigated recovery, or wondered whether your life has taken an unexpected path, I hope this conversation reminds you that a meaningful life isn't measured by someone else's scorecard.
Perhaps the forest has been teaching us all along.
Who decided that straight was the way it was supposed to grow in the first place?
To explore the reflections that inspired this episode, and discover more stories from If These Trees Could Talk, visit www.ifthesetreescouldtalk.com.au.

Neil the Seal has captured hearts across Australia—but behind the viral photos is one of the ocean's most extraordinary wild animals.
In this episode, Shannon sits down with Marine Ecologist and southern elephant seal expert Dr Clive McMahon to uncover the science behind Australia's most famous seal. With decades of research spanning Macquarie Island and the Southern Ocean, Dr McMahon has dedicated his career to studying southern elephant seals and the changing marine environment they call home.
By fitting elephant seals with specialised tracking devices, his research does far more than reveal their incredible journeys. These remarkable animals collect vital ocean data from places that are difficult for scientists to reach, helping us better understand the health of the Southern Ocean and the impacts of climate change.
Together, we explore Neil's extraordinary story, the fascinating biology and behaviour of southern elephant seals, why wild animals sometimes find themselves in our communities, and how we can admire them without putting them at risk.
Whether you've been following Neil's adventures or simply love wildlife, this conversation will give you a new appreciation for one of Australia's most remarkable marine mammals—and the critical role they play in helping us understand our changing planet.

As NAIDOC Week draws to a close, we continue our conversation with Aunty Brenda Matthews.
In this second and concluding chapter, the focus shifts from what was taken to what has been reclaimed. Brenda reflects on finding her identity, reconnecting with culture, embracing forgiveness, and transforming a painful past into a life dedicated to healing, education and hope.
Together, Megan and Shannon explore the power of storytelling, the impact of intergenerational trauma, and the role each of us can play in shaping a more understanding and connected future.
As NAIDOC Week ends, may this not be the end of our listening, but the beginning of how we choose to walk together every day that follows.
Show notes: https://ifthesetreescouldtalk.com.au
Learn more about Aunty Brenda Matthews and purchase The Last Daughter: https://www.brendamatthews.com.au/
Watch The Last Daughter documentary on ABC iview: https://iview.abc.net.au
If this conversation brings up difficult emotions, support is available through 13YARN, the national Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander crisis support service: https://www.13yarn.org.au
 
https://www.ifthesetreescouldtalk.com.au/episode-61-the-way-home-in-conversation-with-aunty-brenda-matthews

As NAIDOC Week begins, Megan and Shannon sit down with Aunty Brenda Matthews—proud Wiradjuri woman, author, filmmaker, speaker and survivor of the Stolen Generations—to share the deeply personal story behind one of Australia's most painful chapters.
Taken from her family as a young child, Brenda grew up between two worlds, carrying questions of identity, belonging and truth that would shape the course of her life. With extraordinary grace, she reflects on the reality of being separated from her family, the search for justice, and the love that carried her through it all.
This conversation isn't about politics. It's about people. It's about listening to lived experience and recognising that reconciliation begins with truth.
Show notes: https://ifthesetreescouldtalk.com.au
Learn more about Aunty Brenda Matthews and purchase The Last Daughter:  https://www.brendamatthews.com.au/
Watch The Last Daughter documentary on ABC iview: https://iview.abc.net.au
If this conversation brings up difficult emotions, support is available through 13YARN, the national Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander crisis support service: https://www.13yarn.org.au
 
https://www.ifthesetreescouldtalk.com.au/episode-60-stolen-in-conversation-with-aunty-brenda-matthews

Ghost mushrooms seem almost impossible. Tiny fungi glowing in the darkness of the Australian bush, creating one of nature's most extraordinary natural spectacles. But as scientist and fungal educator Karen Livesay explains, the real story is even more fascinating than the glow itself.
After joining one of Karen's Glenrock Ghost Fungus Tours, Shannon and Megan sit down with her to explore the hidden world of fungi. Together they discuss bioluminescence, the incredible mycelial networks beneath our feet, the role fungi play in healthy ecosystems, and why understanding the science behind something doesn't diminish the magic—it makes it even more extraordinary.
To learn more about Karen's work, explore her research, or join a future Ghost Fungus Tour, visit Dr Karen Livesey's website.
For photos from the tour, episode notes, links, and more stories inspired by the Australian landscape, visit If These Trees Could Talk.

In this episode of What Would They Say, Shannon sits down with Doug and McKenna, the father and sister of Riley, a young man whose life ended in suicide. Together, they share not only the story of Riley's death, but more importantly, the story of his life - the person he was, the love he inspired, and the profound impact his absence continues to have on those who knew him best.
In the year following Riley's death, Doug and McKenna found themselves navigating the complex and often isolating realities of grief. Alongside the heartbreak, unanswered questions, and life-altering loss, they were faced with another challenge: how to continue carrying Riley's story forward in a way that honoured his life while helping others. By creating This Is My Chapter, they have transformed personal tragedy into a mission of connection, conversation, and suicide prevention.
This episode invites listeners to consider how we make meaning from life's most devastating chapters. It asks what becomes possible when we choose connection over silence, and whether sharing our stories might help others feel a little less alone.

Memory, belonging, and learning to live where love still echoes.
In Part 2 of Shannon’s conversation with Racheal Rye, the focus shifts from grief itself to the places grief inhabits.
After losing her children Christian, Hannah and Ben, Racheal found herself navigating not only profound loss, but the spaces that held it. Homes, rooms, routines, landscapes and everyday objects became intertwined with memory, love and longing. Some places offered comfort. Others carried heartache. All became part of the story she was learning to live with.
Together, Shannon and Racheal explore what it means to remain in places forever changed by loss, the relationship between memory and belonging, and how we begin to rebuild a sense of home when life no longer looks the way it once did.
This is a gentle and deeply human conversation about place, identity, resilience, and the enduring connections that remain long after those we love are gone.
Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of child loss, grief, death, trauma and bereavement. Please take care while listening.
If this conversation raises difficult emotions for you, bereavement support services, crisis contacts and additional resources can be found in the show notes at ifthesetreescouldtalk.com.au.

In this deeply personal episode, Shannon sits down with her close friend Racheal for a conversation about grief and the unimaginable experience of losing a child.
Rachel has lost three of her children — Christian, Hannah and Benjamin — each in different circumstances, at different times in her life. Through her story, we explore what grief asks of a person, what it means to breathe when that feels impossible, and how love continues even when life has changed forever.
This is not a conversation about easy healing or neat answers. It is about endurance. About the moments that bend us to our absolute limits. And about the quiet, hard-won wisdom that can come from the unimaginable.
Content Warning: This episode discusses child loss, terminal illness, childhood illness, motor vehicle death, grief, trauma and emotional distress. Please listen with care. 
If this episode brings up difficult feelings, please reach out to someone you trust. You do not have to carry grief alone.
In Australia, you can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636. In an emergency, call 000 
For more information about bereavement support please visit the show notes at www.ifthesetreescouldtalk.com.au.

What happens when we step beyond what feels safe? 
In this episode, Shannon and Megan explore the invisible boundaries that shape our lives and the quiet ways our worlds can shrink when comfort becomes our default setting.
Drawing on experiences from the recent If These Trees Could Heal retreat, where women stepped into cold water, breathwork, vulnerability and self-discovery, alongside Shannon's weekend navigating unfamiliar places in the city alone, this conversation explores what happens when we choose curiosity over certainty.
Together, they unpack the science behind fear, anxiety, neuroplasticity and nervous system regulation, while reflecting on the deeply human experience of standing at the edge of something unfamiliar and deciding whether to step forward or turn back.
Because perhaps growth isn't found in giant leaps or dramatic reinventions.
Perhaps it begins with a deep breath, a trembling yes, and a willingness to discover who we might become beyond the boundaries we've grown comfortable living within.