Owls, books and petroglyphs

16 July

THREE NEAT THINGS

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ISSUE 092 | July 2025

I’ll be honest - I’ve never loved marketing. Talking about what I do always felt harder than just doing it. But I’ve realised it’s about 90% of any profession. Sharing the work is part of the work. Whether you’re an architect, photographer or beekeeper, you end up talking about what you do almost as much as doing it.

So here I am, doing the thing - before I head out to meet some people doing some very interesting things with straw and hemp, learning their stories to share too.

Thanks for reading.

Marnie x

Owl’s Eat Rats (yes, that's the business name!) is an Australian biodiversity initiative using barn owls as a natural, low‑impact alternative to rodenticides on farms. They design, install and monitor habitat - nest boxes and hunting roosts - with ecological data collection to reduce poison use and support on‑farm predators.

They’ve just won Taronga Zoo’s Hatch grant to scale this practical, regenerative solution.

Image by Doug Swinson via Unsplash

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If you’re working with bio-composites, straw, CLT, mycelium, hemp, bamboo, rammed earth, recycled steel or plastic, cork, low carbon brick and concrete, or natural wall finishes, I’d love to hear from you. I’m looking for projects that showcase better ways to build for a book.

Email me with your project or business details if you’d like to be considered.

CONTACT

As of Friday, Murujuga (the Burrup Peninsula) has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Home to over a million ancient petroglyphs - some as old as 50,000 years - this recognition honours one of the world’s oldest, richest cultural landscapes. It is a vital step in protecting Aboriginal heritage and acknowledging deep, continuous connections to Country.

Image via Save Our Songlines

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