Fiona Pepper
Fiona works as the Cross Media Reporter for ABC Radio Melbourne. Previously she has worked at ABC RN and with ABC Great Southern as a rural reporter in Western Australia.
The architect responsible for making Melbourne liveable
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Since the mid 1980s Danish architect Jan Gehl has been helping Melbourne to "turn this miserable scene into one of the most likeable cities in the world".
Topics: architecture, urban-development-and-planning, community-and-society, government-and-politics, human-interest, melbourne-3000
Pocket piano takes out top prize for young inventor
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A Melbourne boy's piano that can be played inside a pocket earns him Australia's top student inventor's prize.
Topics: inventions, music, secondary-schools, computers-and-technology, instrument-making, human-interest, melbourne-3000
Art program sets Indigenous prisoners on a different path
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An exhibition in Melbourne displays the artwork of 145 Indigenous men and women who are currently or have previously served in the Victorian prison system.
Topics: painting, visual-art, prisons-and-punishment, indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander, community-and-society, melbourne-3000
Tampon subscription service helps homeless women manage periods
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A new social enterprise set up by an ex-Neighbours actress aims to provide every homeless woman in Australia with access to free tampons.
Topics: womens-health, homelessness, charities-and-community-organisations, melbourne-3000
What does a real-life Disney princess look like?
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You don't know her face, but you know what she sounds like. Meet Lea Salonga — the singing voice of Princess Jasmine in the hit Disney movie Aladdin.
Topics: opera-and-musical-theatre, arts-and-entertainment, people, melbourne-3000
A lifelong love affair with South Melbourne Market dim sims
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Three children snapped eating dim sims at South Melbourne Market in the 1960s return to recreate the special moment.
Topics: history, community-and-society, family, immigration, human-interest, melbourne-3000
Healthy food sculptures go viral, lead mum to new career
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The Melbourne mum who turned her son's spelt pancakes into a lion is inspiring other parents to prepare healthy "food sculptures" and starting a career in food styling.
Topics: food-and-cooking, children, diet-and-nutrition, visual-art, melbourne-3000
Early game no deterrent for Melbourne's diehard football fans
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As pubs across England heave on a Tuesday night, football fans in Melbourne cheer just as loudly while sipping their morning coffees.
Topics: english-premier, soccer, sport, human-interest, lifestyle-and-leisure, clubs-and-associations, melbourne-3000
How an autism assistance dog turned a family's life around
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A beloved assistance dog named Jason has made it possible for Teresa Brown and her family to go on a simple dash to the supermarket or a visit to the zoo.
Topics: disabilities, dog, child-health-and-behaviour, children, autism-spectrum-disorder, melbourne-3000
The world number ones you've likely never heard of
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World number one's Gordon Reid, Jiske Griffioen and Dylan Alcott should all be household names, yet few people seem to even know about the Australian Open Wheelchair Championships.
Topics: australian-open, sport, disabilities, community-and-society, people, melbourne-3000
What good are personal devices in primary school?
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The use of technology in primary school classrooms is a divisive issue among parents and teachers, so are there any proven benefits of children using devices such as tablets?
Topics: education, computers-and-technology, primary-schools, children, states-and-territories, internet-culture, human-interest, melbourne-3000
The case for more three-bedroom apartments
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Should Melbourne embrace three-bedroom apartments to provide better housing options for families into the future?
Topics: architecture, housing, community-and-society, family, sustainable-living, melbourne-3000
Anger over device requirements for primary school students
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Victorian parents share their concerns over requests from schools to buy their children tablets or laptops as part of Bring Your Own Device policies.
Topics: educational-resources, children, primary-schools, internet-culture, states-and-territories, public-schools, schools, education, melbourne-3000
Australia's obsession with new clothes hurting the environment
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Australians are the world's second largest consumers of textiles. So what is the environmental impact of this obsession with new clothes?
Topics: fashion, environmental-impact, recycling-and-waste-management, human-interest, melbourne-3000
Women climbing the ranks of male-dominated parkour
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Parkour is generally associated with fit young men scaling buildings or leaping through the air, however a group of Melbourne women are trying to change that perception.
Topics: womens-health, sport, women, lifestyle-and-leisure, community-and-society, melbourne-3000
Beautiful shrub gardens in the heart of Melbourne
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Shrub gardens aren't known for their looks, but a Melbourne University research project aims to create a garden that is equal parts beautiful and hardy right in the heart of the city.
Topics: shrub, natives, gardening, research, environmental-management, urban-development-and-planning, university-and-further-education, melbourne-3000
Goosebumps may be more useful than we first thought
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It has long been thought that goosebumps are just evolutionary residue from the caveman era, but new research shows we may have been underestimating them.
Topics: medical-research, health, evolution, skin-cancer, human-interest, melbourne-3000
Are animals actually artists?
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Birds sing beautiful songs, crabs create intricate sand formations and spiders spin incredibly designed webs — but are they aware of the artistic merit of their work?
Topics: animals, arts-and-entertainment, visual-art, sculpture, offbeat, langwarrin-3910, melbourne-3000
Market rings in 150 years as lost historic bell replaced
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When the South Melbourne Market began operating 150 years ago, a large brass bell was tolled each day to signal the beginning and end of trade. Today that tradition was reinstated.
Topics: history, people, human-interest, south-melbourne-3205, melbourne-3000
Protecting the elderly during heatwaves and bushfires
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A community group in Cockatoo is helping elderly residents find respite on days of extreme heat and fire danger.
Topics: bushfire, weather, older-people, community-and-society, volunteers, community-organisations, health, cockatoo-3781, melbourne-3000
Melbourne rower builds floating billboard to promote the Red Cross
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A young Melbourne rower and carpenter turns his single scull into a floating billboard for the Red Cross.
Topics: people, charities, blood, rowing, advertising, melbourne-3000
Could a disrupted sleep also disturb your gut?
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If you have trouble sleeping or your sleep pattern is disrupted, you may be surprised to learn that the bacterial colonies in your gut are also being disturbed.
Topics: sleep, sleep-disorders, diet-and-nutrition, health, australia
This Australian scientist drew every ray in the world
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With Rays of the World, Sydney scientist Lindsay Marshall has become the first person in 100 years to illustrate an entire faunal group.
Topics: visual-art, animal-science, science, marine-biology, sydney-2000
Silver lining for refugees at Sydney's Social Outfit
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An unassuming clothing shop in Sydney's inner-west employs refugees with sewing skills to make beautiful, ethical clothing.
Topics: refugees, fashion, community-and-society, environmentally-sustainable-business, newtown-2042
Toddlers and elderly bond over story sessions
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One morning a week, children from a northern Sydney day care centre visit their local aged care facility where residents read them their favourite books.
Topics: aged-care, children, books-literature, child-care, sydney-2000
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