User Profile

Isabel
Howard

Isabel Howard is a homegrown writer and creative living in Hobart. She is passionate about the environment and cultural diversity. She recently finished an undergraduate degree in English and Japanese, and is interested in continuing study in international politics and writing.

Forty South

Literacy is complicated

by Isabel Howard

11 Mar 2023

When you Google the definition of the word “literacy”, the most basic definition you will find is “the ability to read and write”. But this doesn’t capture the depth of meaning of the word ...

History

Dynamite, bunkers and the Spotted Quoll Studio

by Isabel Howard

22 Oct 2021

On the northern outskirts of Launceston, in a peculiar patch of land between bends of the laykila/North Esk River, the architecture of the city suddenly disappears. Neatly sandwiched between the suburbs of Invermay and Ravenswood, brick and bitumen are suddenly replaced by broad, green farmlands, and the roads that divide them are roamed by livestock instead of people.

Environment

On our watch

by Isabel Howard

05 May 2021

Tasmania is a world-class theatre when it comes to watching marine mammals and birds in the wild. Sitting between the Southern Ocean and the bottom of the East Australian Current, the waters around Tasmania are home to many species that are hard to find elsewhere. For some locals, spotting dolphins, seals and albatrosses as they walk along southern coastlines or drive a boat around Maria Island can be a routine experience.

Photography

When pastimes fly

by Isabel Howard

07 Nov 2020

Birdwatching has been a pastime since time unwritten. By sitting on a bench and observing birds perched in the trees nearby, you are birdwatching as surely as those who trek into a forest with ears pricked for a specific bird call. It’s a risk and a meditation: there’s never a guarantee that you’ll see what you’re after, yet it’s an inherently peaceful activity that’s easiest and most successful when you’re surrounded by nature and quiet. That is, if it can be measured by levels of success.