Chasing the Storm

During SIBS 2020, a surprise hailstorm hit Canberra with golf ball–sized hail. Instead of running for cover, we grabbed our vials! Soon we were sampling hailstones to analyse how isotope ratios vary from surface to core — pure scientific curiosity in action!

SIBS was such an important learning experience! Building a background in isotopes science is something I have wanted and needed for my career, but it's not something that's widely taught in Ecology; there just aren't any courses in most undergraduate or Master's degrees. What makes SIBS so unique is having over a week where everyone - attendees, instructors, organizers - are entirely focused on isotopes, so you can make those big knowledge gains and come up with new ideas in such a short time. As an added bonus, the people are all amazing and are building such a robust professional community!

by Lauren Hitt, Attendee — SIBS 2026 Camden

The workshop significantly enhanced my understanding of how isotope techniques can address complex scientific questions. It highlighted their versatility across disciplines, from ecosystem processes to biogeochemical cycles. The program was well organized, and the facilitators’ expertise made complex concepts accessible and applicable. This experience broadened my methodological perspective and strengthened my ability to integrate isotopes into research. I highly recommend the SIBS workshop to researchers aiming to advance their scientific approaches.

by Ephrem Ngendahimana, Attendee — SIBS 2026 Camden

We've been running these workshops for more than a decade and although they've changed over time and depending on the venue, they've all been a real success. People have enjoyed them, learnt a fair bit about isotopes and learned to incorporate stable isotopes in their work. I keep meeting researchers who have attended these teaching workshops and stayed in the field. By imprisoning a tight group of students and teachers together for a week, the maximum amount of knowledge has diffused between them, as well as them all having a fair bit of fun.

by Hilary Stuart-Williams, Organiser