I was new stable isotope research before attending SIBS. Despite being new to this field, I found myself leaving the workshop with both direction and understanding that I didn't think possible in just a week. The presenters were all incredibly knowledgable and from a broad range of disciplines. I talked with plant and soil researchers about how their work might be applicable to my research in entomology, which was a unique opportunity for cross discipline discussion. It was the perfect atmosphere to learn, chat and make friends. I would reccomend it to any researcher interested in isotopes!

by Sebastian Judkins, Attendee — SIBS 2026 Camden

I attended the 2026 SIBS workshop in Camden. It was a busy week filled with presentations, with some hands-on experience using isotopes to understand soil-plant interactions. I walked away from the workshops feeling inspired to continue using isotopes in my soil and pasture research and dreaming up experiments for the future. A great week, and wonderful opportunity for networking and knowledge sharing. Would highly recommend to anyone thinking about the use of isotopes in their research work.

by Evanna McGuinness, Attendee — SIBS 2026 Camden

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

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!