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Natasha Schapova
Natasha Schapova is a News Reporter based in the ABC's Gippsland office, making the move to the public broadcaster after working in global news. Living across Australia, in remote Northern Territory, rural Victoria and rural Tasmania, she has been exposed to a wide range of communities. Having studied it throughout school and university, Natasha has a keen interest in science and health.
Latest by Natasha Schapova
Dolphins found living with world's highest reported PFAS levels near Melbourne, Gippsland
A study finds the critically endangered Burrunan dolphins have up to 10 times the times the amount of PFAS chemicals that would normally cause health issues in their bodies.
Gippsland shooting leaves 28-year-old with critical injuries, five men arrested
Police believe the shooting occurred during an altercation between two groups in the town of Moe last night.
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When Jo felt her life was 'falling apart', doctors had no answers. Then she saw a news show and diagnosed herself
Jo Caminiti spent years in pain and being so tired she could barely walk as doctors failed to link her symptoms to perimenopause. She says a simple treatment "transformed" her life overnight.
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As the tide ebbs on this Victorian coast, a curious line of domes comes into view
By Rachel Clayton and Natasha Schapova
Residents along Victoria's coast are fighting back against coastal erosion with innovative and environmentally friendly solutions.
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Honour boards, photos, premiership cups 'burnt to a crisp' in suspected arson attack in Eastern Victoria
A GoFundMe page has raised $90,000 for the Fish Creek Football Netball Club, as police investigate the cause of the suspicious weekend blaze.
How a sleepy Gippsland town made global headlines after a mushroom lunch allegedly killed three guests
A beef wellington lunch allegedly led to three deaths and a small south-east Victorian community in shock. Now the host has been charged with murder. Here's how it all unfolded.
LGBTQIA+ allies criticise Victorian councillor's apology for tweets 'offensive' to transgender people
A local councillor in Victoria's east has been ordered to apologise after publishing a series of social media posts considered harmful to the transgender community, but a LGBTQIA support group says forced apologies are unconvincing.
Veteran Liberal MP backtracks on support for Yes vote in Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum
Russell Broadbent says he changed his mind about how he would vote after being contacted by First Nations people in his Victorian electorate.
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Trawlers warn against cut to shark fishing grounds as ocean wind farms move in
A group representing fishermen in south-east Australia says it will be forced to stop cooperating with offshore wind projects if shark fishing is further restricted in marine parks.
160 years after Amazon's demise, she's giving up secrets from her beach grave
Beneath metres of sand at Inverloch the Amazon, one of Victoria's best-preserved shipwrecks, still has stories to tell but concerns are growing about the effect of erosion and the pounding sea.
A zoologist is flying 20,000km around Australia to help save migratory shorebirds and wetlands
Amellia Formby has been flying around the coast of Australia for more than a year, on a mission to highlight the importance of a group of endangered but crucial birds.
Police concerned for welfare of missing 25yo man with medical condition
Emergency services are banding together to search for Owen Townsend, who is missing from Golden Beach in Gippsland.
A regional Victorian business is facing cash shortages as customers request cash out amid ATM closures
Residents of a regional Victorian town are calling for more ATMs to be instated, claiming it is harming businesses, with only one located within the central business district.
Council hires security guards, moves meetings online after disruptive behaviour
A regional Victorian council closes the doors to its public gallery after several "inappropriate" disturbances from community members this year.
Melbourne hit by early morning earthquake a week after magnitude-4.6 tremor
About 100 people reported feeling the tremor, which follows a much stronger earthquake in the state's east last week.
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Vic timber family moves interstate amid growing sawmill closures
The last sawmill in Far East Gippsland has shut down permanently, forcing workers to move out of timber towns to find new jobs ahead of the closure of native timber forestry.
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Cold water swimming provides physical and mental health benefits, cardiologist says
On the shortest day of the year about 30 people gathered in the early hours of the morning for a cold-water swim to celebrate the winter solstice.
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Environmentalists call for new national park near Melbourne to prevent future logging
As the end of native logging approaches in Victoria, Sarah Rees wants to see permanent protection of old-growth forests, but timber town residents disagree.
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Gippsland artist helping disadvantaged First Nations students learn about their culture
Gunaikurnai woman Montana McStay is helping Indigenous children connect with their culture through weaving, bead making, painting and other art forms.
Premature replacement of landfill-polluting solar panels driven by rising power costs, researchers warn
Researchers say rising electricity costs are pushing some home owners to replace their solar panels prematurely, increasing the need for bespoke recycling facilities to avoid them going to waste.
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Business owner hails community support after flames engulf building
A Gippsland man whose business burnt down on Saturday says he is determined to rebuild and feels overwhelmed by the level of support shown by concerned locals.
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Rural Victoria's Luke Missen headed for World Dwarf Games in Germany
Luke Missen's passion for sport has led him to be one of the best badminton, soccer and basketball players in the world.
Woman dies after Gippsland collision involving three cars, truck
A woman has died at the scene after four vehicles were involved in a collision this morning on the Princes Freeway at Darnum, east of Melbourne.
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Timber town workers 'in tears' as Victorian government deals final blow
Victoria's decision to bring forward the end of native timber harvesting was meant to bring certainty, but it has not eased the pain in timber communities.
Not only were there 'drop bears' in Australia's forest canopy 15 million years ago, there were 'drop crocs' too
Often spoken of in hushed tones to scare international campers and bushwalkers, researchers have confirmed that a variation of the Australian myth known as the drop bear did, in fact, exist in parts of eastern Australia about 15 million years ago.