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
Thousands wake to earthquake 130 kilometres south-east of Melbourne
An earthquake in eastern Victoria overnight has been felt by thousands of people across several states.
Calls for more specialist training as doctors choose between dream jobs and staying home
When Lisa Gilbert was deciding what to specialise in, she had to choose between her dream physician job or staying in the region that had become her home due to limited training options outside the city.
Driver avoids prison over crash that killed family friend changing tyre on side of highway
Christopher Ralls was driving a ute along a Gippsland road when he fatally struck 55-year-old Russell Evans, who had stepped out of his car to help his son change a flat tyre.
It's 4.5m tall and weighs a tonne, and for $58k this life-sized dinosaur can be yours
Most people scour Facebook Marketplace for a miscellaneous piece of furniture, second-hand appliances or vintage pieces, but social media users have been bewildered by the recent listing of a life-sized titanosaurus.
$600k worth of drugs, 74 boxes of Lego seized in Victorian raids
A Latrobe Valley man is facing 10 charges and has had his Lego toy collection confiscated after police seized a commercial quantity of illegal drugs.
Seven years after a mine fire, nearby babies had recovered from 'stiff' lungs. Scientists say we can learn from the disaster
As "extreme smoke episodes" increase, a study of smoke-exposed babies born during the 2014 Hazelwood coal mine fire is helping fill the gaps in our knowledge about the impacts of air pollution.
Freediver lost fins before drowning during tragic day off the coast of Victoria, police say
Police have revealed a man who died on the Gippsland coast last week, one of three who drowned in separate incidents, was a freediver who had lost his fins.
Warren has built his whole life around native timber logging. Now Victoria's industry has shut down
After decades of campaigning, environmental groups are celebrating the end of native timber logging in Victoria. But timber workers like Warren Fenner are grieving the end of an era, and are facing an uncertain future.
Victoria Police detectives uncover illicit tobacco products, samurai sword and handgun during Gippsland raids
Three Morwell stores, one Moe store, and one Traralgon store were all searched on Monday
Mate's cancer diagnosis inspires 1,000km run to help country patients stay in the city
When Xavier Mills was diagnosed with bone cancer, Brock Williams felt compelled to make a difference. So he ran from Adelaide to Rosedale in regional Victoria to raise funds for a charity that helped his friend.
Kate's journey from 'begrudgingly' tested to improving the lives of other breast cancer patients
After undergoing multiple surgeries to remove pre-cancer cells last year, Kate aims to raise $135,000 for an imaging system for her regional hospital, for better detection and a reduction in the number of surgeries needed.
Suffering fires and multiple floods, Gippsland expects more after third bout of extremes in two months
The Victorian community is resilient but experiencing fatigue as it battles multiple extreme weather events in a short time span, with more rain forecast in the state's east from Thursday.
'We're a tough bunch': Mallacoota landslide cleared, as other Gippsland towns brace for flooding
The road to Mallacoota reopens after more than 24 hours of isolation, as other communities across Gippsland are urged to move to higher ground.
Landslide, rising rivers as Victoria battens down while NSW, Qld towns count cost of deluge
Flood threats remain in parts of the NSW south-east hammered by a severe weather system now moving into Victoria, where days of heavy rain is expected.
Murder of woman's best friend inspires Change for Sam safety alarms for those vulnerable to family violence
Lija Matthews is distributing safety alarms to family violence victim survivors to help prevent more women from dying in the hands of their current or former partners, after her best friend, Sam Fraser, was murdered by her estranged husband in 2018.
Twenty years after skull fragment found on beach, researcher reveals what it belonged to
The fragment is believed to belong to the oldest-known megaraptorid — by at least 20 million years — and beach erosion could reveal even more fossils.
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.
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.
As the tide ebbs on this Victorian coast, a curious line of domes comes into view
Residents along Victoria's coast are fighting back against coastal erosion with innovative and environmentally friendly solutions.
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.
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.