Why did you join SER?

I joined SER and SER Australasia in 2010 and joined the SER-A Board as Treasurer in 2012. Needless to say, I am still the Treasurer as this role is not exactly one members go to war over. I suppose my 20 odd year career in banking made me for the role. I joined SER as it connects with our family business in environmental services and meets my wish for international environmental connection and associated travel.

What has been your best experience with SER so far?

The standout experiences of my time in SER were the 2014 conference in New Caledonia, revisited in August this year and the Cape Town conference in 2019. I have made 5 visits to South Africa, flying the flag for SER as well as the International Plant Propagators Society, Inc.

Please tell us about your career trajectory in the field of ecological restoration?

My restoration focus has been on recalcitrant species propagation and developing methods to overcome seed dormancy. Working with researchers and practitioners in hot spot locations has been an abiding interest.

The Natural Area business that I commenced nearly 20 years ago has developed into the largest on ground provider of ecological services in Western Australia. The business is now owned and operated by my daughter and her husband. They took over in 2011 and have developed the business to a highly professional level, providing a wide suite of services to clients that are undertaking ecological management and restoration activities in urban, peri urban and remote locations throughout the State. The business is vertically integrated, connecting seed collection / processing / storage with nursery production, project installation, weed control, feral animal control and fire fuel load control. A distinct consulting division offers services outside of the contracting activities. The workforce varies from 115 to 150 based upon seasonal demand. The business services Government at all levels, property developers, mining companies and private landowners for their ecological requirements.

The company has recently relocated one of our 3 site operations and built a new nursery to our own exclusive design. This will allow for high level efficiency and increase production as well as provide high quality work conditions for our staff. Personally, I am working on extending my propagation connections into New Caledonia, South Africa and Saudi Arabia.

What do you find most rewarding about working for your organization?

The most rewarding aspects of my work are:
– Seeing the development of young graduates as they add practical skills to their formal education.
– Achieving success in propagation of difficult species to support high level restoration.
– Travelling and sharing knowledge with other practitioners.
– Basking in the success of the business that I founded.

New nursery site near Perth in Western Australia. The addition of this site has the potential to increase our capacity for restoration propagation to 1.3 million plants per annum, and is one of four operational sites we have in Western Australia.

Why would you encourage others, particularly young people, to get involved in this field?

Since commencing the family business, the ultimate focus beyond essential commercial success, has been to develop young staff in ecological disciplines and support them to remain in the industry. Being switched on environmentally is one thing, but young people need work, income, development and support to grow, with added financial reality and discipline. That’s what we look to deliver.

“The most rewarding aspect of my work is seeing the development of young graduates as they add practical skills to their formal education.”

What’s something about you (a fun fact) that not many people know?

I will admit to being a lover of both classical and rock music from the 60's and 70’s and my most recent “wild” experience was French karaoke in a New Caledonia Hotel shared with people who love music, plants and good times too.

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