Ken Connor - Chair

Ken grew up on a dairy farm in North East Victoria. After graduating as a Civil Engineer he worked for the Dandenong Valley Authority in the developing south eastern suburbs of Melbounre. It was here he developed a passion for restoring and stabilising open waterways/creeks in residential and rural areas. Ken pioneered and championed so called ‘soft engineering’ techniques to help restore and develop degraded waterways. After 16 years he started his own company specialising in waterway management which included wetland development. This operated statewide for a further 15 years.
Along the way he and his business partner purchased a farm at Inverloch which is bordered by Screw Creek. They soon fenced off 10 hectares adjacent to the creek to restrict stock access and allow additional planting. Much of the area has remnant vegetation. This was supplemented with planting (tube-stock and direct seeding) and now forms an important wildlife corridor and riparian zone along the creek. 
Ken has belonged to Landcare since he bought the property in 1999. Caring for the land remains an important priority for him. 

Linda Bowden - Vice Chair

​Linda moved to French Island with her young family in 2009 after a successful career with a large multi-national investment bank in Melbourne. Prior to that she has fond memories of working in the Policy Section of the Victorian Farmers Federation at the time Heather Mitchell was President and the Landcare movement was evolving in the late 1980s. She currently runs her own small gardening/maintenance business and is a tour guide sharing the unique lifestyle and the extensive flora and fauna, rich history and the joys of living on French Island. She has also completed a Permaculture Design Certificate and has aimed to apply those principles living self-sufficiently and sustainably on a 50 acre, off-grid farming property. She is an active
volunteer within the French Island community, including the local CFA brigade, Secretary of the Community Association and Treasurer of the Community Hall. She is a member of the French Island Landcare Group.

Peter Nuttman - Treasurer

Peter has 25+ years experience in Healthcare Leadership, in both the private and public setting, with a Bachelor of Applied Science (Medical Radiations – Nuclear Medicine) and a Bachelor of Business (Management & Accounting). In 2020 Peter and his wife Di moved from Melbourne to 2 acres in Wonthaggi, that provides space for a large vegetable patch that is under development. He is passionate about being involved with Landcare because of the wide ranging benefits it offers the local community, whilst enhancing and conserving biodiversity. Peter is very interested in sustainable agriculture and applying permaculture principles. With a particular focus on the future role and benefits an expansion of local small scale organic gardens might have to feed the local community whilst improving environmental sustainability.   

Sue Doyle - Secretary

​ ​Sue moved to Phillip Island in 2020, during Covid lockdowns with proximity to nature as a key motivation.  Sue has been a member of the Phillip Island Landcare Committee since 2022 and is particularly interested in collaboration and building appreciation, knowledge and empowerment among the broader community (including visitors to Phillip Island) to grow and protect biodiversity. 
Sue has over 25 years experience in strategy development, program co-design, evaluation and monitoring, research, public programming and community consultation in state government, public policy with the national telecommunications regulator, museums and exhibition development, the creative industries and the visitor economy.   
NICK SIBLEY
Nick was born in Wonthaggi and raised on a dairy/beef farm in Woolamai. He works locally at Wonthaggi Secondary College as the campus manager. He and his wife Caroline run a small Angus beef herd and dabble in bee keeping and garlic growing. They have four beautiful teenage daughters who keep them on their toes. Nick has been a member of the 3 Creeks Landcare group for a number of years and was president from 2017 till 2020. Nick has always had a love for the bush and was able to help his father Barry when they started fencing off remnant trees in the early 1980s. Over the last 35 years the farm has been transformed as the trees, that have been planted and protected, have grown and matured. There is still much work to be done. Now that he and Caroline have their own piece of creek they have been able to fence off more of the creek that is part of the Bridge Creek Biolink. Nick has organised many planting days with the students at Wonthaggi Secondary College and plans to continue this invaluable work as it gives the students a chance to make a real difference in their community.
PAUL SPEIRS
​Paul moved to Archies Creek in 1990 from Melbourne to have more room to make compost, grow veggies and beef, and three sons.  As a founding member of the Archies Creek Reforestation Group, he worked with his neighbours to eradicate weeds and recreate wildlife corridors linking Gorge creek with the Powlett River.  With the inception of the Powlett Project in 1996, Paul bought a catchment wide vision to revegetate streamsides, adjacent steep slopes and gullies, and since that time over 2 million plants have been established.  Paul's other Landcare involvements include, a long standing Board member of BCLN, a 3 Creeks Landcare Member, and winner of the West Gippsland Lyrebird Awards in 2010.  An elder of the 'bush doof' community, Paul was part of Tranceplant, delivering innovative tree planting parties in Victoria.  
SIMON RICHARDSON
​Simon has a Master of Business Administration from La Trobe University and over 25 years’ experience in IT and business leadership within the Not-for-profit, health, education and food industry sectors.
Simon’s experience includes the Bionics Institute, National Heart Foundation, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (CIO, COO), St. Vincent’s Health Australia (CTO), St. Vincent's Hospital Melbourne (CIO), Mercy Health (GM ICT).
Simon is passionate about technology and building high performing teams and within purpose-driven organisations that make a difference to the world.
LinkedIn Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/richarsr/
DAVE SUTTON
​Dave grew up in Melbourne and his career as an Electrical/Electronic Engineer saw him working for the then Department of Civil Aviation for 16 years, followed by private roles. In 2002 Dave became a permanent Inverloch resident and became involved with local community, serving as President of the South Gippsland Conservation Society for the best part of 10 years.  In 1989 Dave purchased a 16-hectare farm at Arawata with a view of Wilsons Promontory and subsequently commenced his vegetation journey.  Today the view of Wilsons Promontory has gone, replaced with trees up to 40 metres in height, regenerating shrubs and ground cover plants, some of which have not been seen since clearing in the 1800’s. Dave is a member and current Chair of the Gippsland Threatened Species Action Group.  Dave’s passion for the environment, protecting remnant vegetation and repair of nature and biodiversity continues with a vision of landscape-scale biolinks that will enhance threatened species habitat and address some of the looming impacts of climate change.  
JIM AHON
Retiring from small business, Jim moved to a small block in Bena in late 2019. In his early working life, he was involved in Landscape and garden construction. He has now embarked on an active rediscovery of a lifelong interest in the environment and the natural world, revegetating his small acreage and propagating plants. Involvement in Landcare, among several other groups with an environmental focus, has brought him into contact with many like-minded people.  Many of these people also just like to get things done. Jim believes that Landcare offers us the opportunity to connect, collaborate and explore new ideas.
 

John Carney

John lived on the family farm at Nar Nar Goon his whole life until 2018 , then bought a farm in Grantville .
A qualified diesel technician, John worked for Porters Farm Service in Pakenham for many years before becoming self employed in small business. He later went on to be managing director of Traf Tractor and Machinery until semi retiring in 2011. He has been involved with Landcare for many years and enjoys the satisfaction of making the property a more diversified farm .


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