1. What is your background and how does your profile connect to Native Vegetation?

I have 20 years’ experience in the grape and wine sector, originally in vineyard management and winemaking both in Australia and overseas, and later as General Manager of Cape Jaffa Wines, a premium wine producer in South Australia known for its sustainability credentials. At that time I was also co-owner of Section 41, a sheep grazing business producing prime lambs and wool. For many years I volunteered with the local Friends group and was also responsible for developing a conservation volunteering program at Cape Jaffa Wines which involved both the staff and local schools. More recently, I helped to establish a small vineyard for a company that I own called Obelisk Wine Co. The vines are planted on my partner’s family property on Eyre Peninsula. I have been a non-executive director on private and government boards in the fields of biosecurity, conservation, natural resource management and grape and wine business. I am currently on the board of Landcare Australia and the Australian Women Pilot’s Association and am Director of Economic and Environmental Policy at Australian Grape and Wine. Prior to the formation of Australian Grape and Wine, I was Chief Executive Officer of Australian Vignerons. I have tertiary qualifications in Agricultural Science, a Masters of Agribusiness, a Graduate Diploma in Business Law and am a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

2. What would you like to see happen in the future for Native Vegetation within SA?

Biodiversity is important for so many reasons - from the ecosystem services it provides to farmers to its vital role in human health and well-being. South Australia’s loss of biodiversity concerns me, as does the fact that it is still in decline. It would be great to see this trend reversed, however with growing competition for land and water from mining, population growth and urbanisation and more recently from renewable energy projects protecting what we have left seems a daunting enough challenge. Into the future, it will be important that biodiversity conservation and restoration be valued appropriately so that that the incentives for protecting what we have at the same time as expanding areas of high biodiversity value better reflect its importance as a public good. With the emergence of environmental markets it will become increasingly important to gain a better understanding of how to value biodiversity and to ensure that there are mechanisms to maximise the effectiveness of conservation efforts. As custodians of significant areas of land, there is great potential for Australia’s primary producers to further strengthen their contribution to biodiversity conservation and restoration where it is complimentary to existing farming systems or where they are suitably rewarded for both the direct costs and the opportunity costs.

3. Special moment/s in your career to date?

In 2013 I was the recipient of the S.A. Rural Women’s Award, recognised for my leadership in sustainability. I was awarded a bursary which I spent investigating the drivers of environmental sustainability in small businesses to better understand how to educate, incentivise and reward good practices. I travelled to South Africa, USA and New Zealand to look at how the various sustainability certification programs contributed to these improvements.

4. What do you like most about being in your current position as a Director of Economic and Environmental Policy for Australian Grape and Wine?

I enjoy the fact that every day is a little different and that my work is multi-disciplinary and includes science, economics and politics. I am very interested in environmental markets and how we can do our bit to encourage businesses to improve environmental sustainability credentials… and of course I love wine for so many reasons from the passion that goes into its production to the diversity of wine styles.

5. What do you like to do outside of work?

When I am not at work, I get a great deal of satisfaction from getting out into nature and have always had an interest in ensuring that we look after remaining biodiversity. I particularly enjoy exploring, hiking in beautiful parts of the State such as the Flinders Ranges or the islands around Eyre Peninsula or taking my Suzuki down the coast to find a quiet surf break in Little Dip Conservation Park.

The Native Vegetation Heritage Agreement Grants (NVHA) Program continues to evolve and support Heritage Agreement owners and landholders training programs. The inaugural workshops were recently held in Murraylands and Riverland (9 – 10 April) and on Kangaroo Island (20 – 21 April).

Trees For Life delivered the training sessions in partnership with the Landscape Boards (SA) and the Native Vegetation Branch and offered Heritage Agreement landowners and other interested landholders the opportunity to learn about caring for their remnant vegetation. Attendees heard from land management experts about on-ground techniques and strategies for improving habitats on their property. There was also the opportunity to meet other Heritage Agreement owners and people involved in conservation on private lands.

Other regional face to face workshops are being planned for Northern and Yorke, Limestone Coast, Hills and Fleurieu and Eyre Peninsula later in 2024 and early 2025 and further information can be found here.

In addition to the face to face workshops, the first of 10 online workshops was held earlier this month with Project Planning the key topic. The session provided great advice, hints and tips to those who attended the one hour online event. Future topics include; weed control, pest animal management, plant identification, bird identification and fire management. The next online workshop is scheduled for 13 June (feral cat and fox control) and you can register here.

The training program is building on the Native Vegetation Heritage Agreement Grants Program, which has provided on-site support to 220+ landowners, awarded 137+ grants sharing in over $2.8 million of funding to Heritage Agreement landowners across South Australia.

If you are a landowner interested in attending a training program you can visit www.environment.sa.gov.au/nvhagrants or contact the Native Vegetation Branch on NVC.HAProgram@sa.gov.au  or (08) 8303 9777.

1. The Native Vegetation Act 1991 covers the entire State of South Australia. True/False
2. For the purposes of the Native Vegetation Act, native vegetation means any native plant indigenous to Australia. True/False
3. Native vegetation includes marine plants. True/False
4. All dead native trees are classified as native vegetation. True/False
5. Dead trees provide critical habitat for the South-Eastern Long-eared Bat. True/False
6. Clearance means any act or activity that causes the killing, destruction, substantial damage or removal of native vegetation. True/False
7. The Native Vegetation Council must not consent to clearance if the vegetation comprises or forms part of a stratum of native vegetation that is substantially intact. True/False
8. A person can clear native vegetation within 10 metres of a building for the purpose of maintaining the building. True/False.

For information regarding these question please click the link below, to our website, and explore further.

Answers: 1 F, 2 F, 3T, 4 F, 5 T, 6 T, 7 T, 8 T