Terrain NRM Board of Directors

CHANGES ON TERRAIN’S BOARD

DEC 2022

Peter Rowles steps down as board director and becomes a lifetime member  

A passion for the Wet Tropics environment led Peter Rowles (pictured) to Terrain NRM. Fifteen years later he has been simultaneously farewelled and welcomed – as a board director and lifetime member.

In the years in-between, Peter has planted more trees than any of us would care to guess, he’s spent countless days, weeks and months tending to reforestation areas, he’s been a force to be reckoned with in weed control and plant propagation, he’s trained volunteers in revegetation techniques and he’s worked in leadership roles for ‘bigger picture’ improvements to Wet Tropics habitat.

While being on the Terrain NRM Board, Peter has also been president of Mission Beach conservation group C4 – Community for Coastal and Cassowary Conservation. His passion for conservation and ecologically sustainable land management has led to many projects including the current reforestation initiative at Gurrbum Nature Refuge near Tully where seven hectares of land is being revegetated to expand an important wildlife corridor – a stretch of land along Walter Hill Range from the coast to the upper Tablelands.

Peter was also on Terrain’s Standing Independent Selection Panel for three years, before becoming a board director. And he’s been a driving force, over the years, in a range of local conservation groups.

A big thanks, Peter, for your long-standing service and commitment to strong environmental and community outcomes.

Noel Preece joins the Terrain NRM Board

Noel wears many hats in our region – he’s a beef cattle farmer and carbon forest grower with a background in environmental consultation in Northern Australia (over 30 years) and as a ranger and regional manager for Parks and Wildlife departments. He’s also an adjunct associate professor with James Cook University and Charles Darwin University and has been a director of the Ecological Society of Australia, a councillor on the Ecosystem Science Council and Environmental Institute of Australia and New Zealand, founding president of the Ecotourism Society of Australia and president of this region’s Tree Kangaroo and Mammal Group.

He has broad interests in northern Australia including fire ecology, savannah management, biodiversity, natural resource management, indigenous ecological knowledge and natural resource management in the savannah region, carbon sequestration and mitigation through reforestation, savannah burning and soil carbon sequestration.

Lucy Friend becomes a board director

Lucy was already on our board as the 2022 ‘Emerging Leader’. Now she has become a director.

Lucy is an environmental scientist, currently working as North Queensland Airports’ environmental manager. She grew up in the Wet Tropics and says: “this eco-system is intertwined in my identity”. Lucy holds volunteer positions within biodiversity, conservation, agriculture, youth, support and mental health sectors.

Farewell to Rhiannon Simcocks as a board director

Rhiannon was the Board’s first ‘Emerging Leader’ before a term as a Board Director.  With a passion for the environment, a background in law, marketing and business consulting – and a family background in farming – she has been invaluable. The Emerging Leader program was introduced as a one-year mentoring program to develop future leaders in natural resource management and to bring more ‘youthful’ perspectives to the board. Thanks Rhiannon, for your fresh perspectives and business insights.

Kara-Glenn Worth the board’s new ‘Emerging Leader’

Kara grew up on an organic banana farm near Innisfail. She works for James Cook University Cairns as a Digital Agriculture Innovation Consultant, after a role as Head of Engagement and Community with the Australian Agritech Association. She says moving away from the region for a period of time made her realise the richness of environment and community, and the diversity of the Wet Tropics. She is passionate about maintaining this region’s values while growing regional opportunities such as in community-led sustainable development.

Changes on Terrain’s Standing Independent Selection Panel

Thank you to Alan Colgrave who has stepped down as the industry representative on Terrain’s Standing Independent Selection Panel. We welcome back a founding board director Ken Atkinson, who’s a Mt Garnet grazier and helicopter operator, to take up the SISP industry position.

Find out more about Terrain NRM’s Board of Directors and Standing Independent Selection Panel here.

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