2021 MENTORING PROGRAM
The mentor program directly connects schools with local business leaders who are at the forefront of their industry. It offers a unique opportunity to have one of the most innovative business or academic leaders mentor your class group and workshop your innovation idea between March to early May 2021.
A fact sheet about the mentor program is available for download here.
Will Brook
CEO | Brookfarm
• Green Products/Recycling used in building or packaging
• Sustainable land management / Agriculture
• Waste Management
Will is the CEO of family run business, Brookfarm. In just over 30 years the family has transformed a run-down dairy to become one of Australia’s leading producers of premium quality macadamia products, while holding sustainability at the core of everything they do.
Brookfarm has always looked at ways to minimise waste, both in operations and food production, and was recognised in 2015 with the NSW Premiers Award for Environmental and Sustainability Excellence with the Green Globe Award. Brookfarm supports farmers in need. With drought effecting vast parts of Australia, Brookfarm donates food waste to live stock feed. When Brookfarm creates point of sale stands to help support the sales of its products in store,
it creates them from timber made from a recycled composite or recycled cardboard, that can again be recycled after use.
Brookfarm products come in a high quality pouch to ensure they stay fresh and stable on the shelf. Until now, there has not been an option for recycling in this type of pouch. Brookfarm’s innovation team has been working with its packing partner, and this year will launch an exciting independent program that will see many more soft plastics being able to be recycled in your home recycling bin.
Brenda McLachlan
Dairy Development Officer | Norco Milk
• Sustainable Land Management / Agriculture
Brenda has worked in the dairy industry for over 30 years and has a passion to help farmers to care for their land for future generations. It is important for her to promote farming practices that are sustainable and do not harm the environment, while they produce food, meat and milk.
Agriculture has been challenged through drought, flood and pest invasion as they continue to produce huge amounts of food from our soils to feed and clothe people. She has learnt that destruction of our soil biology or removal of the trees and fauna and pollution of the rivers will limit how much food can be produced. Farmers are caretakers of a valuable resource and many understand how to use technology and practices that promote good health of soils, rivers and wildlife.
Brenda has been keen to learn new practices such as regenerative agriculture where we work with our environment to promote soil health and reduce reliance on chemicals. She looks forward to mentoring and inspiring our future environmental stewards in their innovator project as we explore practices that leave the environment in a better place for future farmers.
Abigail Jenkins
Development officer: Soils Unit
NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI)
• Sustainable Land Management / Agriculture
Abigail has worked with NSW DPI in the agricultural sector for over 20 years. NSW DPI recently celebrated 125 years as a major cutting edge research centre that supports sustainable agriculture.
Abigail’s special interest area is soils; soil health and explaining the complexity of soils. Compost and biochar use on farm, the management of soil carbon, soil biology and soil erosion are all areas in which she has experience. She has worked with growers across a range of enterprises; in sub-tropical horticulture, cropping and livestock sectors throughout the North Coast and NSW.
She is also interested in helping landholders understand how to best trial new practices on their own farms in a scientifically valid way so the results they see can be interpreted to further their own knowledge, understanding and management decisions. Before working with NSW DPI she worked for 2 1/2 years in South India in the aid and development sectors on food security projects. She has produced numerous publications and decision support tools for soil management.
Dr Hanabeth Luke
Educator and researcher, School of Environment, Science and Engineering
Southern Cross University
• Sustainable Land Management / Agriculture
Dr Hanabeth Luke is a passionate educator who has been teaching and conducting research in Southern Cross University School of Environment, Science and Engineering since 2011. She is deeply motivated by helping regional communities and farmers to become more resilient in times of transition, bringing communities to science, and vice versa. These understandings underpin her role as Coordinator for the new Southern Cross University course in Regenerative Agriculture.
Her previous and current research focus consist of:
- Drivers of on-farm decision-making
- Barriers to farmer uptake of research and development
- Farmer succession planning strategies
- The role of social license in land use planning and management
- Community perceptions of natural resource management
- Science communication
- Multidisciplinary research, including consilience across disciplines
Kirralee Donovan
Water Sustainability Officer
Rous County Council
• Water Management
All things water!! Kirralee has been working to improve the health of our precious wetlands and waterways for over ten years. She is passionate about working closely with our community on projects that are centered on water and water conservation and believes that every drop counts!
Looking at innovative solutions to save water and helping people to better understand their water use is the focus of Kirralee’s current role. Kirralee is the Water Sustainability Officer at Rous County Council, working with business and industry to look at various ways to save water every day.
Kirralee brings a wealth of knowledge to assist your students with their innovative water ideas.
Stephen Austen
General Manager. Product / Co-Founder | LanternPay
• Tech Support
If you are looking for someone to help you with information technology idea such as a mobile app and want a mentor who thinks outside the box look no further.
Stephen has experience spanning product and systems development, technology, sales and marketing including creating and launching Flexischools helping over 1 million parents and 1000 schools.
In his current role as Chief Innovation Officer of InLoop, Stephen leads their product and innovation strategies, distilling complex technical, social and external changes into simple, scalable solutions to achieve social ambitions.
When he’s not working with our teams on the next big innovations, you’ll find him piloting an aircraft or riding his electric skateboard.
Oliver Costello
Bundjalung Jagun
Director | Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corporation and Jagun Alliance Aboriginal Corporation
• Indigenous knowledge
A proud Bundjalung man from Northern NSW, Oli co-founded the Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corporation in 2018, a purposeful, passionate and powerful Indigenous-led organisation championing change and drawing upon traditional knowledge, skills and experience in both cultural burns and contemporary fire management and practices.
He has a broad range of experience from community, private and public sectors in Indigenous Cultural fire practice, Aboriginal Joint Management partnerships, Indigenous Natural Cultural Resource management and Indigenous governance. He is passionate about caring for Country, Indigenous leadership, empowerment, partnerships and recognition of cultural knowledge and practice through community led mentorship on Country.
Oli hopes that after the widespread devastating fires that swept the country earlier in the year the broader Australian public will start investing in Indigenous knowledge and leadership.
Nick Lake
Managing Director | Nickel Energy
• Biofuels/Renewable Energy
From its humble beginnings as a start-up business based in Lismore in 2008, Nick has grown Nickel Energy to become the leading solar player in Northern NSW and SE QLD. He was one of the key consultants to the Byron Bay solar-powered train, the first and only 100% electric, 100% solar-powered train in the world.
Nick helped to establish Nickel Energy with a simple vision — to power communities with clean, renewable energy. He has provided economic, environmental and social benefits through reducing costs, improving environmental sustainability and continuing to support our community.
Linda Sparrow
President | Bangalow Koalas
• Sustainable Land Management / Agriculture
Founded in 2016, Bangalow Koalas Inc is a not-for-profit community group devoted to protecting the Northern Rivers Koalas. What started as a handful of concerned neighbours has grown into an active, change-creating community group with a long-term goal of creating a Koala Wildlife Corridor to encourage koalas out of urban areas and away from threats. Bangalow Koalas has planted just under 73,000 koala and rainforest trees in two and half years, planting 53,500 in 2020 alone. They aim to plant 250,000 by end of 2025 and are well on their way to achieving that goal.
Linda was awarded Australia Day 2020 Byron Shire Environmental Citizen of the Year and was in the running for the 2020 NSW Environmental Citizen of the Year Award.
It’s no wonder Linda has been nominated for a string of awards. Thanks to Bangalow Koalas, the corridor has expanded and connected existing sections of koala habitat from Byron Bay and surrounds, across the hinterland and now heading west to Tenterfield, north to the Queensland border and south towards Grafton.
Bangalow Koalas have partnered with East Coast Bush Regeneration (ECBR), with principal Rossco Faithfull and his highly qualified and experienced team of 25 bush regenerators working on over 50 sites on private and public land. The major project currently being undertaken is the Koala Corridor Project to plant and maintain koala food trees and rainforest trees on private land. previously cleared for agriculture.
Nathan Burton
Unit Assessor – Waste Management | Southern Cross University
• Biofuels/Renewable Energy
• Green Products/Recycling used in building or packaging
• Waste Management
Nathan is an all rounder at Southern Cross University and is currently working on a research and development project focused on producing hydrogen as renewable energy source generated from solar power.
Nathan is passionate about positive environmental change and feels that actively engaging in a more environmentally friendly lifestyle is an easy step everyone can take towards a sustainable existence. He finds himself interested in all topics which have the general focus of reducing the negative impacts and increasing the positive impacts that humans can have on the environment.
Damien Hofmeyer,
Manager, Richmond River Area North Coast Branch
NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS)
• Sustainable Land Management / Agriculture
The environmental sector is of great personal and professional passion to Damien. He provides leadership and guidance to the management of conservation areas through implementing personal skills and experience gained over his career, predominately with National Parks and Wildlife Service. Not all of his decisions are popular!
He enjoys working with rural park neighbours to try and balance the needs for conservation management within the National Parks with the needs of the neighbours who are using their land for agriculture, grazing and sustainable timber. While it seems they are poles apart, often common ground exists with beneficial outcomes possible for both parties.
In a consumer society it is inspiring seeing unwanted products reused for new and innovative ideas. Thinking through the process of production, delivery and life cycle of a product is important and one that is constantly considered in NPWS.
Don Coyne
Owner | Byron Biochar
• Sustainable Land Management / Agriculture
Don is a qualified Horticulturist with over 25 years experience in the industry. He is also a qualified Adult trainer, Frontline and Small Business Manager.
He has worked previously with NSW DPI Soils team as Technical Assistant on Biochar projects. Don has coordinated 3 successful industry based Biochar Conferences within the Byron Shire and was recently appointed the Executive Director of Australia New Zealand Biochar Industry Group
But what is biochar?
Biochar is an innovative agricultural technology (a charcoal-like substance) that’s made by burning organic material from agricultural and forestry wastes through a controlled process. It has so many benefits including helping to mitigate climate change, improving soil quality so more food can be grown as well as reducing waste and even producing energy as a byproduct…wow!!
Don’s is your go to person if you want to explore more ideas in the innovative space of biochar!
Peter Coombes
Associate Professor & Chair of Engineering, School of Environment, Science and Engineering | Southern Cross University
• Water Management
Professor Coombes is a Systems Thinker, Scientist, Engineer, Economist, Problem Solver and Policy Analyst, a Provider of alternative perspective and a designer of sustainable cities, projects and buildings. Peter is a director of Urban Water Cycle Solutions and is currently an editor of the Urban Book of Australian Rainfall and Runoff.
He was awarded the 2018 GN Alexander medal by Engineers Australia for his contributions to hydrology and water resources. Peter recently contributed to the inquiry into stormwater management held by the Senate of the Australian Parliament and inquiry into Australia’s water resources held by the Productivity Commission and was a chief scientist in the Victorian Government. Peter has held senior academic positions at the University of Newcastle, Melbourne University and Swinburne University.
He has experience in change processes in government, development of government policy and managing complex engineering business collaborations. His professional and research interests include systems thinking and analysis, hydrology, water resources, economics, molecular sciences, water quality and public policy.
The challenges posed by climate change brought the Associate Professor of Water Resources Engineering to Southern Cross University. He says he has been “blown away” by the advanced research and quality of teaching being undertaken at Southern Cross and it’s his mission to tell the world.
Dan Rojo
Technical Services Manager | Sunshine Sugar
• Biofuels/Renewable Energy
Daniel commenced working for Sunshine Sugar in 2005 in project management and maintenance engineering positions. He has held the position of Technical Services Manager at Sunshine Sugar since November 2013.
Sunshine Sugar has a strong commitment to sustainability and have implemented an incredible waste to energy program, out-supplying the needs of their factories and selling energy back to the grid!
Before joining the sugar industry, his prior work history includes extensive experience in steam and power generation, materials handling and business development.
Based at the Ballina office, Daniel works across the business managing research and development, identifying and developing new business opportunities, overseeing compliance and legislative requirements, supervising maintenance and capital budget planning and management of technical support across all site engineering divisions.
Daniel has tertiary qualifications in Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Management and a Bachelor of Business majoring in Economics and Agribusiness.