Phil has lived in Neerim for more than 35 years on a small farm where he and his wife Margaret ran, until recently, a couple of hundred sheep for lamb production.

Over the years Phil and Margaret have fenced the stock from Shady Creek, which runs through the farm and planted native trees in some of the steeper sections and planted shelter belts in paddocks that didn’t have shelter. Pasture improvement and increased biodiversity is an ongoing goal for their farm.

Phil has been a member of the Neerim and District Landcare Group for many years where he continues to serve on the executive of the committee. Phil joined the LCLN Board in September 2017 and has a special interest in succession planning.

Ian’s background includes 43 years in electrical engineering and management in the power industry. Ian consulted to AusNet and others for optic fibre cabling on towerlines and stations, and was also a peer auditor for Environmental Management Systems and an energy auditor.

Ian served a term on the WGCMA board and several policy committees and was the Springsure Hill Landcare Group chair for many years. He is also a volunteer broadcaster on station 3BBR FM, reading newspapers for the print handicapped, and is a member of its board.

When Ian and his wife Marion made a tree-change to farming, they joined community self-help and reference groups to learn farming, and reached ISO 14001 accreditation to supply Enviromeat brand. Ian and his wife Marion have bred Angus cattle and won several Landcare awards for their farming practices: planted over 5,000 trees and shrubs in new shelter belts and creek areas. When time permits, they care for their primary school grand daughter, and tow their camper around Australia in the grey nomad season.

Craig Kenny and his partner Annie Lewis live on a 20-hectare property in Trida, where a third of the land is committed to long-term revegetation and ecological regeneration, an effort now two decades in the making.

Both are active members of the Mount Worth & District Landcare Group, with Craig serving as Treasurer.

Professionally, Craig is a consultant to local government, specialising in strategic planning, social infrastructure, business case development, and feasibility studies.

Until recently, he served as a director of the Inner North Community Foundation, an organisation focused on pathways to employment and community-led social justice initiatives. He was also a long-standing director—serving for 13 years—of a small not-for-profit foundation supporting village-based economic development in Timor Leste. That initiative focused on reforestation and the sale of Gold Standard-certified carbon credits to generate income for more than 1,000 farming families.

Craig has a strong interest in the energy transition currently underway in Gippsland and is exploring ways this transformation can deliver enduring community benefits. Get in touch if you want to be involved or have any ideas!

In 1993 Carolyn and her partner Clancy purchased 68 acres at Buln Buln East.  It was a steep learning curve with the property infested with ragwort and blackberries.  New landowners in the area at the time were keen to see ragwort controlled and were frustrated by absentee landowners with infested properties.  Early support from DPI and Landcare encouraged the community to form a Landcare group.  Springsure Hill Landcare group was formed in 1993, named after Springsure Hill, the highest point in the area, with Carolyn the first president.  With support from Gippslandcare and DPI, the group provided weed information and assistance to those who needed help, ran field days, wrote and distributed a local newsletter, and sourced funding for Landcare projects.  

In 1999 a part time Landcare Weed Officer job was created with support from State Government funding and accommodation from Baw Baw Shire Council.  Carolyn was successful in securing this role. The focus was - to encourage landowners to treat weeds on their roadsides with provision of herbicide and loan of spray units to help, and to provide information to landowners about weed control and property management.  In 2004, Springsure Hill Landcare group won the State Weed Buster Award.

While working part time, Carolyn completed – Advanced Diploma Natural Resource Management, Diploma Agriculture Beef, Prograze and Beefcheque courses, Whole Farm Planning, Cert 3 in horticulture.  An EMS was developed for their property. She also completed a Rural Leadership course funded through Landcare and WGCMA, around 2010 and won a WGCMA Lyrebird Award in recognition of her significant contribution to protection of the region’s natural resources

In 2000 and 2009 additional land was purchased adjoining the original farm, covering 200 acres of the original Springsure Hill Farm.  The property has been improved with weeds controlled, gullies fenced, shelterbelts planted, water systems installed, pastures improved and rotational grazing systems established.  

The Weed Officer job evolved and with the finish of Landcare Weed Facilitator funding, the role became a Council Natural Environment officer job with work including – roadside weed control, fire recovery, urban wetland establishment and maintenance, establishing and supporting Friends groups, maintenance of council’s bushland reserves and offset sites.

In 2021, after 22 years, Carolyn retired from Baw Baw Shire.  She is involved with Landcare, Warragul Beefcheque group, West Gippsland Seedbank and the Rokeby Crossover Friends Group and now the LCLN Board.

John grew up mainly at the foot of the Dandenong Ranges in the 1940s through to the early 1960s. His grandparents had a 10 acre (4 hectare) farm which is now under industrial estates. There was a lot of forest nearby and we used to cut firewood there.

He joined the Scouting movement while he was living in Burwood for a time and went through the movement's levels ultimately achieving the Queen's Scout award. This meant he spent a lot of time hiking and camping in forest areas and he learned to love our forests as a result.

With this background, he applied for, and gained, a place at the Victorian School of Forestry (VSF) in Creswick which he attended in the years 1963 - 1965.

Subsequent postings with the Forests Commission included Assessment Branch, Biological Research (= Sirex Wasp control), and in the field, Forrest, in the Otway Ranges, then Stawell focusing on the Grampians and surrounds, and the Neerim District, which included five years in a management position in the Mount Baw Baw Alpine Resort.

Following an enforced "retirement", he did contract work which included aerial photo interpretation, timber assessment, coupe boundary marking and twelve years as a Fire Tower Operator. A large part of his duties while working with the Department, in its various evolutions was to engage with landholders to promote Trees on Farms and farm plantation schemes. As a result, he saw the tremendous damage that had been done to the land, through tree clearing, in the forms of salinity, erosion of various types and weed growth that reduced the amount of land available for crops, etc. John could see how unproductive all this made the land. During this time, he worked with two people who were high up in the Landcare movement and who were inspirational. Dr Rod Bird's work on the effects of windbreaks was also enlightening.

John has also been a member of various volunteer organisations that have, as part of their charter, getting trees the ground. When discussing plantings with people, he likes to emphasise that they should emulate the local native forest, in both species selection and structure. This gives the new plantings the best chance of survival and creates the optimal native animal habitat and wildlife corridor. Landcare is a most attractive organisation and probably the best vehicle to achieve what he believes to be a worthwhile end in very uncertain times. John joined the LCLN Board in 2022.

Sue Neales is a west Gippsland sheep and cattle farmer and agricultural scientist. 

Her hill country farm includes 80 hectares of towering cool climate rainforest, with Landcare projects underway to establish more trees for wildlife corridors, biodiversity and erosion control on cleared farmland.

Prior to farming, Sue was an international journalist, war correspondent, political reporter  and feature writer for three decades, before finally putting her original degree to use as  The Australian  newspaper’s national rural and regional editor and reporter  for 10 years.  

Lucas Paull served in the Australian Army Infantry Corps for 4 years and has worked in ecotourism operations in Victoria and across Australia for 10 years before turning his career toward conservation & land management.

Has worked at a number of state & local government & private organisations undertaking environmental management

• Melbourne Water - Thomson & Warburton work centres managing the many water catchments undertaking land management & fire prevention & suppression works

• Baw Baw Shire Council - Landcare fire recovery officer / bushland reserve officer post Black Saturday working with the community to reinstate and start environmental projects across fire affected areas aa well as managing many different environmental projects across BBSC areas - tree planting, weed control, walking track construction, community groups & bushland reserve maintenance & improvement projects

• Parks Victoria - Ranger Valley Plains & Coast Region 

• Green Corps - State Project Manager Victoria & Tasmania for Green Corps Projects for young people training in CALM with not for profit community groups

• Landlinks Environmental Services - Managing Director - 40 plus x government contracts delivering environmental, tree planting, land management, landscape & maintenance  projects across Victoria

• Down to Earth - Cut Native Flower & Foliage farm for the florist industry, beef & hay farm in Tyers - with many years of Landcare projects 

Mandy Neave is a community development and engagement specialist with more than 25 years of experience across local and state government. She currently works with Offshore Wind Energy Victoria (DEECA), facilitating strategic engagement and partnerships.

Throughout her career, Mandy has built a reputation for bringing people together to create positive social, environmental and community outcomes. She has held leadership roles with Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation and the City of Casey, where she designed and delivered programs that strengthened community participation, sustainability and social connection.

Her work has included leading initiatives such as:

• Cuppa & Yarn on Energy program

• Energise Community, Heal Country engagement strategy

• Bushland Interpretive Signage project

• Eye Spy I See Nature participation program

• Plant Your Corporate Connections, a corporate tree planting project that established 2,000 trees at Primrose Park, Boolarra

• Plant Your Roots, a four-year community tree planting program that established more than 50,000 trees across the City of Casey

The Plant Your Roots program became a leading example of community-led environmental action, receiving the City of Casey ‘Team Staff Achievement of the Year Award’ and the Melbourne Water ‘River Health Incentives Program Public Land Manager Award’ in 2016. The program delivered significant environmental outcomes through increasing indigenous vegetation, while also building community awareness, stewardship and connection to the natural environment.

Beyond environmental benefits, the program strengthened social cohesion, belonging and community ownership. Participants developed a stronger sense of place, purpose and advocacy, while diverse community groups worked together towards shared environmental goals.

A key factor in the program's success was its collaborative approach. By connecting community development and natural resource management disciplines, and fostering partnerships between government, community organisations and external agencies, the program created a sustainable model that engaged a broad and diverse audience.

For many participants, Plant Your Roots provided an opportunity to quite literally plant their roots in the community, creating a lasting sense of connection while contributing to long-term environmental outcomes.

Mandy is known for building trusted relationships across government, industry, communities and Traditional Owner organisations. She excels at creating meaningful partnerships, supporting informed decision-making and delivering initiatives that leave a lasting legacy.

A graduate of the Gippsland Community Leadership Program, Mandy remains actively involved in regional leadership and community networks, including the Gippsland New Energy Conference, Gippsland Forest Dialogue and Open Cut Collective. She combines strategic thinking, creativity and a human-centred, place-based approach, and is passionate about supporting communities to shape their own future.

I grew up in regional Australia, where land and community were closely connected. Through living in and regularly spending time in West Gippsland throughout my life, I developed a strong connection to the region and a deep appreciation for its landscape and the people who care for it.

Professionally, I am a Fellow Certified Practising Accountant (FCPA) and hold a Master of Information Technology (Honours). My career has focused on finance, strategy and organisational leadership, working with boards and executive teams to strengthen governance, manage risk responsibly and support long-term sustainability.

I joined the Latrobe Catchment Landcare Network Board because I believe strong local governance underpins strong local outcomes. Landcare’s work is practical and community-driven, and effective oversight ensures that funding is managed responsibly, strategy is clear, and the organisation remains resilient in a changing environment.

I bring a systems perspective to the Board, with experience in financial stewardship, strategic planning and governance frameworks. I am particularly interested in supporting long-term sustainability, transparent reporting and constructive partnerships across the Network.

It is an honour to contribute to LCLN and to work alongside fellow Board members, facilitators and volunteers committed to strengthening both community and landscape over time.