Experience

St Joseph's College Echuca

• Australia
• Education Administration Programs
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Teacher (Environmental Science, Geography)

  • Jan 2005 - Present

  At St. Joseph's College I encourage learning about our environment. Our school is based in Echuca, a river town. We are only 100 metres from the Murray River and half way between two Murray River icon sites, the Barmah-Millewa and Gunbower-Perricoota-Koondrook Forests. Understanding how ancient movements in the earth shaped the landscape, and how wandering river channels and floods drive biodiversity and economic opportunity enriches and empowers our community. It is core to my teaching. I have begun a PhD investigating the effect river regulation, land practices and the way we use our river are having on its health. I hope to be able to pass on the knowledge and teach some of the skills I will be learning during this investigation, including GIS, aerial photography and fieldwork, to students and make our school a centre of excellence in river ecology. Aiming to build confident, informed students, I established a school kayaking team at St. Joseph's to compete in the 404 km Murray River Canoe Marathon in 2005, which improved student fitness, resilience, leadership skills, connection to community and sense of place and in 2007 was recognised with a Campaspe Youth Award. This experience helped me to realise that education is a communal activity. It takes a village to raise a child. At St Jo's we have developed a learning mentor program which focusses on building positive links between families, students and teachers. Applied to the technological age, this means laptop programs, learning management systems, and the creative application of technology to enhance local learning using global benchmarks. Our challenge as teachers is to make our students ready to be successful in the global community by building a strong belief in self, an understanding of where they come from and the ability to solve problems locally.



La Trobe University

• Australia
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• PhD Candidate

  • 2016 - Present

  My PhD project is a longitudinal study of the connectivity of the Murray River to its floodplain during the 2016 flood event, carried out using photography from a canoe every 250m for 2140km, leveraged using hydrological records, satellite imagery, analysis of floodplain, geology and flood modelling. I am working on describing the mechanisms of connectivity, spatially, temporally and in reference to the flood wave, including the process of exchange of organic material between the river channel and the riparian zone. In a nutshell, a first hand, hydroecogeomorphological account of how floods work.



Kyabram Secondary College

• Australia
• Education Administration Programs

• Teacher

  • Jan 2004 - Dec 2004

  At Kyabram Secondary College I got to know the expertise, dedication, idealism, resourcefulness and sense of community shown by many teachers in the state education system. It was my first teaching post. I learnt here that what matters most is that students see themselves as young people with a positive future. I saw great leadership under Lindsay Cooper, Judy Greer and MIchael Walsh, and inspirational initiatives. I found that good teamwork is more important than great facilities and the value of a healthy work-life balance. I taught Maths to year 7's, Science to years 7,8, 9 and 10 and IT to year 10s.



Lingurama

• Education Management

• Business English Teacher

  • 1999 - 1999

  Designed and taught Business English lessons personalised to reflect client need and experience to engineers from FESTO and other German companies. Designed and taught Business English lessons personalised to reflect client need and experience to engineers from FESTO and other German companies.



Otto Arnold GmbH

• Germany
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Landscape Gardener

  • 1992 - 1996

  Completing an apprenticeship and working as a tradesman gave me an appreciation of the hard work, skill, abilities and artistic talent necessary to excel in a trade such as landscape gardening. Working at 'Arnolds' was a privilege. Old Mr. Arnold was an artist. He had a down to earth way with people. When you spoke with him and walked through a garden, it was like accompanying Monet. His sketches were, at times, wild. They always showed feeling and his gardens enriched the lives of his clients. At times they were exotic japanese gardens (he was a fan of Zen), environmentally friendly and innovative roof-top gardens in the most unexpected places, often including natural looking water features such as ponds, creeks, natural stone paving and walls. It was a pleasure to work here.



Urban Contractors Pty Ltd

• 1 - 100 Employee

• Landscape Gardener

  • 1994 - 1995

  Urban Contractors provide domestic, civil and commercial landscaping services in the A.C.T. Australian landscapers tend to use large machinery more readily than their German counterparts. In this position I learnt to work with and coordinate the activities of bobcat and backhoe drivers with the manual labour necessary on building sites. This meant care around large machinery, especially in tight spaces and around roads. My experience in German roof garden systems was useful in the building of lawn and garden areas over underground car parks at the Department of Defence in Canberra. Both Australian and German landscapers work to the same high standards, however how they achieve them differs. It was interesting to learn how to combine this knowledge.



European Commission

• Belgium
• Government Administration
• 700 & Above Employee

• Resource Management Consultant (volunteer)

  • 1992 - 1992

  I assisted a multi-national team European Union in a voluntary capacity assessing the strategies, capacity and potential of forestry and eco-tourism industries of Uganda. Only 12 years after Idi Amin and 6 years after Obote, the country was still in the process of stabilising following many years of civil war and still in the crippling grip of an HIV epidemic. The airport and many city buildings were sprayed with bullet holes. Craters were still a feature of many city roads. Rich in resources, but shackled by poverty, HIV and the memory and threat of violence against minority groups, the Musovini government demonstrated determination to reinstate Uganda's former prosperity and reputation as the pearl of Africa.



Australian National University

• Australia
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Research Assistant, School of Biological Sciences

  • 1990 - 1991

  At the Research School of Biological Sciences at the ANU. I contributed to one of the earliest projects on climate change in Australia with Dr. Ian Noble. I also assisted in fieldwork and glasshouse trials investigating the Fire ecology of Eucalyptus forests with Dr. Habiba Gitay. At the Research School of Biological Sciences at the ANU. I contributed to one of the earliest projects on climate change in Australia with Dr. Ian Noble. I also assisted in fieldwork and glasshouse trials investigating the Fire ecology of Eucalyptus forests with Dr. Habiba Gitay.



Youth Hostel Association of Australia

• Deputy Hostel Manager

  • 1990 - 1990

  Lonsdale St. Hostel (Princess Mary Building). Development of tourism programs. Coordination of operators. Product marketing. Quality control. Lonsdale St. Hostel (Princess Mary Building). Development of tourism programs. Coordination of operators. Product marketing. Quality control.



Eye of The Wind (Square Rigger Sailing Ship)

• Crew

  • 1990 - 1990

  The Eye of The Wind is a traditional square rigger (two masted brig). I crewed on the Eye of The Wind from Cairns to Townsville together with my wife Ruth as newly weds. The Eye of The Wind took passengers for week-long tours of this section of coast, including the inner reef and Whitsunday Islands. Duties included working the rigging, maintenance of the vessel, interactions with passengers and keeping watch at night. We had to leave this fine vessel and great crew for the birth of our first child, Anna.



Raging Thunder

• Australia
• Travel Arrangements
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Deputy Hostel Manager / Biologist / Activities Manager

  • 1989 - 1989

  Raging Thunder Adventures pioneered rafting in Queensland, Australia in 1984. In 2004 it was the largest adventure company in Australia with over 150,000 participants in its varied programs. Under the guidance of Dave Wilson (CEO) I set up the first of Raging Thunder's ecotourism hostels, Crocodylus Lodge in the Daintree Rainforest. I took day and spot-light walking tours of the rainforest, sea kayaking tours of the coastal reefs and islands and coordinated and liaised with activity providers for the hostel.



Outward Bound Australia

• Australia
• Non-profit Organizations
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Outdoor Education Instructor

  • 1988 - 1989

  Outward Bound Australia provides challenging experiences that help people discover, develop and achieve their potential. They lead in developing human potential. In bringing out the best in people, aim to develop the most positive elements of the human character, consistent with our core values: Integrity, Responsibility, Resilience, Compassion, Service and Human Potential. It is part of the world-wide Outward Bound organisation. I was part of Outward Bound under Richards, Allan Riches and Tim Medhurst. Senior instructing staff at the time included Stuart Kininmonth, Sue and James Hassell, and Wayne Dyson. I joined Outward Bound Australia and instructed at the same time as James Neill, Leigh Richards and David Knowles. During this time I trained and delivered school, holiday and management training programs as an instructor. Assisted in logistical support at National Base (Tharwa) and regional base camps in the Grampians and South-West of Western Australia. In my capacity as an experienced field biologist I also developed environmental awareness of staff and developed policy and training in this area.



Queensland National Parks and Wildlife

• Biologist (volunteer)

  • 1986 - 1988

  Volunteer position for approximately 3 months per year over a period of 3 years from 1986 till 1988. Daintree Rainforest (Thornton's Peak): Involved in expeditions to the Daintree Rainforest with Mick Godwin and Jeff Tracey identifying ancient species and other indicators of high conservation value. This work contributed to the body of evidence used to successfully nominate the Daintree rainforest for World Heritage Listing. Operation Raleigh: Participated in Operation Raleigh at Chillagoe, where young people from Commonwealth nations all over the world challenged themselves and contributed the communities they visited. In Chilligoe, this involved mapping the cave systems in Karst outcrops. Chillagoe National Park: Mapping of landforms of the Chillagoe area. This project and the work of Operation Raleigh led to the declaration of the Karst Limestone formations, their caves and the forests around them as a National Park.



Australian Antarctic Division

• Australia
• Government Administration
• 300 - 400 Employee

• Research Scientist (Honours student, Monash University)

  • 1986 - 1987

  On board ANARE Marine Science Cruise 1986-87 V7 (Dick Williams: Voyage Leader), I was responsible for a project which investigated the physiological response of krill to low levels of food associated with the freezing of the sea ice in winter. During the journey, I also assisted Tonia Cochrane of the Museum of Victoria in deep sea dredging surveys of marine life at low latitudes, the collection of marine algae with Michael Porteus of the University of Tasmania using plankton nets, the deployment of oceanic self-regulating buoys with Ian Higginbotham to study ocean currents, salinity and temperature patterns. During the inevitable slow times I assisted Ric Burbury (deputy voyage leader and gear officer) mend nets in the hold.



Victorian Department of Primary Industries

• Government Administration
• 200 - 300 Employee

• Technician

  • 1985 - 1986

  Investigations into salinity and disease resistance in irrigation crops. Investigations into salinity and disease resistance in irrigation crops.