THE TEAM
LYNNE STRONG
CEO
Lynne Strong is a proud sixth-generation farmer who was drawn to dairying after a career as a pharmacist. With husband Michael and son Nicholas, Lynne managed multi-award-winning Clover Hill Dairies at Jamberoo on the NSW South Coast. Lynne’s role as the powerhouse behind the business has seen her win some of agriculture’s most prestigious awards including the inaugural Bob Hawke Landcare Award, the National Landcare Primary Producer Award, as well as being both a Eureka Prize and Banksia Award finalist.
Lynne is no longer involved in the running of the farm but is fierce in her commitment to the development of agriculture through its young people. She sees herself as a catalyst for change and a connector. She wants to inspire and engage young leaders so they can be changemakers themselves.
To achieve this, she identified at team of people with a shared vision and set up the Not for Profit organisation Picture You in Agriculture (PYiA). For the past 10 years, the PYiA team have been designing and delivering programs that connect farmers and the community through partnerships between young people. Young farmers and young people living in urban landscapes using education, art and technology whilst encouraging courageous two way conversations. PYiA initiatives include Art4Agriculture which has two signature programs. The Archibull Prize which is a project based learning program for schools and the personal and professional development program – the Young Farming Champions.
The next stage of Lynne’s journey includes transitioning the young people PYiA have identified through a structural succession process. Lynne is also designing projects for other youth organisations. These programs include Kreative Koalas and the Young Sustainability Ambassadors.
MEGAN ROWLATT
INTREPID LANDCARE - NSW CHAIR
Megan Rowlatt is a highly energetic, fun loving, Landcare leader from Wollongong, NSW Australia. She has been a member of the Landcare movement since 2008, and in 2009 she founded Illawarra Youth Landcare, now Illawarra Intrepid Landcare to address the issue of a lack of young recruitment in Landcare. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Ecotourism, has done a bazillion leadership and communications courses, and is passionate about sustainable travel and recreation on a global scale, impactful story telling, and inspiring the Australian public to look after our unique natural environment through Landcare.
In 2011 she was recognised for her outstanding efforts in youth engagement and was awarded NSW Young Landcare Leader of the year, and then in 2012 she was recognised at a national level as the National Young Landcare Leader of the year.
ANN BURBROOK
COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST AND WORKSHOP FACILITATOR
For the past twenty-five years Ann has worked in the performance, media and communications industries. She is a graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) and has worked extensively in Television, Theatre and Film. She has also worked as a teacher, trainer, writer, director, counselor and youth worker. Her passion is helping people to become the best possible version of themselves they can be so they can tell their stories, share their passions and be heard.
BIGGEST CHALLENGE FACING AGRICULTURE
If people can’t hear you then they wont understand your stories. One of the many challenges facing agriculture today is the lack of comprehension urban communities have of the complexities of how our food is produced. The disconnect most people have with their food means that we have begun to value price over quality. I want to see agriculture telling its stories so people in the city have the information they need to make the best decisions they can about their food.
Costa Georgiadis
Sustainability Guru and Connector of the Dots
He’s been described as the Greek God of Gardening with the energy of a thousand solar panels and the look of a Tasmanian Devil. He’s also been described as a vibrant change maker, a gardener of the soil and soul and an unkempt feral. When Costa Georgiadis first burst onto our screens on SBS’s Costa’s Gardening Odyssey we were taken on a joyful and enlightening ride and that ride continues today as he hosts the ABC’s Gardening Australia. He has become a character we can all relate to as he shares his passions of food, gardening and most importantly his support for the role of youth in sustainability conversations.
"I can’t think of a better way to combine art and action on sustainability goals
This program gives you the opportunity to tell a story, be the seeds of change and start a movement.
That’s what each one of you need to do.
Get information, small bits of information and sell it.
Tell people the good story and make it compelling.
You want the lean forward moment.
You want the eyes bulging moment.
You want people going – oh Wow that fact.
And then that fact becomes a conversation at dinner time.
A conversation at school.
A conversation on the phone.
A conversation on the net.
We must get these messages out there.
The opportunities are endless as is the energy and vitality of the young people that I have met that are involved in this space.
Think what you have in your hands. An opportunity to act and design the future you want to see. It can take so many different shapes. It can take so many different forms. Make it Happen."
Costa Georgiadis
