Staff

Mike Worrall - Managing Director

Northern NSW based Managing Director of WetlandCare Australia since 2011. Mike is a civil enginer with 40 years experience in the planning, design, construction and maintenance of urban systems and infrastructure.  This included 20 years as a Director of one of Australia's major consultants, responsible for projects in Australia and throughout Asia.

Nicci Carter - General Manager

(National Office - Ballina)

With a background in business and service marketing, Nicci Carter coordinates the WetlandCare Australia team from the national office in Ballina, NSW. Nicci has held many marketing, finance, administration and management positions over the past 20 years both in Australia and the United Kingdom. With a genuine interest and commitment to caring for the environment, Nicci is involved in many community-based activities. She enjoys camping, bushwalking, swimming and travel and enjoys all these activities with her family and friends. She is an excellent facilitator who is capable of focusing on both the bigger picture as well as the often significant minor details which are all of importance to the Organisation.  

 Cassie Price - National Business Development Manager

(National Office - Ballina)

Cassie has over ten years experience in natural resource management, particularly in aquatic systems in NSW and Queensland. She has a wide range of expertise in wetland assessment, mapping, prioritisation and management; wetland vegetation identification, legislation, policy and Ramsar; stakeholder liaison, partnership and project development and implementation. Cassie's broad expertise and experience combines to form a strong understanding of our business, making her the perfect National Business Development Manager.

Cassie has a farming background, moving to the north coast to study and work in natural resource management in 1996. 

 Kerri Goodger - Office Manager

(National Office - Ballina)

Kerri has a background in child and adult education & managing welfare services in the not-for-profit sector.  She is currently responsible for HR and financial administration and generally supporting technical staff to achieve their project outcomes. 

 Josh Keating - Program Leader

(Regional Office - Coffs Harbour)

Coordinates projects in NSW including education and awareness, assessment and planning, landholder liaison and advice, and implementation of on-ground works

• Current work focuses on the Northern Rivers, Hunter Central Rivers and Hawkesbury Nepean NRM regions
• Expanding the delivery of wetland protection and restoration work to other NRM regions in western and southern NSW is a major goal
• Existing projects include engaging landholders to undertake actions to protect and improve priority wetland ecosystems at Red Rock and Deep Creek (Valla), increasing landholder awareness of sustainable floodplain management in the Nambucca and Bellinger catchments, protecting and enhancing habitat values for threatened fauna on private lands, planning and management of the bushland and wetland areas of Red Rock Reserve, and implementing streambank erosion mitigation works on the NSW mid north coast. 

Areas of expertise: Project development and management; NRM assessment and prioritisation; preparation of management plans; biodiversity management and threat abatement. 

Adam Gosling - Regional Coordinator

(National Office - Ballina)

• Focusing on estuarine assessment, project development and wetland rehabilitation from the Tweed to Clarence catchments, northern NSW 
• Project development and partnership forging with various landowners, including state and local government organisations
• Site assessments and development of management plans at regional, local and property scale
• GIS mapping
• On-ground restoration projects in the Northern Rivers

Areas of expertise: Wetland project management, community and landholder consultation, estuarine ecosystems 

 Michael Pattison - Regional Coordinator

(Regional Office - Hawkesbury)

Mick is an Aquatic Scientist who has a passion for improving aquatic habitat and water quality. By working with a wide range of stakeholders from private landholders to industry and government partners, Mick strives to improve and maintain aquatic ecosystems.
Mick's past projects include Management Plans for Montane wetlands and upland lagoons, floodplain wetland restoration, aquatic weed management and aquatic habitat restoration. He has been involved in a number of constructed wetland projects to improve urban stormwater quality and is fluent in the use of MUSIC modelling software.

Mick has extensive experience in water quality monitoring and analysis and aquatic ecological assessment including AUSRIVAS. He regularly provides assistance to the community on wetland issues and is often called upon to provide advice on restoration projects

Areas of interest: aquatic habitat restoration, improving water quality, macroinvertebrates, unobstructed fish movement and fishing

Louise Duff – Regional Coordinator Hunter

(Newcastle Office)

Louise Duff has a Bachelor of Applied Science (Natural Resource Management) and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration. Her career spans 20 years in the commercial, local government and community sectors, with a focus on natural resource management, natural area planning and environmental education. Louise is a versatile project manager adept at reaching agreement with a range of stakeholders to define and deliver projects with quality outcomes. Her project experience includes:

• A two year threat abatement project protecting migratory shorebirds in the Hunter Estuary. This project works across multiple land tenures and includes government, community and corporate stakeholders.
• A revegetation and bush regeneration project for Newcastle City Council  connecting key habitats on the Glenrock-Blackbutt Corridor. This project engaged a range of government and community service providers as well as Landcare groups and schools. 17,000 local natives were planted at 6 priority sites through the corridor.
• Establishment of a Green and Golden Bell Frog habitat for Hunter Wetlands Centre Australia. The project included environmental assessment, landscape design, earthworks, revegetation and introduction of this endangered species following NPWS controls and consents.

 Terri Buono - Program Leader

(Cert IV Conservation & Land Management & Workplace Training & Assessment)

Program Leader Great Barrier Reef Catchments (Townsville)

Terri is WCA’s Program Leader covering the Queensland east coast from Rockhampton to Cairns.  Terri has a background in Natural Resource Management, Landcare and community consultation and is committed to developing collaborative projects with government, landholders, local communities, and business’s to improve the water quality running off catchments into the Great Barrier Reef.

  Simone Haigh - Senior Project Officer

(National Office - Ballina)

• Has produced numerous landowner extension materials and factsheets covering a range of topics such as threatened plant and animal species, ecological fire regimes and bush regeneration principles.
• Other communication materials include contributions to wetland rehabilitation guidelines and fish identification booklets.
• Assists senior staff with the coordination and implementation of extension services such as field days, workshops and open days as well as other projects such as threatened species conservation, production of wetland inventories and conservation of endangered ecological communities.
• Reports produced include a review of the current state of scientific knowledge regarding the ability of constructed wetlands to treat endocrine disrupting compounds, and an examination of habitat suitability for potential Litoria aurea reintroductions.

Professional interests: The quantification and assessment of the rates and stability of carbon inputs into wetlands, and the factors affecting the decay of organic material in anaerobic environments. The role of wetlands in the global carbon cycle. The conservation of endangered frog species.  

 Laura White - Senior Project Officer

(National Office - Ballina)

Laura completed her Bachelor of Tropical Environmental Science with Honours in Aquatic Ecology at Charles Darwin University in the Northern Territory. She then spent several years working in the research and integrated management of wetland weeds in the NT, before moving to northern NSW and joining WCA in 2008.

Laura has delivered projects including management plans, wetland health assessments, wetland restoration, GIS mapping, the preparation of ecological character descriptions for Ramsar sites and wetlands education and training. She is passionate about protecting wetland biodiversity and other wetland values through conducting and applying sound ecological research. She has a particular fondness for freshwater streams and paperbark swamps.

Areas of interest: Wetland ecology, wetland flora, wetland assessment, ecological research, integrated weed management  

Liz Hajenko - Senior Project Officer

(National Office - Ballina)

Liz coordinates the annual WetlandCare Australia National Art and Photography Competition, held to celebrate World Wetlands Day. The competition is focused on the themes of World Wetlands Day, and aims to encourage people of all ages to engage with, explore and share their local wetlands and waterways through art and photography.

Liz completed her Bachelor of Visual Arts in 2007 and Diploma of Natural Resource Management in 2001 and is currently focusing on the potential of art competitions as an educational tool for conservation awareness among children and adults

Areas of interest: visual arts, natural resource management, ecological conservation

  Cheryl Bolzenius - Senior Project Officer

(Regional Office - South East Queensland)

Cheryl holds a Bachelor of Environmental Management (Natural Systems and Wildlife) from the University of Queensland and for the last five years she has been working in natural resource management in Queensland.  She has a background in developing, implementing and supporting community focused natural resource management projects, working with government, industry, community and schools.  Cheryl has been involved in a number of community based education and awareness activities, including community based monitoring programs.

Cheryl's focus is on the restoration of coastal wetland sites in South East Queensland.

Areas of interest: Wetland ecology; marine turtle research.

 Sherry O'Brien - Senior Project Officer

 (Regional Office - Bundaberg)

Office Locations 

Coffs Harbour Office
PO Box 1782
Coffs Harbour NSW 2450
Tel: 02 6652 5589
joshkeating@wetlandcare.com.au