Our Committee

Janet White

Chairperson - Granite Borders Landcare Committee Inc.

Since 2019, Janet has owned a 300-acre property on Gunyah Road, applying to the Biodiversity Conservation Trust for conservation status. Janet came to Australia on a round-the-world-ticket in 1990, working and living in Perth, Brisbane, Nevada (2 ½ years) before settling in Tenterfield in 2010. She has a strong interest in art, including printmaking (Brisbane Institute of Art) and ceramics (Glen Innes TAFE). 

Qualifications/ education: BSc. Geology, St. Andrews (UK); Masters Science Geology, Queen Mary College, University of London; Masters in Environmental Management, Griffith University (2001).

Employment history:  Geologist in the UK and briefly in Australia; environmental consultancy in Perth. Volunteer bushland regeneration, seed collection, cleaning and planting for Greening Australia, Conservation Volunteers Australia and Brisbane City Council. Designed environmentally-themed signs for Brisbane City Council and various non-profit environmental groups; designed and built a mosaic seat for public art project on Kedron Brook, Brisbane. Has also been secretary to the Brisbane Rainforest Action Information Network (BRAIN), Stanthorpe Pottery club (SPC), Tenterfield Naturalists Inc, as well as for the Society for Growing Australian Plants Brisbane and Queensland Naturalists Club, President of the Queensland Frog Society (QFS); and newsletter editor for BRAIN, QFS and SPC.

Other relevant skills: plant and bird identification skills; co-organised 10 day Queensland Naturalist Club camp/visit to this region; acted as guide on Birdlife campouts to Tenterfield 2017 & 2022 and Lightning Ridge 2017. Volunteer for NSW NPWS Quoll monitoring and Hastings River Mouse surveys 2012. Volunteer at Bush Heritage property Naree on the Birdlife survey 2019 & upcoming 2022. Volunteer at Australian Wildlife Conservancy’s Bowra reserve, 2021. Researched and developed content for the Tenterfield and Mingoola bird brochures.

Charlie Mains

Secretary - Granite Borders Landcare Committee Inc.

Catherine and her husband, Ian, moved from Townsville to Tenterfield in November 2018, as Climate Change Refugees. Having owned a 60-acre bock apprximately 50km from Townsville, they lived on one of the few remaining bush blocks in the area. Over 22 years, the promoted the natural bushland and encouraged the re-establishment of flora species, such as Haemodorum coccineum, Ventilago viminalis and Acacia salicina. Samples of the latter two species were provided to the Queensland Herbarium with the assistance of the Coastal Land Dry Tropics Landcare Group based in Townsville. Their property also became a known habitat for a pair of jabiru. Catherine and Ian continue to encourage the return of native flora and fauna on their 10-acre property situated at the base of Mount Mackenzie, Tenterfield.

Qualifications/ education: Attained Year 10, Cert IV Business [Administration]

Employment history: 22 years with a Loss Adjusting firm in Townsville, 6 years with legal firm in Townsville in fields of Personal Injuries and Family Law [Para-legal and Support Staff Manager], owned and operated partnership in Insurance Loss Adjusting. Catherine has dedicated 5 years to volunteering at the Tenterfield Visitor Information Centre, before being employed there.

Other relevant skills: Catherine has a long list of volunteering, including the foo

Catherine has been incredible active past and present in volunteering during her time at Tenterfield. Select examples include: 10FM radio segment host; Local Guide on tour coaches; Tenterfield Railway Museum (Marketing & Publicity Officer); Tenterfield Film Club (Membership Officer); Gravel 'n' Granite (Volunteer Coordinator); Ratepayers' Association of Tenterfield Shire Inc. (Secretary).

Catherine and Ian are dedicated to living sustainably and this includes: having off-grid power and water, utilising semi-permaculture and composting methods to grow their own fruit and vegetables.

Richard Hicks

Vice Chairperson & Public Officer - Granite Borders Landcare Committee Inc

Richard is interested in preservation of the natural bush, native flora and fauna of Australia, protecting its natural resources, as well as farming land in harmonious coexistence. Issues that concern him include the impact of climate change and population growth on the sustainability of these community assets.

Qualifications/ education: Broadcast Technical Officer; Certificate in Electronics & Communications; Business Management Studies; Innumerable Computer Courses; Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training; OH&S Construction White Card.

Employment history: 23yrs with ABC (Brisbane) in all technical & operational aspects of radio and television broadcasting; 13yrs with Queensland Health & DPI Forestry in IT Support, Training, Web Development, and Project Work; Private sector work in Technical Writing and Power Protection Systems.

Other relevant skills: Off-grid, sustainable, low-impact living; Mechanical and Electronic design; Computer Aided Drafting.

Leo Perkins

Treasurer - Granite Borders Landcare Committee Inc.

Leo Perkins has a career spanning over 25 years of ecological sustainability and business management. He is passionate about the intersecting points of ecological-based landscape design, agroecology, technology, sustainable business & community design and health management as tools for human and environmental stewardship. Leo holds a diploma in Organic Farming and an Advanced Diploma in Business, and has managed both conventional and organic farming operations within the Northern NSW and South-East Queensland regions. He now operates Biotao, a landscape, ecology, agricultural and business consultancy.

Amanda Fox

Executive Committee Member - Granite Borders Landcare Committee Inc.

Amanda Fox has settled in the Tenterfield area with her partner, Tom. They have a Biodiversity Positive vision for their property, which they run according with minimal intervention and according to natural ecosystems principles. Amanda moved here two years ago from the Northern Rivers, where she was an organic market gardener then free-range egg producer. She originally comes from a hospitality background and also lived and worked in China for six years. These experiences give her excellent community engagement and people-oriented business skills.

Graham Lightbody

Executive Committee Member - Granite Borders Landcare Committee Inc.

Graham is the Senior Deputy Captain with the Drake Rural Fire Brigade Service, and has travelled and worked throughout Australia, particularly in Central Australia, where his continued links remain strong and draw him back for short stints coordinating Indigenous Ranger Programs. Graham manages his own 320ha property, in accordance with a Voluntary Conservation Agreement under the Biodiversity Conservation Trust.

Qualifications/ education: B Sc (Forestry), Australian National University, 1976. Ornithology, Canberra College of Advanced Education, 1985. Soil Conservation, Darling Downs Institute of Adv Education, Toowoomba 1984. Pitjantjatjara language classes; UKTNP, 1988. Social Impact Assessment, Griffith University, Brisbane, 2006. Workplace Training and Assessment, (Certificate IV), Rockhampton, 2005.

Employment history: Graham worked in adventure tourism, including as a seasonal ranger (cave guide) at Yarrangobilly Caves in Kosiosko National Park; and as a 4WD Tour Guide interpreting natural history along tourist trails in NSW, Vic, SA, NT and WA. His work in Central Australia began in 1986 as a Ranger in Uluru, Kata Tjuta National Park, soon after its handback to its traditional owners. He later worked as a Land Management Officer for the Central Land Council (1990s), making wonderful friendships and participating in a wide range of land management matters, including Indigenous employment projects, threatened species recovery teams, management of weeds and feral animal species, fire management, joint land management with National Parks and cross-cultural research and wildlife surveys. These experiences led to quite meaningful work in the 2000s building the capacity of Aboriginal Elders for land and water management in Rockhampton in Central Queensland. During this time, he ,managed a Biodiversity Stewardship program for the Fitzroy Basin Association, incentivising landholders to better protect remnant parcels of endangered Brigalow vegetation. Most recently, he was employed as a Ranger with NSW National Parks in the Tenterfield area.

Other relevant skills: GIS, ArcInfo (2007); Migratory Shorebirds (2008); Wildlife Research Scientific Licence (2012); 4 Wheel Drive and vehicle recovery (2012); WorkSafe Online  (2012); Aboriginal Site Awareness (2012); Workplace Health and Safety (2012); Chainsaw skills (2012/ 2016); ChemCert (2012); Snake Handling (2015).

Geoff Robertson

Executive Committee Member - Granite Borders Landcare Committee Inc

Geoff has a keen interest in the local ecology, beef cattle production, as well as ecological solutions such as dung beetles. He is dedicated to bird watching & recording.

Qualifications/ education: Year 10 Certificate, Brisbane State High .

Employment history: Systems analyst, QLD Dept. of Lands Deputy Registrar of Titles, self employed grazier.

Other relevant skills: Networking, grass, scrub, trees & dung beetle identification, pasture trial work.

John Dean

Executive Committee - Granite Borders Landcare Committee Inc.

John Dean's family have been involved with farming in the Tenterfield district for over 100 years. John has a passion for improving soil health, which will make a difference to the biodiversity of plant and animal life, minimizing the use of chemicals and artificial fertilizers.

Employment history:  John worked at Riverstone and Andersons Meat Works before their closures. He spent 15 years in the television industry working in Tamworth, Sky TV London and the Ten Network, Brisbane. He also owned and operated the Upper Edward Street News Agency in Spring Hill, Brisbane, for 7 years. He also has 16 years' experience in the financial services industry, as a financial adviser specialising in Risk advice. Most recently, John has been operating the family farm using regenerative practices.

Other relevant skills: John has been a board member of Tamworth Leagues Club, Queensland Newsagents Federation, President of the Indooroopilly Creche & Kindergarten, Treasurer of BBC Basketball Club. He is sporty also, contributing to coaching both basketball and cricket at school and representative levels.

Teena Fox

Executive Committee Member - Granite Borders Landcare Committee Inc.

Teena is a regular member of Tenterfield Naturalists and attends working bees at Tenterfield Park.

Qualifications/ education: Bachelor of Business (Accounting) SCU 2005; TAFE computer certificate (undertaken before Windows existed).

Employment history:  Teena was employed as a Creditors Clerk at the Australian Embassy in Moscow. She has 28 years' experience with Tweed Shire Council; 11 years as a Costing Officer completing Finance Unit duties required for government grant financial acquittals; cost reports; coding the general ledger; preparation of Financial Statements; and Asset Accounting. Teena also worked for 17 years as an Accountant for the Water and Wastewater Unit in Tweed Shire Council, where her duties included: budgeting; long term financial planning; asset accounting; asset re-evaluation; data extraction and analysis of financial transactions; providing financial and accounting advice to Unit engineers. These employment contexts have given her important experience working with engineers and other experts, with diverse skill sets.

Other relevant skills: Teena has had previous involvement with 2 Landcare groups in the Tweed. During this time, she was a founding member of the Platypus Habitat and Streamwatch Team (PHAST) Landcare group. PHAST was created to rehabilitate and revegetate the public land adjoining Burringbar Creek at Burringbar, which was home to breeding platypus. As a member of Burringbar/Mooball Landcare Group, she attended planting and clearing days along Burringbar Creek at Mooball.

Martin I'Ons

Executive Committee Member - Granite Borders Landcare Committee Inc.

In 1986, Martin and his wife, Jane, bought a property at Bangalow where they farmed blueberries and stonefruit until 2002. During this time Martin applied his geochemistry background to agricultural soil analyses and developed a strong relationship with the EAL Laboratory at SCU in Lismore. The knowledge he has gained through this link, and interacting with people like Graeme Sait, is what he hopes to share and apply as a member of the Granite Borders Landcare Committee. Currently, Martin is improving the pastures on his property just north of Tenterfield, bought with Jane in 2003.

Qualifications/ education:  BSc (Hons) in geology and geochemistry from Cape Town University, 1971.

Employment history: Martin is a geologist who worked in remote sensing across Southern Africa for three years, until he was transferred to Australia to work as a consultant, based out of Canberra. This was the beginning of a 50 year period of applying remote sensing techniques in the mineral exploration industry across Australia, Indonesia and the Pacific Islands. Martin has sponsored a PhD student at Southern Cross University to investigate the outcomes of applying basalt powders of different compositions to different soil types, both acid and alkaline. 

Other relevant skills: Martin is a major shareholder of a composting business, Rockmin Composts P/L based on the northern Darling Downs (details on Face Book) as well as a director and major shareholder of Rockminsolutions P/L (website) that has exploration tenements in Queensland. Martin was a director and shareholder of Mt Sylvia Diatomite P/L for 12 years up to 2019 where he developed the use of palagonite and diatomite in agriculture.

Andrew Pengelly

Executive Committee Member - Granite Borders Landcare Committee Inc.

Dr Andrew Pengelly lives in the Granite Belt region of Southern Queensland. As co-founder and vice-president of Indigenous Plants for Health Association Inc., he is involved in researching the chemistry and therapeutic potential of Geebung species (Persoonia spp.) in collaboration with the University of Queensland. He is a fellow and life member of the Naturopaths and Herbalists Association of Australia, and vice-president of the Stanthorpe Rare Wildflowers Consortium.

Qualifications/ education: Andrew's PhD was awarded for his research into an Australian medicinal plant, Dodonaea viscosa.

Employment history: Dr. Andrew Pengelly has had a forty-year career as a medical herbalist and naturopath, university lecturer, researcher, field botanist and aromatherapist.  He is author of the widely used text “The Constituents of Medicinal Plants” now in its 3^rd edition (CABI). For several years now, Andrew has been employed in an online teaching faculty for Maryland University of Integrative Health (USA).

Other relevant skills: When living in the Hunter Valley (NSW), Andrew was Secretary of the Native Plants Association and a Regular Committee member of Merriwa Landcare. Since moving to the Granite Belt in 2021 he has been actively surveying rare and endangered plants, involved in bushcare projects, and giving presentations on native plants and agroecology to groups such as the Stanthorpe Field Naturalists, Granite Borders Landcare, Stanthorpe EcoExpo and U3A.

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Jake Smith

Executive Committee Member - Granite Borders Landcare Committee Inc.

Jake has a strong passion for grazing systems that operate in a regeneratively focused manner, thus improving biological and ecological conditions on a broad scale above and below the ground. He is continually broadening the scope of his knowledge about natural systems, through constant research and networking with relevant individuals. Jake has a fierce hunger for knowledge, and a willingness to talk to anyone who is ready to listen.

Qualifications/ education: Stock and station agency license; RCS Grazing for Profit graduate; Natures Equity short course graduate; Nutritech Solutions certificate in nutrition farming; Certificate IV in Agriculture and an Resource Consulting Services (RCS) Grazing school graduate.

Employment history: Jake's employment history includes Full time farm operations, while also mixing in stock and station agency for 6 years.

Other relevant skills: Despite and because of his youth, Jake has a strong community service spirit. He is the Vice President of the Tenterfield Show society, while also being a Regular Committee member of the Tenterfield Showground trust.

Lana Tyacke

Executive Committee Member - Granite Borders Landcare Committee Inc.

Lana's work has resulted in an understanding that we can rebuild biologically healthy soils quite fast, secure pure clean drinking water for all, raise the creek flow height permanently, implement water harvesting strategies for flood, fire and drought mitigation and build a sustainable, regenerative future ensuring a resilient healthy community and region.

Qualifications/ education: Permaculture Design courses (Peter Andrews, of Tarwyn Park); Mulloon Institute Landscape Rehydration and Regenerative Soils.

Employment history: Lana is an Independent Researcher and Practitioner. She has 30 years of practice in biological farming, reinforced with 10 years of independent research into how nature works. Although delivered in a voluntary capacity, Lana has delivered numerous small courses in line with these passions, which provide a clear model for pathways towards a regenerative and sustainable future.

Other relevant skills: Lana has a great sense of service and community contribution, and is well known around Tenterfield for the free Woodside Permaculture courses that she has been offering twice a year for the past three years. These have proven to be popular with Granite Belt locals from both sides of the border.