CERES School of Nature and Climate Team

Jane has a background in education with experience in secondary school teaching, training, and curriculum writing in schools, community groups and the not-for-profit sector. Jane is passionate about designing and delivering education programs that contribute to making a difference in the world and bring value to communities. With a strong desire to make a contribution in her career, Jane has developed and managed a range of educational projects and programs with a social, community and environmental focus. In 2016 Jane was awarded the prestigious Environment Education Victoria award, The Environmental & Sustainability Educator of the Year 2015. She believes that schools and early childhood settings are perfectly placed to engage children, students and teachers in learning about the environment and gain skills and knowledge to be leaders in their communities.

Chloe grew up in the Otways, riding horses, climbing trees and racing her brother on billy carts. She has been working in the environmental education industry for over 9 years. She has passionately managed, designed and delivered a range of environmental education programs, for local government, in partnership with industry leaders and community groups. Her work has supported sustainability initiatives and outcomes within Council, schools, early learning centres, apartments and community groups. Chloe loves to work collaboratively, which is recognised in winning the 2018 Keep Victoria Beautiful, Sustainable Cities Award in Community Government Partnership. She has tertiary qualifications in environmental sustainability, horticulture and education. She’s excited to be a part of the CERES network and continue to do what she loves – connecting people to community and the natural environment.

Growing up in regional Queensland, Clare spent much of her childhood exploring the local rainforest and camping down by the beach. She had a particular passion for wildlife from a young age, writing and illustrating stories about the Green Tree Frogs that lived in her letterbox for her classmates at school. Her interest in education continued, and after completing a Bachelor of Education, she spent many years as a primary school teacher, her main drive being to help her students to develop a love of learning and establish a strong sense of wellbeing.
While she loved teaching, she discovered that her true passion was to be found outside the classroom. In 2016, after establishing a successful sustainability program at her school, Clare discovered that she could share her passion for the environment with her students. This led Clare to join CERES School of Nature and Climate in 2019 where she began facilitating incursions and excursions at both primary and secondary levels. Working at CERES has shown Clare the importance of developing a strong sense of community and has allowed her to continue empowering students to take action for the environment, both at school and in their daily lives.
Clare is excited to be facilitating the Schools for Wildlife project for CERES and loves to see students reconnect with and take responsibility for nature. She adores seeing her own childhood passion for wildlife in the students she works with and is proud to support them in identifying and improving habitat for the wildlife in their local area.

After completing her engineering degree in France, Emmanuelle undertook a Master’s degree of Energy Studies at the University of Melbourne specializing in the environmental impacts of buildings. Prior to CERES, Emmanuelle was working as an Energy Consultant in a large engineering company, undertaking holistic design and operational sustainability assessments of major commercial buildings. She joined the Outreach team in September 2015 and is excited to be working with Victorian schools as she strongly believes in a bottom-up approach to drive change, starting at the community level and through early/primary education. Emmanuelle is passionate about sharing her dedication to sustainability and resilient resource systems and hopes to inspire the next generation.

Jason is an adventurer and storyteller. He has recently returned from Tonga where he worked with coastal communities in environmental education. Diving next to volcanoes, working with sharks, and rescuing turtles, Jason equally enjoys planting a tree and growing herbs. Jason loves the narrative of conservation following the connections between everything we as humans do and how it impacts our planet. He has taught students about climate change, sustainability, marine and coastal science and more, always finding new and interesting ways to invoke passion.
He and his young family do anything they can to leave a gentle footprint on our country and he is quick to lend a hand to anyone else wanting to do so. He strives to make everyone he meets excited about the environment. Working with CERES as an outreach educator is something he cannot wait to be a part of. With so many working for sustainability, he is more than ready to be a part of this network.

From a young age, Kelsey has had a passion for conservation, particularly surrounding the unique fauna found in Australia. This stemmed from weekends spent camping and hiking through the bush and formed the basis of her passion to conserve Australia’s unique environments. She completed a Bachelor of Science (Zoology) and worked as an Environmental Officer for Queensland Government, then turned to field biology as a research intern in South Africa. It was from these experiences that she feels the key to sustainability and conservation is an understanding combined with a sense of responsibility and excitement. Following this path, she has since completed a Master of Environment (conservation and education) and volunteered for programs like Zoo to You, CSIRO Education, Science Experience Melbourne and worked as a science demonstrator for University of Melbourne. Kelsey joined CERES as an intern in late 2017, and joined the Outreach team in January 2018 and is excited to share her enthusiasm with the next generation.

Growing up in New York State, Lauren formed a deep connection with her natural world playing in the snow and truly connecting with the phrase, “there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing choices”. Later, as a young adult, Lauren heard the first-hand story of a woman living in a Californian Redwood, protesting against the logging of local forests. It was these experiences that inspired Lauren to study Environmental Science & Management at the University of Newcastle some years later. During her time of study, Lauren started working with students in outdoor education programs, further igniting her passion to work with and for our environment alongside her new community in Australia. Since 2013, Lauren can be found at CERES as the Waste & Early Years Schools Program Coordinator – helping students learn about compost, recycling and waste management, local food systems, and fostering a deep connection with our natural world. As of 2018, Lauren is the organizer and facilitator of the CERES Nature Playgroup, helping children connect with and for their local environment and community. Lauren is also a presenter and facilitator for Adult Training courses; Environmental Education and Circular Economy & Zero Waste. With her knowledge and experience combined Lauren passionately works towards providing learners of all ages with creative and meaningful learning experiences that they can carry with them throughout their day-to-day lives, cultivating a deeper connection with Earth and each other.

After completing a Bachelor of Arts, Mairead took her passion for connecting with others and sustainability into the education space. Since then, she has performed several roles within outdoor and environmental education, and as a facilitator in schools. She loves inspiring people to engage with, and care for the natural world.

Mairead’s love of conservation began as a child, often hiking and being outdoors. She loves gardening, composting and is inspired by what communities of people can do to create change.

In her role as a Teacher Programs Educator, Mairead is excited to help empower teachers to embed sustainability practices into their schools as they raise a generation of young people who are creative, informed and empowered to create positive sustainable futures.

After completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Michelle decided that the I.T world wasn’t for her. It was by luck that she stumbled across the wonderful world that is CERES, and since then has worked in various roles, at present as Communications Coordinator for School Programs. Her role includes ensuring that our centres, schools, Partners, and the wider community are informed about our news and available opportunities in the realm of environmental education. Outside of work Michelle is passionate about sustainable/ethical fashion, travel and dreams of living off the grid.

Tom grew up in Bendigo and studied Outdoor and Environmental Education at Federation University in Ballarat and fell in love with everything the natural world has to offer. Through spending time with young people in the Australian bush hiking, mountain bike riding, paddling and rock climbing, Tom explored and shared his deep connection. Through this he recognised the importance for local connection, care and activism and what better place to do that than with CERES. Now as the Coordinator of SELP he has the opportunity to share all of this with the amazing young people and the people who support them as he travels around regional Victoria!