Quahli Newchurch is a proud Kaurna, Narungga, Kokatha woman living on Kaurna yarta. Quahli has a background in environmental management, cultural education and volunteer support services, and is currently employed as the Community Coordinator for the Kaurna Fire Team within Firesticks Alliance. Quahli is a member of Warpulai Kumangka, a Kaurna environmental advisory committee to the Green Adelaide Landscape Board and provides cultural and environmental advice and perspective into various environmental projects within the Kaurna footprint. Her passion is to actively contribute to healing and restoring Country using traditional land management practices to ensure a healthier future for us, our children and our children's children.

Professor Christopher Daniels has been an incredible force in popularising nature and nature education in South Australia. The university academic and government scientist has communicated science for 4 decades He started fortnightly backyard wildlife segments on ABC in 2003 and, since 2007, presented many community programs on urban environmental science. Whilst having been an ecological physiologist of international standing for over 3 decades, his primary area of interest now is in citizen science, community outcome driven science and ecoliteracy. Chris also works with a large number of allied education delivery organisations including the Marine Discovery Centre, Cleland Wildlife Park, the SA Museum (Board member) the Junior Field Naturalists and Nature Play (ex-board chair) to improve community connection with nature. Christopher was a driving force in Adelaide becoming a National Park City. Christopher has written 11 award winning books (and 1 DVD) including a children’s book, Koala. Now chair of the Green Adelaide Landscape Board, Christopher received a Doctor of Sciences from Adelaide University in 2019 and was a finalist for SA of the year (2022). He holds adjunct professorships at the University of South Australia and Adelaide University.

Kirsten Parris is a Professor of Urban Ecology in the School of BioSciences and the Director of the Office for Environmental Programs at the University of Melbourne. She has a deep affinity with frogs, and research interests that span urban ecology, amphibian ecology, conservation biology, animal behaviour, field survey methods and ecological ethics. Kirsten is also an enthusiastic science communicator, co-convening the ESA’s Special Interest Network for Science Communication.

Dr Jacinta Humphrey (she/her) is an Urban Ecologist and Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the ICON Science group at RMIT University. She completed her PhD in Landscape and Conservation Ecology at La Trobe University in 2024. Her current work explores Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design and aims to find opportunities to enhance habitat for wildlife in residential streets, urban parks, schoolyards and private gardens.

According to ChatGTP, “Professor Dieter F. Hochuli is a distinguished ecologist at the University of Sydney, where he leads the Integrative Ecology Lab. With a PhD completed in the early 1990s, he has been a cornerstone of the university since 1995. His research spans fundamental and applied ecology, focusing on how biodiversity—especially insects, spiders, birds, and plants—adapts, survives, and thrives in urban environments. With over 7,300 citations and an h-index of 42, his influential work explores urban greenspace dynamics, habitat fragmentation, pollution effects, and evolution within cityscapes. A committed mentor and communicator, Dieter has guided countless postgraduate and early-career researchers, earning accolades such as the Vice‑Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in HDR Supervision and the 2023 Ecological Society of Australia Gold Medal. Passionate about engaging wider audiences, he regularly delivers talks—from stand-up science festivals and pub lectures to podcasts—bridging research and public understanding.” He also thinks he would have set a better example if he had written this himself and is glad the version he then prompted with “make him sound more heroic” wasn’t pasted in this section.

Monina Gilbey and Kate Torgersen are well-known in the golf industry for their biodiversity and environmental sustainability work. Both are driven by a shared vision to promote and protect golf courses as thriving and vital ecological assets within the urban environment. Monina is the former Biodiversity Manager at Glenelg Golf Club. Her pioneering work in rewilding golf courses, protecting and planting rare and threatened speacies and promoting urban biodiversity has earned her national accolades, including the 2024 Parks and Leisure Australia National Environmental Stewardship Award. Kate, with over 16 years of experience in golf course and conservation management, is an award-winning and instrumental figure in sustainable turf management. She has worked with some of Australia’s top golf courses to create more biodiversity, become more environmentally sustainable and increase community engagement. Both Kate and Monina have spoken at numerous conferences on biodiversity projects underway at Australian golf courses and regularly write articles for industry magazines. Together, as partners in Torgersen Gilbey, Monina and Kate offer comprehensive environmental planning and sustainability strategies to golf clubs and other green spaces. Their combined expertise, passion, and collaborative approach are instrumental in driving meaningful environmental change across Australia's sporting landscapes and beyond.

Catalina Mardones is a PhD candidate with the Interdisciplinary Conservation Research Group (ICON) at RMIT University. Her research interests include urban ecology, communities' wellbeing, and biodiversity conservation.

Fiona Hoegh-Guldberg is a PhD candidate in ICON Science at RMIT University with a background in (BSc) Zoology, Marine Science, and (MC) Sustainable Cities and Climate Change. In her PhD she is researching the integration of Biodiversity and Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD & BSUD) in nature-based solutions. In a review of nature-based flood management, Fiona found that few studies actually measured or monitored biodiversity. Now her work on Nature-Water Design explores how interdisciplinary professionals of the built environment can better collaborate to design for integrated biodiversity and water outcomes onsite.