meet the Barung team

barung landcare management committee

Ian McMaster

President

Ian has had a varied business career, firstly in the steel industry, then in the sugar industry, and finally as chairman and independent director of several companies, mainly in the mining sector. Having fully retired, Ian now devotes much of his time and energy to conservation. 

Ian and his wife Chrissie live on Mount Mellum, on a 100ha property that they had gazetted as a Nature Refuge. Both of them are passionate about native plants, and have a broad interest in the ecological systems they care for. 

Ian is a past president of Native Plants Queensland, and is past President of Barung Landcare, and has been instrumental in supporting Barung to gain clarity on its vision and to design an organisational structure that will set Barung up for success.

Geoff Holmes

Treasurer

Geoff has lived in the Maleny area for over 15 years and has been a member of Barung since September 2006. Geoff and his wife Yvonne (who is also actively involved in sustainability initiatives in the community), have a 1.5 acre property at Bald Knob where they are working to reduce invasive weeds and replace them with suitable local species. During the 1990s they participated as volunteer growers for the ‘Trees for Life’ seedlings program in South Australia. Through this program, Geoff enjoyed linking up with farmers who were planting their seedlings.

Geoff comes to Barung with a wealth of experience in the banking sector, and now that he is retired he has become more involved in Barung Landcare activities here on the Blackall Range.

Alan Harrington

Committee Member

Moving to Conondale in 1993, Alan and his wife Mary have been highly active in the community over the years. Alan spent much of his working life in the public sector working for the ATO (Australian Tax Office) and was instrumental in developing and implementing the PAYG system in Australia. Alan also worked closely with the Federal Police in their investigations of high-level criminal offences against the tax office. After winding up with the ATO Alan transferred his skills to running his own business in partnership with Mary and once in the Maleny area, he supported the Upfront Club and Maple Street Co-op (of which he was manager for a period of time).

Alan’s latest contributions have been towards the financial operations of Barung Landcare, as previous Treasurer, he remains on the committee to support ongoing operations, in particular the delivery of the Maleny Wood Expo.

Sally

Committee Member

Sally has Economics and Finance degrees and worked for investment banks in Sydney and London for 15 years, and then ran her own business until its sale in 2021.

Sally started regenerating her 11-acre hinterland property in 2017 and has planted over 2,500 trees (all from Barung!) since then.

Sally is passionate about supporting Barung so it can grow sustainably and continue its valuable environmental and community work well into the future.

barung landcare staff

Doug Evans

General Manager

 doug@barunglandcare.org.au

Charlotte Pond

Accounts Officer

 charlotte@barunglandcare.org.au

Brydie Gordon

Administration Officer

brydie@barunglandcare.org.au

Megan Lee

Education & Communications Officer

megan@barunglandcare.org.au

Cam Burton

Nurseries Manager

 cam@barunglandcare.org.au

Wayne Webb

Production Nursery Manager

wayne@barunglandcare.org.au

Maia Stegman

Nursery Assistant

maia@barunglandcare.org.au

Kate Seehuusen

Natural Area Services Manager

kate@barunglandcare.org.au

Benjamin Child

Environmental Administration Coordinator

benjamin@barunglandcare.org.au

Dave Luhrman

Natural Area Services Operational Coordinator

david@barunglandcare.org.au

Sarah Dixon

Skilling QLD Coordinator

sarah@barunglandcare.org.au

Trevour Pitt

Skilling QLD Supervisor

trevour@barunglandcare.org.au

OUR QUALIFICATIONS

Barung Landcare staff have various qualifications, licences and inductions which include the following:

Bachelors degrees –

  • Science
  • Land Management
  • Coastal Science
  • Environmental Science
  • Applied Science
  • Arts

Certifications including –

  • Chainsaw Level 1 & 2
  • Construction card (White card)
  • Commercial operator’s licence for using herbicides (ACDC)

Certificate in Conservation and Land Management –

      1, 2, 3 and 4

Certificate in Horticulture –

      2, 3 and 4

Graduate Certificate –

  • Environmental Management
  • Sustainability

Diplomas –

  • Conservation and Land Management
  • Business
  • Applied Science
  • Project Management

Fauna Spotter / Catcher certificate

HLTAID009 Provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation

HLTAID010 Provide basic emergency life support

HLTAID011 Provide first aid

HLTFA311A Apply first aid

Safety and site induction certificates from –

  • Sunshine Coast Council
  • Moreton Bay Regional Council
  • Noosa Council
  • Unity Water
  • SEQ Water

Barung Landcare holds a number of current licences, certifications and policies including:

Ground Distribution Contractor Licence (ACDC) no.GDC343

ISO certifications  –

  • ISO 9001: 2015 quality management systems
  • ISO 14001:2015 ENvironmental management systems
  • AS/NZS 4801:2001 occupational health and safety management systems

Up to date insurances including – 

  • Public Liability 
  • Association Liability
  • Work Cover
  • Personal Accident
  • Landcare Activities