Our Team

We have a highly skilled team who can deliver results for you. Our team have decades of experience in environmental management, financial services and remote sensing.

ADAM TOWNLEY

Chief Executive Officer

CEO Adam Townley is a Sydney-based chartered accountant with over 25 years of experience and leadership in financial markets. He is credited with setting up one of the first carbon funds in London (2003) and has published books on insolvency and bankruptcy. Adam has acted as Director in a number of roles and industries. He is a commercialisation and corporate specialist who uses design thinking processes to implement market technologies such as Waste to Energy, Fintech, AgTech and Telematics. Adam has been the Director for AI Carbon (AIC) for eight years overseeing numerous carbon projects within Australia.

RUSSELL SEAWRIGHT

Chief Operations Officer

Russell Seawright has over 25 years of natural resource management experience delivering large scale environmental projects. Most recently, he has been the South Australian Manager for the Native Vegetation Council.

He was nationally recognised for his riverine recovery work during the Millennium drought, receiving the Banksia Award – Prime Minister's Environmentalist of the Year in 2010. Russell has also received awards for environmental planning and GIS mapping.

Russell has a passion for investigating how carbon markets can increase landscape productivity and bring diversified revenue into communities. He has played a pivotal role in the development of Australia’s first ‘blue carbon’ pilot which implemented the Verified Carbon Standard – proof of concept for tidal reconnection as a blue carbon offset project.

Russell has completed the Australian Institute of Company Directors program, project management qualifications and advanced leadership and management training.

HAFIZ STEWART

General Manager - Operations and Principal Ecologist

Hafiz Stewart is a South Australian rangelands specialist with 25+ years of field survey and leadership experience within government and private industries.

Hafiz has led one of Australia’s largest native planting projects in the lower Murray River during the Millennium drought. From 2009 – 2016, he managed the delivery of a $40 million landscape scale ecological restoration project in the Coorong and Lower Lakes, and led a further $12 million of scientific research on the Coorong as Science Program Leader. He has also acted as the Statewide Program Coordinator for the New South Wales Saving Our Species program that aims to identify and protect NSW’s threatened species for the next 100 years.

JAMES THIESSEN

Program Manager

James Thiessen holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Biodiversity and Environmental Management) and Geographical Information Systems (Arc Map). He was also awarded the Dean’s Merit Award for Academic Achievement.

James commenced his career working for BHP Billiton (Olympic Dam) as an environmental officer in 2005. Since then, he has worked as a Geographical Information Systems Officer for the Queensland Local Government and an ecologist with the Queensland Government. James was awarded a position in the South Australian Government in 2010 to work on a Commonwealth and State-funded land restoration program, the largest on the southern hemisphere at the time. In 2016, James moved into rangeland and Indigenous land management, and has been the Program Manager for the Alinytjara Wilurara Landscape Board in South Australia.

James brings expertise in indigenous land negotiations, stakeholder liaison and pastoral land management.

ANDREW RETTIG

Team Leader, Operations and Ecology

Andrew has been leading ecological restoration projects within South Australia, and Far North Queensland. He has worked for the South Australian Department for Environment and Water’s Fire Management Unit responding to wildfire and
conducting prescribed burns. In 2014, Andrew commenced working on one of Australia’s largest revegetation programs within the lower Murray region of South Australia. Andrew has experience in ecological monitoring, scientific investigations, and engineering designs to improve landscape function.

Andrew holds qualifications in the Bachelor of Environmental Management, Diploma of Permaculture, and Certificate 1 Conservation and Land Management.

KYLIE MORITZ

Team Leader, Senior Ecologist

Kylie has over 25 years’ experience in the field of natural resource management and has worked with the South Australian Environment Department as a Restoration Ecologist, Threatened Flora Ecologist and as a Bush Management Advisor in various regions across the state. With projects in threatened species recovery, pest and pathogen management, ecological burning and conducting biological monitoring and assessment, she is experienced in writing management and vegetation plans and managing funding for regional programs.

Kylie Moritz holds a Bachelor of Biological Sciences (Honours in Zoology) and a Graduate Diploma of Natural Resources Management.

RATA LUCKENS

Team Leader, Operations and Ecology

Rata has diverse experience across natural resource management, forestry management and coastal ecosystem management. As Natural Resource Officer for Salisbury and Charles Sturt Council, Rata has had significant involvement in developing and implementing infrastructure projects like the Coast Park Path and River Torrens Linear Park Trail. He has also spent considerable time on pastoral stations of South Australia and has worked on South Australia’s first feral animal exclusion area on Venus Bay.

Rata holds qualifications in a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from Flinders University and a Bachelor of Applied Science (Environmental Management) from the University of South Australia.

DR CHRIS WAWRYK

Remote Sensing Analyst

Chris Wawryk holds a doctorate in geochemistry and has 15 years’ experience working as a professional geologist in Western Australia and South Australia. Chris’s experience in mineral exploration involved photogrammetry and interpretation of spectral data to map landforms, regolith materials and surface expression of mineralizing systems. Working for CSIRO, Chris has collaborated with researchers at University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute and the Australian Wine Research Institute to develop methods to measure stable isotope ratios in a variety of samples including rocks, soils, plants and wine.

IAIN HALE

Remote Sensing Analyst

Iain Hale is a remote sensing specialist with experience in satellite imagery interpretation, model development and spectral analysis. Iain has a background working with broad scale change detection in landcover products and classification of vegetation through a range of remote sensing practices.
Iain holds a Bachelor of Environment Policy and Management with Honours in Science.

BEN RATE

Remote Sensing Analyst

Ben is a spatial/remote sensing analyst with a passion for being outdoors in the natural environment. He has an interest in emerging technologies that can assist decision making for farming operations that benefit both the farmer and natural environment.
Ben holds a Bachelor of Arts and Science (Geography, Chemistry) with Honours in Agricultural Science researching the use and applications of hyperspectral imaging on novel crops.

MATTHEW SHERMOT

Geospatial and Environmental Scientist

Matthew has conducted hydrodynamic research on the Hunter River and marine research on the Sydney Harbor and Great Barrier Reef. He has experience in hydrodynamic modelling, field data collection and Python coding. An Engineering Officer in the US for over two years, he has strengths in leadership and management.
Matthew holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering and Master’s in Marine Science and Management.

BRIDGET HIGGINS

Project Officer

Bridget grew up on a country farm and has always been passionate about engaging community in the environment. As an Expanding Horizons Mentor during her studies, she has mentored and encouraged high school girls to pursue careers in STEM. Bridget holds a Bachelor of Environmental Science. She has expertise in Geographical Information Systems, revegetation methods and has undertaken project management and field work in Fiji.

NATALIE BROWN

Project Ecologist

Natalie has worked as an ecologist in diverse projects including wetland rehabilitation, endangered grasslands management, southern brown bandicoot recovery, and recovery from long-term grazing on Koonamore Vegetation Reserve.
She holds a Bachelor of Science (Advanced) with first-class Honours and was awarded a grant for her Honours research on bat predation of agricultural pests through conservation biological control.

DR NICHOLAS PALTRIDGE

Integrated Farm Management

Nick leads our whole of farm carbon accounting and advises on shelterbelt establishment to generate carbon credits.

Nick has worked as an Industry Development Consultant for the South Australian Government, collaborating with livestock producers and industry groups to develop and implement agricultural technologies across the livestock sector as part of the Red Meat and Wool Growth Program.

Nick has experience managing a family livestock enterprise in South Australia, renovating pastures for increased productivity and to build soil carbon. He has also had a focus on improving sheep reproductive performance for efficient prime lamb production, and better management of plantations and shelterbelts.

NICK BRADLEY

General Manager Business Development

Nick Bradley was raised on and has managed cattle stations in the East Kimberley region of WA and he has been professionally engaged in agricultural sectors across Australia for 25 years.

More recently, Nick spent seven years managing stakeholder engagement and contracts for the $2 Bn Connections Project and modernising irrigation infrastructure for 3500+ farmers in Victoria’s Goulburn-Murray irrigation districts. He then spent three years as the national head of sales for an Australian AgTech company that supplies remote water monitoring solutions to the pastoral industry.

Nick has worked with graziers and member organisations like the Arid Lands NRM in every corner of the country and he is a committed advocate for Australian Agriculture and the benefits of carbon farming. Nick is based in Wangaratta, NE Victoria. Mobile: 0408 946 406.

ROSS SAWERS

Project Manager

Ross Sawers has a family pastoral property in the Northeast Pastoral district of SA and is well known around the region in both pastoral and mining networks. Ross started out in the industry at Prominent Hill. He has worked in consultancy for the mining, oil and gas industry in South Australia and the Northern Territory since 2006. He has also worked in youth employment and the wool industry.

Ross has held multiple Board Member positions for SA Arid Lands Natural Resource Management (eight years), Northern Regional Development and Regional Development Australia Far North (SA). He is currently the Presiding Member on the SA Arid Lands Landscape Board and the Native Vegetation Council.

SIMON PATTERSON

Agricultural Specialist

Simon has been involved in broad acre farming and grazing in South Australia for 34 years and has co-managed their family farming properties with his brother. Their properties include 12 200 Ha of mixed farming (grains and sheep) and 51 500 Ha of pastoral grazing land.

Simon’s interest in carbon farming to increase on-farm profits came from serving on the South Australian No Till Farmers Association board for six years, including two years as a resident.

MARK LEWIS

Director

Mark Lewis is a former WA Minister for Agriculture and Food, member for the Mining and Pastoral Region in the WA Legislative Council from 2013 to 2017 and foundation member of the federal Regional Investment Corporation (charged to deliver a $4 Bn concessional loan facility). He is currently a member the Climate Change Authority (which advises federal Ministers and government on related matters) and director of several public and private companies.

Mark has a lifetime of involvement in agriculture and rural communities and years of engagement in water resource development. He completed undergraduate studies in the Animal and Health field before going on to complete a Master’s in Applied Science and an AdvDip and Gradcert in Management.

Our Team

ADAM TOWNLEY

RUSSELL SEAWRIGHT

HAFIZ STEWART

JAMES THIESSEN

ANDREW RETTIG

KYLIE MORITZ

RATA LUCKENS

DR CHRIS WAWRYK

IAIN HALE

BEN RATE

MATTHEW SHERMOT

BRIDGET HIGGINS

NATALIE BROWN

DR NICHOLAS PALTRIDGE

NICK BRADLEY

ROSS SAWERS

SIMON PATTERSON

MARK LEWIS

QLD, NSW, ACT & VIC

WA

SA & NT