Jem has recently joined the Nature Foundation team in the Adelaide head office as Senior Conservation Land Manager and will be responsible for coordinating and overseeing the people and activities across our network of nature reserves.

How did you come to be at Nature Foundation?

I studied Applied GIS at Flinders University, majoring in Environmental Science and completed a thesis looking at the population response of Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats to rainfall and density in the Riverlands. From here, my professional career began in Environmental Consulting where I had the opportunity to travel throughout Australia doing field work and aerial fauna surveys, which furthered my passion for the environment, especially in the biodiversity, pest and weed management spaces.
 
Following this, I moved across to the Australian resources sector, spending more than 10 years in various environmental advisor roles, specialising in environmental remediation and rehabilitation. Over this period, I had been increasingly longing to be involved in more meaningful conservation work, so when I saw the Conservation Land Manager roles advertised with Nature Foundation, who I’d worked with previously, applying was a no-brainer!

What are you looking forward to most as part of your role?

I can’t wait to get out to all of Nature Foundation’s reserves across the state and in particular back to Hiltaba and Witchelina where I have very fond memories from previous work visits. I’m very much looking forward to meeting and working the rest of the Nature Foundation team, volunteers and supporters, and learning more about the current projects and priorities to achieve our collective goals.

What are some of your interests outside of work?

I love spending time outdoors with my wife and our 1-year-old daughter. I play golf regularly with a few social clubs and am always trying to improve my game. At home, I’m usually in the garden striving to improve the biodiversity on our own small patch of land in the Adelaide Hills, which I find very rewarding. I’ve recently joined Friends of Scott Creek Conservation Park and am aiming to get out more often to assist with bird-banding and bush care days, when time permits. Aside from this, I’m a slightly obsessive weather observer and enjoy fishing, birding, live music and festivals. In my downtime, I like to learn about a wide range of topics (currently ancient history) and am a keen rugby and cricket fan.

Meet the rest of the Nature Foundation staff team here.