Environment and Sustainability Advisory Committee

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Aims 

The aim of ESAC is to enable community members with expertise and experience relating to environment and sustainability to provide advice to Council concerning strategic or policy issues.

Objectives

  • Provide feedback and advice to Council on environment and sustainability matters including:
    • Biodiversity and land management
    • Climate action - (climate resilience, net-zero emissions, sustainable transport, waste management, and circular economy, and integrated water management)
  • Consider and provide advice to Council on the development and implementation of its policies, plans and services that impact environment and sustainability.
  • Consider and provide advice on key Government initiatives, programs and reviews.
  • Represent the views and needs of environment and sustainability stakeholder groups within Nillumbik.
  • Assist Council to communicate, consult and engage more effectively with the broader Nillumbik community.
  • Strengthen partnerships with residents, community groups and services in Nillumbik.
  • Contribute to a cycle of continually assessing and improving Nillumbik’s environment and sustainability programs.

Meeting frequency

Committee meetings are held bimonthly - on the third Wednesday of every second month - from 6pm to 8pm at a Council venue.

Additional sub-committee meetings may be held on an as-needs basis.  

Committee period

The Committee is appointed for a two-year term.  The current term runs until April 2026.  A new committee will commence in June 2026. 

Members

This Committee is chaired by a Councillor representative who is appointed annually at Council's Extraordinary Meeting held in November.

Find out more about the committee members

The Committee comprises the following representatives endorsed by Council:

  • Cr Kate McKay (Chair)
  • Cr Kelly Joy (Alternate Chair)
Committee member  About 
Malcolm Cock

Malcolm grew up on a Bio Dynamic dairy and beef farm in Lower Plenty and managed a dynamic and successful family stud & commercial beef, sheep and goat farming operations in Buchan and Leongatha, Gippsland. Malcolm is an agricultural consultant, now based in Eltham.

Malcolm’s experience includes: 
  • Private consulting to mainstream and lifestyle clients
  • Agriculture Victoria BetterBeef extension program coordinator and specialist
  • Worked in the development and practice of other MLA & Agriculture Victoria ‘best practice’ extension programs
  • Developed and delivered marketing modules for NMIT: Diploma of Organic Agriculture
  • Delivered numerous workshops particularly in: Total farm & stock management
  • Involved in various industry groups including gold member of LandCare
  • Contributor to the Box Hill Institute’s diploma and advance diploma in Agri Tourism
  • Monitor in the Drought Resilience Leaders Mentoring program and others
Orianna Edmonds Bio coming soon
Lily van Eeden Lily van Eeden is an environmental scientist whose research explores how people interact with and value nature. She has expertise in conservation biology and human behaviour change earned through over a decade working in environmental management and a PhD in human-wildlife conflict. Her research helped to support delivery of the state government’s Victorians Value Nature framework, which seeks to promote nature-friendly behaviour among the public, and she now lectures in environmental sciences at RMIT University. Her childhood spent in the Panton Hill bushlands was an important part of her journey towards a career in nature conservation and she hopes to help protect Nillumbik’s nature for future generations, too.
Elnaz Ettehad Bio coming soon
Lucinda Flynn Bio coming soon
Vasundhara Kandpa

Being really passionate about the environment, Vasundhara did her higher education in Environmental science. She pursued graduation in Zoology honours, Masters in Environmental Management and Doctorate in Forest Ecology and Environment. Her doctorate was a pioneer study conducted in a remote part of ‘Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve’, a World Heritage Site in the Greater Himalayan Region, India.

Vasundhara has worked on many projects at international locations - India, Srilanka, USA and Australia. In India she has worked on projects such as "Carbon sequestration in Reneuka Forest Division”, “Socio-economic evaluation of relocated communities in Corbett Tiger Reserve” “Biodiversity Impact Assessment of Rio Tinto Mining Site, Madhya Pradesh” as Project Researcher. In Sri Lanka, she worked at IUCN on a project “Evaluation and monitoring of restored limestone quarry site, Puttalam” as Project Associate. In the US, she worked at Carnegie’s Department of Global Ecology on "lmpact of climate change on global vegetation" project and in several conservation projects at Stanford University as Conservation Technician. 

Vasundhara has founded Green Karma, an environmental charity that builds awareness and empower communities to reduce their environmental footprint. Green Karma run community-empowering projects in collaboration with other organisations and local community groups. 
Anne-Marie King Bio coming soon
Graeme Lang Bio coming soon
Andrew McMahon Andrew McMahon is a professional ecologist with over 40 years' experience. He and wife Pam have lived in the Bend of Islands for 13 years and previously in Christmas Hills for some 30 years. Andrew’s career includes five years of postgraduate research in fire ecology and 35 years as founding director (along with the eminent botanist Geoff Carr) and principal ecologist of the consultancy Ecology Australia P/L. He has worked extensively across most environments in SE Australia, and at a local scale has observed our changing habitats for decades. He is currently involved with private research on climate related impacts.
Katrina Naish

Katrina Naish has proudly called Nillumbik home for 17 years and is fortunate to live and work within Apollo Parkways.

With a background in the fashion industry, Katrina often found her career at odds with her conscience. In 2021, she pivoted her business to focus on education around textile waste, sewing and mending skills, and purposeful consumption. This shift aligns with her deep interest in the circular economy and her commitment to supporting the community in making sustainable choices easier. Katrina's dedication to these principles drives her efforts to foster environmental responsibility and sustainable practices in Nillumbik and beyond.
Sue Rosenhain

As a public health professional who has worked in health promotion for over twenty-five years Sue is concerned about the impact of climate change on health, including the emerging realisation of the mental health impacts for all age groups.

Sue has experience working with a range of sectors and partners, including Local Government, to promote health and hopes to contribute her public health expertise to the ESAC.

As a local resident, Sue is concerned about the loss of green space and biodiversity across Nillumbik and the impact this has locally and more widely. She nominated for ESAC in order to contribute to making a difference in our unique Green Wedge Shire.
Lynlee Tozer

Lynlee has a longstanding commitment to Nillumbik, its community, natural environment and landscapes. She has a BSc (hon) and extensive professional experience in biodiversity and land management, and knowledge of climate resilience in natural ecosystems.

Lynlee has worked with Trust for Nature, as a biodiversity officer in local government, and as a university lecturer in the fields of ecology, weed management, sustainable land use and plant identification.  She has also been involved in many local community groups, including Smiths Gully Landcare, Friends of Panton Hill Bushland Reserves, Friends of Nillumbik, Green Wedge Protection Group and the Panton Hill CFA.

Agenda

The Agenda for the next Committee meeting is uploaded one week prior to the meeting date. 

Minutes

Minutes from each Committee meeting are confirmed at the next meeting of the Committee. 

Terms of Reference

The current Terms of Reference were adopted by Council on 27 February 2024.  

 

Download a copy of the Environment and Sustainability Advisory Committee Terms of Reference(PDF, 693KB)

More information

The Committee is supported by Council’s Environment and Sustainability team.

 

For further information email nillumbik@nillumbik.vic.gov.au or call 9433 3111.

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