Management Team
President - Peter Rowles
- An active volunteer and leader in local conservation, Peter Rowles shares his enthusiasm, knowledge and experience to guide and inspire others. He has a long history promoting conservation and ecologically sustainable land management—volunteering for community organisations around Innisfail and Mission Beach areas, sitting on various committees and serving as a director of Terrain NRM. Peter has given many hours in developing programs and implementing projects, working with landholders and volunteers, and negotiating with government agencies. Through his passion to preserve Wet Tropics World Heritage values he provides training to conservation volunteers and the unemployed, passing on valuable knowledge of tropical forest ecology, landscape repair and appreciation of our unique environment.
- Vice President - Dr. Helen K. Larson
Dr Helen K. Larson is Emeritus Curator of Fishes, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin (MAGNT) and a Research Associate, Museum of Tropical Queensland, Townsville. Her work focuses on the taxonomy and systematics of Indo-Pacific coral reef and estuarine fishes. She is Co-Chair of a group within the Marine Fishes Red List Authority of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, as well as a member of Birdlife Australia. Now she is retired, Helen can concentrate on her research on fishes and work towards the conservation of fish and bird habitat.
Secretary - Peter Trott
Peter Trott's first connection with C4 was in the early 1990s, when as Communication Officer for CSIRO's Tropical Forest Research Centre at Atherton, he provided display material and information for C4. A lifelong interest in the natural environment connected with his career as a science communicator and metropolitan newspaper journalist travelling to many parts of Australia. Peter joined the committee of C4 in 2010 as stand-in nursery coordinator and worked on the re-building of the nursery after Cyclone Yasi. He is a member of Birdlife Australia and a Wet Tropics Management Authority-certified tour guide. He and his wife Laurie grow lettuce, herbs and tropical fruit for the local trade on their "tree change" property at Maria Creeks.
Peter Trott's first connection with C4 was in the early 1990s, when as Communication Officer for CSIRO's Tropical Forest Research Centre at Atherton, he provided display material and information for C4. A lifelong interest in the natural environment connected with his career as a science communicator and metropolitan newspaper journalist travelling to many parts of Australia. Peter joined the committee of C4 in 2010 as stand-in nursery coordinator and worked on the re-building of the nursery after Cyclone Yasi. He is a member of Birdlife Australia and a Wet Tropics Management Authority-certified tour guide. He and his wife Laurie grow lettuce, herbs and tropical fruit for the local trade on their "tree change" property at Maria Creeks.
Treasurer - Maurice Franklin
Indigenous Coordinator - Leonard Andy
- Leonard Andy is a Djiru Traditional Owner of the Mission Beach area. Leonard currently lives at Mission Beach on his traditional land and creates a number of unique art pieces including paintings, wooden artifacts and batiks. His attention to detail is evident in the intricate designs painted on his carved wooden swords, boomerangs, spear throwers and canvases. He has just begun exploring batik as a new medium.
- Memberships, Display Center and Website & Face Book Coordinator - Jeff Larson
Jeff Larson is an avid wildlife and sports photographer who also has an passion for statistics. Jeff has put together a spreadsheet of cassowary sightings, dating back to 1992. The spreadsheet has proved to be a useful tool in tracking these endangered birds as well as providing helpful data for the government in relation to the ongoing preservation of the species’ populations. Jeff also manages the C4 website and Facebook page, and he also volunteers in the Display Area at the C4 Environment Centre.
Nursery Coordinator - Peter Cox