About Us

PRESIDENT

Jim de Hennin spent the early years of his life growing up in the Upper Murray on a dairy farm where there was very few invasive flora or fauna species impacting water ways and agricultural land. Seeing the invasion of flora and fauna today has driven his passion for Landcare.

Jim has spent the majority of his working life involved in the agriculture industry, including wool classing and as an area sales manager for several companies selling agricultural chemicals for Agchem and fertilizers for Incitec . Today, he and his wife run a vealer and prime lamb enterprise at Talgarno where they are committed to practicing sustainable land use practices.

Jim is an active community member and is currently the Chair of the Mitta to Murray Landcare Inc. (formally Mitta to Murray Blackberry Action Group), Chair of the local Wises Creek-Talgarno Landcare Group, Chair of Berringa Peninsula Community Network, North East Delegate for Landcare Victoria Inc., Chair of Talgarno CFA, land owner contact for Tallangatta Better Beef Group, former Chair of Towong Shire Hunting and Tourism Group and Towong Shire Land and Water Management Group, former Chair member of Victorian Grasslands Society and former North East Dry Land Salinity Group. For his contribution to Landcare he was recently awarded the Landcare Executive Committee Service Award 2016 North East Region for 30 years of service to Landcare.

Jim considers his voluntary involvement in Landcare and other community groups as rewarding, creative, ongoing, productive and wonderful to have the opportunity to work with and share experiences with positive like-minded people.

M2M LANDCARE FACILITATOR

I have worked in the environmental field for 25 years, through Landcare groups and government departments.

My interest in biological controls started within a few months of entering this field as a weed and rabbit project officer. I have been fortunate enough to explore this over my working life having released and observed the effects of biological controls for species such as Blackberry, Broom, Gorse, Paterson’s curse, Spear Thistle and St. John’s wort.

Currently I am the M2M Landcare Facilitator, working with member groups on a range of projects and facilitating collaboration within the network.

I believe in the long-term potential of biological controls as a tool to help our environment and communities.

SECRETARY

Doris grew up in North East Victoria with a family whose lives featured a fair amount of interaction with Blackberries – beating them back from the family farm, negotiating through them, eating a few - and regularly hearing from her father about the bane of his existence as a Forestry Commission worker: Blackberries. Her education included an Arts Degree in Sociology, Psychology and Law with Charles Sturt University, and later a Graduate Certificate in Management, HRM.

After a career in the Public Service in project leadership roles, Doris and her partner moved out to Mitta Mitta, where they aspire to be retired – rather than just tired. That is, after they have sorted out the blackberries on their own small block. Doris is convinced this will never happen until the seed beds on surrounding land are gone – and that will only happen if we succeed in developing an effective biocontrol program. Doris is Secretary of Mitta to Murray Landcare Inc.

TREASURER

Greg is a long-standing operational member of the Talgarno Rural Fire Brigade, past secretary and treasurer of the Fire Brigade Social Club. Greg was awarded Towong Shire’s citizen of the year award in 2020 for his service to the community.

Irene is an active member of the Mitta Mitta community and is currently Treasurer of the Mitta Valley Landcare Group.

PROJECT OFFICER

Susanne has been the M2M Landcare Inc. Project Officer since 2019, following in the footsteps of previous Project Officers Paula Sheehan and Andrew Knowles.

Susanne has a PhD in wetland ecology and began her career as a Research Fellow at the Murray Darling Freshwater Research Centre before working as a consultant for government departments, local government, universities and not-for-profit organisations on a range of environmental and GIS projects. Since 2016 Susanne has worked in natural resource management and, in addition to the project work she is doing with us, currently works within the Environment Team at Murray Local Land Services where she manages projects focusing on the restoration and rehabilitation of wetlands and waterways.