Ms. Paula Rankmore
Yugembah Country – Welcome to Country & Acknowledgement.

Paula Rankmore is a descendant of Susan of the Namoi in the Gamilaraay language region and a Director of the Yugambeh Youth Aboriginal Corporation. She has worked extensively across community, education, and health to amplify First Nations voices and embed cultural knowledge in contemporary practice. Paula contributes to language revitalisation through the translation of linguistic research into accessible resources or community learning. Her leadership extends into publishing, where she co-creates Songbooks and Yugambeh Language System resources, ensuring cultural materials are developed with both integrity and accessibility. A hallmark of Paula’s innovation is her creation of Culture Therapy, a pioneering approach that integrates First Nations arts workers into healthcare settings. By embedding music, storytelling, and creative practice into the patient journey, Culture Therapy provides relief, support, and healing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients. This work highlights the importance of cultural practice as a foundation of wellbeing and strengthens cultural safety across hospitals and health services.

Paula’s creativity extends to the arts and bush tucker knowledge, where she uses her visual practice and cultural expertise to educate and engage diverse audiences. She delivers tours and works with Elders to capture and transmit stories for future generations. Her work bridges cultural knowledge, language, and innovation, creating new pathways for First Nations stories, songs, and practices to be sustained and shared in the community and beyond.

Clarence John Slockee
Director Jiwah Pty. Ltd. Proud Bundjalung Man, Horticulturist and Native Land Scape designs. Indigenous Rooftop Farming, Horticulture, Horticulture and Agricultural Production

Growing up in the lush Tweed Valley with a long family history of bushmen, farmers and fishermen, Clarence has combined his love of teaching, culture, music, dance, and the bush with his roles at the Sydney Botanic Gardens and on TV-Gardening Australia.

Michael Casey

Company Director – Australasian Green Infrastructure Network. Ambassador – World Green Roof Day 2025. Technical Panel –AIPH World Green Cities Awards 2020-2024.
Company Director – Australasian Green Infrastructure Network

Bushfoods in Urban Green Infrastructure: Building Biodiversity, Resilience, and New Economies

Urban green infrastructure is no longer a luxury, it is vital to cooling our cities, supporting biodiversity, and creating healthier, more liveable places. Yet the environments we are greening are some of the harshest: rooftops with shallow substrates, compacted soils along streetscapes, podium landscapes over concrete, and stormwater channels that swing between flood and drought. To succeed in these spaces, we need resilient plant palettes designed for survival and ecological contribution.

Bushfoods offer an exciting and uniquely Australian response. Species such as warrigal greens, wattles, saltbush, lemon myrtle, and finger limes thrive in poor soils, tolerate heat and drought, and bring back biodiversity by providing food and habitat for insects, birds, and small mammals. Beyond ecological gains, their integration into urban projects creates a new economic pathway for growers, moving bushfoods from boutique supply into commercial-scale production for city landscapes.

This presentation will highlight the role of bushfoods as functional green infrastructure, explore their potential as a biodiversity and cultural bridge, and examine the challenges of plant procurement. Issues such as long lead times, provenance mismatches, and the common substitution of species will be discussed alongside solutions for better collaboration between designers, councils, academics, and growers. By embedding bushfoods into the very fabric of our green infrastructure, we can create resilient, biodiverse, and unmistakably Australian cities while opening fresh opportunities for the horticultural sector.                                     

 LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-casey-28b756b8/

Aunty Dale Chapman – My Dilly Bag
Forest Glen, Sunshine Coast Area
Queensland, 4556
https://mydillybag.com.au/

Meet Aunty Dale Chapman, a proud Yuwaalaraay Kooma woman and the driving force behind My Dilly Bag, situated on beautiful Gubbi Gubbi Country on the Sunshine Coast. For over two decades, My Dilly Bag has passionately collaborated with Aboriginal communities, cultivating Australian Sovereign Food and Botanicals sustainably. Aunty Dale’s vision empowers these communities to uphold their traditions, establish new income streams, and pave a positive path for future generations.

My Dilly Bag’s diverse product range encompasses nutritious delights, from native herbs and spices to jams, relishes, pasta, and snacks, all infused with native Australian ingredients. Beyond their mouthwatering flavours, their products champion ethical and sustainable practices.

My Dilly Bag proudly hosts engaging workshops that dive into the world of Australian Sovereign Foods and Botanicals, from growing them to exploring the nutritional benefits and mastering the art of cooking with them. These workshops offer a hands-on experience that blends tradition with modern culinary artistry and knowledge.

Embark on a unique culinary adventure, celebrating the unique and diverse flavours of Australia. Shop with My Dilly Bag and savour the essence of Australia in every bite.                             

 LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-casey-28b756b8/

Natasha Roebig
Director Bee All-Natural

Natasha is the Managing Director and Co-Founder of Bee All Natural, an award-winning family enterprise dedicated to bee conservation, education, and artisan honey production. A passionate advocate for both Honey Bees and Native Bees, she leads initiatives in apiary education, beeswax, and raw, creamed, and infused honey featuring native bush foods and ethically sourced spices.

A renowned Bee Education Provider and Certificate III Beekeeping delivery partner, Natasha plays a pivotal role in developing the next generation of professional beekeepers and strengthening the state’s apiculture sector.

She is also the Co-Founder and creative lead of Alvea Australis, a natural product range inspired by Australian bushfoods, butters, and essential oils. In addition, Natasha serves on the Board of Directors at the Australian Technology & Agricultural College (ATAC), contributing to the advancement of vocational education in agriculture, horticulture, and apiculture.

Recognised as the 2019 QLD AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award winner and an Official #eatqld Ambassador (2020), Natasha continues to champion Queensland’s boutique honey industry while exploring ventures that reflect her passion for sustainability, innovation, and community impact

Atilla Kapittani
Australian Succulents
TOPIC: Edible Succulent Plants – Part 1 (Part 2 if interested)

Attila specialises in arid, semi-arid (dry climate) succulent plants that cover 70%of the continent. These are major food and water sources for indigenous people in arid regions. He will be showing an extraordinary range of edible succulent plants, some of which have never been considered in the bushfood industry. Also, some of the latest University research findings about a few of these plants that are certain to excite. A new and very different perspective about these plants will be explored for their potential as food.

One of his latest publications produced in 2020, is a book titled, ‘Edible Australian Succulents’. Some of these have considerable commercial potential.

Attila has over 40 years of experience in the horticulture industry and as a member of the Horticultural Media Association, he is highly regarded as an entertaining presenter!  He writes “ I’ll state the obvious – the more succulent a plant part, stem, roots or leaves is, the more edible it is. The most highly succulent plants in desert regions are well understood by indigenous people, as to which were edible, and which were poisonous. I have some cutting-edge science to throw in (from a university) that will certainly astound any audience.  Notably to new chemical discoveries and health benefits. Intrigued? Then perhaps visit my website for a little more on this topic or to get a background of my work and my speaking skills”:

https://www.australiansucculents.com/edible-succulents

Garnet Radford
Manager Economic Development Ballone Shire Council, St. George

Garnet Radford is the Manager Economic Development for Balonne Shire Council based in St George Queensland – 500km west of Brisbane.  He has more than 20 years of experience in the field of economic development in Australia and Canada assisting small business start-ups, expansions, and industry trade and investment.  Agriculture has always been a big part of his life as he grew up on mixed grain and cattle farm in Central Manitoba, Canada.  He envisions significant opportunity in agriculture, agtech, agbiotech, bush foods, nutraceuticals and agricultural education for rural Queensland. Garnet is the Managing Director of Arrivé Investment Development Corporation Asia Pacific and holds a degree in Economics and Business Administration from Brandon University and certified in Economic Development through the University of Waterloo and EDAC Canada.

Felicity Kerslake (B.Nat, Grad Cert Wiradjuri Lang Cult & Hert, Sport Nutr (O), Cert IV Perma)
Bush Naturopath, Nutritionist & Permaculturist

Felicity Kerslake is a Wiradjuri woman, naturopath, nutritionist, and permaculturalist with over 20 years’ experience and a lifelong dedication to healing through native foods and plant medicines.

Her passion for healing began in childhood and has grown into a career focused on restoring the health of both people and Country.

Through her Bush Fed and Well programs and workshops, Felicity champions First Nations-led approaches to health, education, and industry transformation. She has worked across medical clinics, universities, community settings, and schools to embed native foods and botanicals into everyday wellbeing and learning.

A mother of three, Felicity is an ambassador for the Australian Bushfood Education Centre and actively mentors emerging leaders in sport, academia, and entrepreneurship, continuing her commitment to intergenerational strength, cultural knowledge sharing, and community empowerment.

Education. Consulting. Programs
www.bushfoodeducation.com.au

Navindra Sen Pillay
Program Facilitator, Activate Program at Full Spectrum Education, Kallangur, QLD

Navindra Pillay is a seasoned leader and educator with a strong foundation in Business, Agricultural Project Management, and Community Development. As the Program Facilitator for the Activate Program, Navindra translates a deep commitment to sustainable practices and youth empowerment into financially viable, real-world learning initiatives.

His approach for meaningful re-engagement of young people is for the purpose, ownership and profit, and for concurrently building financial viability and attraction in skill-based pathways toward a financially secure future. Moving students from passive learning to active engagement through hands-on projects, fostering accountability, and building strong self-esteem.

This is done by drawing from the practical knowledge in community of the therapeutic and cultural connection of native plants and land care management to support mental health and social engagement.

Navindra leverages a strong background in financial analysis, sales, and risk mitigation to ensure all projects are economically sound. The program activities can be structured towards small-scale business enterprises, including those of the existing presenters as follows: Bushfoods & Native Products, Native Beekeeping Projects, Landscape Design & Conservation.

Through the Activate Program, Navindra is not just facilitating learning; he is activating the next generation of entrepreneurial environmental stewards who understand that a purposeful life can also be a profitable one by cross-cultural partnerships, community engagement and project management.