Meet our current committee members
Vicki Perrett (President)
Geelong born and bred, Vicki had a diverse career within the textile industry and tertiary education. Her Bellarine connection began with family holidays in the 1950s. A seachange retirement to Indented Head in 2007 aroused her interest in sustainability and the imperative to protect the natural environment for future generations. Vicki served on the Geelong Sustainability committee from 2011-2022 and as President from 2016. She’s a committed climate advocate focused on empowering our region to decarbonise, localise and equalise. She’s delighted to be joining the BCN committee and helping to further their mission and strengthen its inclusive and collaborative network.
Graeme O'Leary (Immediate Past President)
Graeme is very involved in local groups including being on the committee of the Friends of Edwards Point and a member of both the Friends of Point Richards and Ocean Grove Coastcare. He is passionate about maintaining and growing the on-ground community support for the unique biodiversity of the Bellarine. Graeme has worked with large corporations such as Westpac on their relationship team providing support in managing transactional and credit related products for the Government and health sectors. He has also been involved in staff support networks including those for LGBTI and Allies networks.
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Beth Ross (Vice President)
Beth is passionate about restoring our local ecosystems and preventing local extinction. Her expertise in conservation come from 30+ years teaching in Biology, Conservation and Horticulture, active volunteering, and her farming background. Currently she is semi retired and working casually at The Gordon, where her expertise is in plant identification, vegetation management, ecology and weed control. Beth helps manage the Bellarine Secondary College Landcare Nursery, where she volunteers regularly and works casually as required. She is a committee member of Bellarine Landcare group, Friends of Ocean Grove Nature Reserve, and a member of Geelong Field Naturalists and Friends of Edwards Point.
Margot Busch (Secretary)
Margot is the current Secretary for the Bellarine Catchment Network. She has a background in community services and more recently in road safety education and walk/ride to school programs, home energy & water reduction program for low income households, and housing tenancy work. She currently works part time for a local diversity festival. She has been a committee member of Ocean Grove Coastcare since 2013 and her favourite outdoor activity is cross country skiing.
Geoffrey Waite (Treasurer)
Geoffrey has been involved in professional and social committee work for many years. He was the Vice President and Treasurer of the Australian Psychological Society and Australia’s delegate to the Red Cross Emergency Conferences in Australia and South East Asia. Geoffrey was on the Executive Committee of Combined Refugee Action Group (which operates similarly to BCN). Locally he has been President and then Treasurer of the Barwon Heads Association, the Festival of the Sea committee, and Friends of the Bluff. He has developed a keen interest in our Bellarine environment and the wilding movement.
General Committee Members
Andrea Dennett and Jon Duthie
Andrea Dennett
Andrea has been a passionate and active environmentalist on the Bellarine peninsula since the 1990's. For over a decade, she was the volunteer coordinator with BirdLife Australia's Beach-nesting Birds project helping to protect the endangered hooded plover. She is a life member and current committee member of Friends of the Bluff and sits on the committee of Friends of the Ocean Grove Nature Reserve and Ocean Grove CoastCare. Andrea established Moonah Park in Barwon Heads to protect and enhance remnant vegetation and provide a wildlife corridor to the Barwon River. Now retired, after a long career in psychiatric nursing, Andrea is enjoying having more time for environmental volunteering.
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