The WA Parks Foundation is fortunate to have a passionate group of Ambassadors.
Meet the people who love our WA parks, inspiring in others an appreciation of their uniqueness and value to the community.
Home Who We Are Our Ambassadors
Brendan Moore
Brendan Moore is a Nyoongar man. He has a Masters Degree and a bachelor of Applied Science in Environmental Management. He currently works as the Aboriginal Engagement Officer for the City of Fremantle.
He is a director on the board of South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council, a member of the Whadjuk Working Party and the Wadjemup Aboriginal Reference Group.
Why do I love WA Parks?
I love WA Parks for the serenity, and my family and I wish we could spend more time in them. Our parks are clean, bright, fresh places filled with unique plants and animals where they can be protected. I feel relaxed leaving the city and driving out into the bush.
Karen Morrissey OAM
Karen is passionate about the Murchison Geo Region where she lives on Meeline Station and in Mount Magnet. Through her role as Shire Councillor and working in tourism, she has advocated for and supported the formation of a Murchison GeoRegion and Aspiring Geo Park. She initiated the annual Mount Magnet Astro Rocks Fest. In 2002, she was invested with an Order of Australia Medal for service to the community and recording the local history.
Why do I love WA Parks?
I love WA Parks which conserve nature and provide an irreplicable source of wonderment for all people - from a new baby in a back carrier to an elderly seasoned bush walker.
With built environments increasing and natural environments threatened by human development, WA Parks protect and give access to what is the most important asset people across the planet share in common - a need for interaction with the natural world for well being of body, mind, soul and spirit. Our fabulously diverse parks in Western Australia are underpinned by just as extraordinary geology and also preserve important cultural heritage of especially Aboriginal people.
WA Parks are significantly important to each of us and our world. How fortunate are we to have so much worth protecting for now and for generations of the future.
Ryan Mossny
Ryan grew up and was formally educated in Canada and attended the University of Saskatchewan studying Chemistry and Commerce. In 2001 he embarked on an around-the-world journey that would cement his passion for travel, tourism, heritage and culture.
Since migrating to Australia in 2004, Ryan worked with multinational businesses on a range of services including information management, sales and business development as well as product development and planning.
In 2007, he co-founded Two Feet & a Heartbeat, an organisation dedicated to interpreting history, heritage and culture. Ryan is the Chair of the Forum Advocating Cultural and Eco-Tourism (FACET) and a Director of the Museum of Perth.
Why do I love WA Parks?
I love Western Australia’s parks because they give me a place to escape from my busy life and time to focus on myself. I often head to the parks that surround Perth to help me get back in touch with the natural environment. I also love hiking and there is nothing better than going for a bush walk on the many trails across the parks in WA.
Gary Muir
Gary Muir is a sixth-generation member of the Muir family whose ancestors helped first settle WA’s south-west wilderness and the Eucla region. Gary became one of the first Conservation Officers with the then newly-formed Department of Conservation and Land Management and dedicated over a decade to the management of forests, parks and reserves in WA.
Gary then established WOW Wilderness as a leading ecotourism operation in the heart of the Walpole Wilderness, personally taking thousands of people each year through the Walpole and Nornalup Inlets Marine Park to WA’s first wilderness zone in the Walpole Nornalup National Park. As with the generations of Muirs before him, he has a special appreciation and custodianship for the natural and cultural values of WA’s Parks.
Why do I love WA Parks?
My home has always been in the wild and it is humbling to recognise why I still have this home. It was through the stewardship of many unsung heroes in our past, so moved by WA’s uniqueness, beauty, biodiversity and long natural and cultural history, that they had a vision to influence others to conserve these wild places, that would ultimately lead to our WA Parks. WA’s Parks really are priceless, filled with so many jewels that lay hidden, safeguarded, yet endless ways to still explore and discover them again and again. To share these places, their stories with friends, to me, is the secret for enjoying life. This is why I love WA Parks. To see these areas really change people and build their own appreciation for our wild places. An influence that may lead to us recognising we may have still more unprotected wild places to be respected and reserved.
Philippa Nikulinsky AM
Philippa’s career focuses on a lifetime fascination with the flora and fauna of the arid lands of Western Australia. For nearly 50 years Philippa has travelled throughout this enormous State to record, draw and paint its phenomenal natural history. She has shared her gift for watercolour painting through her teaching, exhibitions, commissioned works and publications.
In 2016, Philippa was made a Member (AM) in the general division of the Order of Australia “for significant service to the visual arts as a botanical painter and illustrator, to professional associations, and as an author”. Her latest collection, Cape Arid, focused on one of Philippa’s favourite national parks. Philippa is currently working on a retrospective exhibition, to be held at the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery in 2019.
Why do I love WA Parks?
In wildness is the preservation of the world’ – Thoreau. It would be a privilege to be an ambassador for our National Parks. I would love my great grandchildren and all future generations to value and appreciate the wonders we have.
Dr Brad Norman AM
For more than 25 years, Brad Norman has dedicated his life to research, education and conservation programs focused on the world’s biggest fish – the whale shark – Western Australia’s Official Marine Emblem. He is currently leading a program on whale sharks in his role as a Research Fellow with The Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University. In addition, Brad heads ECOCEAN Inc., which since 2006 has developed it into Australia’s leading non-government whale shark research organisation, responsible for the development and management of the longest photo-identification monitoring program on a wild shark species in operation globally. His Masters and PhD were both undertaken with WA Marine Parks, and he continues to coordinate multi-stakeholder research programs within Ningaloo Marine Park, Shark Bay Marine Park, and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
He was the first Australian to receive the Rolex Award for Enterprise in 2006 for his ground-breaking whale shark citizen science project and in 2019 he was awarded Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for ‘significant service to Science as a Marine Biologist’.
Why do I love WA Parks?
Our parks provide the opportunity for all to experience and appreciate our unique Western Australian land- and sea-scapes and, importantly, they preserve the incredible biodiversity we have for future generations to enjoy.
Jane O’Malley
With an inherent commitment to conservation, Jane has been instrumental in influencing development across the Peel Region so that it has been delivered with careful consideration of the fragile natural environment. Jane authored the City of Mandurah’s Bushland Protection Strategy.
In recent years, Jane has led the Peel-Harvey Catchment Council (PHCC), as their CEO, to become Australia’s 55th recognised Natural Resource Management Region. Jane is at the helm of a team of committed PHCC professionals hell-bent on protecting our environment by delivering landscape-scale restoration projects, advocating for policy changes and embedding greater appreciation of our natural environment as the basis of our regional and economic development.
Why do I love WA Parks?
WA Parks are magical! We are so lucky to have them and we should always encourage people to get out and explore them. Our parks are such an important part of the Western Australia lifestyle, and we need to embrace sharing them with our growing population. At the same time, we must also nurture and protect our WA Parks for ourselves, our children and our children’s children.
Robin Piesse
Why do I love WA Parks?
I spent my childhood roaming the bush and developed a deep love and respect for our landscape and species that live within it. The bush is a special place for me, bringing a sense of peace and connection to land. Our parks are critical to preserving the diversity and beauty of this natural environment for current and future generations to experience and share.
Tracey Roberts JP
Tracey Roberts is the Mayor of the City of Wanneroo and an active member of the community and maintains a strong focus on economic development, lifestyle impact and choices for the 200,000 residents of the growing City of Wanneroo.
Tracey has qualifications in Business Management and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. In 2011 she was one of the first recipients of the Diploma of Local Government.
Why do I love WA Parks?
Yanchep National Park is a jewel in the Wanneroo crown; a truly beautiful place where visitors experience a strong sense of connection to nature, unique flora and wildlife. While listening to the engaging bird song and experiencing the unique aroma of the bush our parks evoke all the senses, connect us to Indigenous heritage and are integral to our feeling of community. They promote better public health, both physical and mental, and I strongly encourage their active and passive use by residents and visitors alike.
Verity Sebire
Verity is a Nyoongar woman with Western Aranda and Channel Islander heritage. She is passionate about parks, nature and wildlife – and the intrinsic connection they hold with Indigenous Traditional Landowners and Country.
She is active in the community and reconciliation spaces, as a Director of Reconciliation Western Australia and Kaitijin Mia Mia Aboriginal Foundation. Verity has held a strong affinity with nature and its preservation since childhood.
Why do I love WA Parks?
I grew up in Pemberton, in the lower south-west of WA on a property centred between the Gloucester, Warren and Beedelup National Parks, so my love for WA’s parks is grounded in my childhood. I didn’t realise how unique my childhood was and how extraordinary our WA parks were until I moved to the city in my late teens. I soon realised just how integral parks like those are to the wellbeing of all people. I believe that the conservation of our WA parks is vital to maintaining Aboriginal peoples’ connection to Country, and indispensable to ensuring that future generations are able to learn and practice culture. I believe that the celebration, promotion and protection of WA parks is fundamental to future generations of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians learning, growing and healing together.
Jim Sharp
Why do I love WA Parks?
Our Parks are a heritage for all to share and enjoy. They help define who we are as Western Australians. Rich visitor experiences in our Parks are essential to building a supportive, aware community which will ensure the value of our Parks are conserved for the future.
Tracy Shea
Tracy has held a range of policy, advisory and leadership roles across the State government in environment, conservation, recreation and parks-based tourism during a career spanning 38 years, with the last decade spent as an assistant director in the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions and its predecessors.
Tracy is also a long-standing Executive member of the Forum Advocating Cultural and Eco-Tourism (FACET) and believes that sustainable nature-based tourism, and connecting people with parks, is vital to securing the community advocacy that parks need to survive and thrive.
She is also a strong advocate of Aboriginal cultural tourism in WA parks and sees it as a great way for locals and visitors alike to gain knowledge and understanding of our ancient and unique Aboriginal culture and heritage.
Why do I love WA Parks?
I’m an animal lover and WA’s vast network of parks - which covers an area larger than Victoria and Tasmania put together - safeguards the habitat of our extraordinary animals and plants as well as providing inspirational places for people to experience nature. Getting people connected with parks is the best way to ensure parks are understood, valued and protected into the future. Parks are also essential for our health and wellbeing. The job of protecting WA’s parks is too big for any one organisation and we need to bring people together and form partnerships and connections to protect these special places. I’m honoured to be a Park Ambassador and I look forward to helping in whatever way I can to bring people together to celebrate, promote, protect and enrich WA’s parks.