BACK TO THE BOAT HOUSE

Join us as the Peter Cullen Water and Environment Trust celebrates 15-Years “fostering courageous leadership to tackle big challenges in water and environment”.

Peter Cullen passed away on 13 March 2008, well before his time. Later that year, a small group of his close friends and colleagues gathered at The Boat House in Canberra to explore the possibilities for furthering Peter’s remarkable 30-year contribution to science communications and public policy in support of water and environment in Australia. The seed for the Peter Cullen Water and Environment Trust was sown.

In 2009, the Commonwealth Government invested $1M in the establishment of the Trust as a registered charitable not-for-profit organization, with a mission to “invest strategically in building water science and policy capacity in Australia, to inform national water and environmental debates, and to set new standards for environmental water management”.

Since then:

300 Fellows have graduated from the Peter Cullen Trust Leadership Program and been supported in their leadership journey, walking in the footsteps of Peter Cullen.
Over 170 Friends of the Trust have been appointed, forming our circle of influence, and creating their own legacies.
The Trust’s work has been sustained through generous philanthropic support, scholarships and sponsorships of individuals and programs, and through the visionary fiscal management of its volunteer Board.

The 2024 Boat House Dinner presents the opportunity to reflect on Peter Cullen the person and celebrate his legacy. The Dinner will turn the clock back and revisit Peter’s remarkable work through his papers and presentations, and look ahead to the challenges in the nexus between climate and water, food and energy security. What has changed and what remains still to be done?

The Dinner presents a unique opportunity to discuss Peter Cullen’s transformative influence with founders of the Trust, hear from Fellows who are the beneficiaries and the future of the Trust and engage in tackling big challenges in water and environment.