Simon Mustoe launches How to Survive the Next 100 Years: Lessons from Nature with Josie Gibson, followed by a panel discussion about advances in community-led conservation with changemakers Anissa Lawrence and Donalea Patman OAM.

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A huge leap for mankind is happening right now; a monumentally positive shift in our relationship with Earth. Yet it’s invisible.

From chimps to mini-cars, brain parasites to whale personhood, farming with bandicoots, stressful grasshopper and human nutrition, the key to avoiding disaster is to work within the natural balance of our beautiful world – contained within our minds and everything around us is the solution to our anxiety.

PRESENTATION: Introduction & Feature (7:00 – 7:45PM)

Ecologist and naturalist Simon Mustoe shows us how to consume a more balanced variety of knowledge to become healthier and happier by reconnecting with nature.

“The perfect antidote to doomscrolling and feeling helpless in the face of seemingly unstoppable global events.” – Dr Jen Bowden, Writer, Curtin University

“A simple story everyone needs to hear! Simon explains how our future is far more hopeful than the news would make us believe!” – Kate Becker, Thesaurus Books, Brighton

PANEL: Community-led Conservation & Port Phillip Bay (7:45PM – 8:15PM)

After the presentation Josie Gibson (CatalystFX) will moderate a Q&A with very special panel guests and experts in community-centred conservation: Anissa Lawrence of the
OceanEarth Foundation and Donalea Patman OAM of For the Love of Wildlife Ltd. This is a chance to learn more about how Lessons from Nature are teaching us a new way to look after our local environment, including Port Phillip Bay.

You’re welcome to join us for drink at the bar afterwards.

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SIMON MUSTOE is an ecologist, artist, expedition leader and naturalist with a passion for connecting humans with the natural world. He’s tumbled in boats amid frigid north Atlantic storms, trekked solo into Madagascar’s remote dry forests and sailed the archipelagos of West Papua. As a teenager he helped produce BBC nature documentaries and as an adult he has worked with some of the world’s leading conservation, wildlife and ecology organisations. His first book, Wildlife in the Balance, received critical acclaim from the likes of Dame Joanna Lumley and Ian Redmond OBE. He lives in Melbourne, Australia.

JOSIE GIBSON is Director of strategic advisory firm CatalystFX and The Catalyst Network, a changemaker community she co-founded. She is an experienced leadership coach, creative mentor and strategic adviser on complex business and community projects. A former journalist specialising in geopolitics, Josie has held senior roles in diverse organisations, her experience spanning all sectors. On the commercial side, she has co-founded and led
several businesses and built thriving networks for senior executives and women leaders in global companies. Josie serves on a number of enterprise advisory groups and is an Adjunct Senior Industry Fellow at RMIT University’s FORWARD Centre for Future Skills and Workforce Transformation in Melbourne.

ANISSA LAWRENCE is Managing Director and Founder of the OceanEarth Foundation. The OceanEarth Foundation focuses on building resilient communities and reversing nature loss by unlocking transformation change, using systems thinking to scale programs that bring lasting impact. With a background in the corporate world and coastal marine and fisheries conservation across Asia Pacific, she works to enable innovative approaches and dynamic collaborations, foster future change makers and drive community-led actions focused on impact and scaling for our oceans.

DONALEA PATMAN OAM, Founder For the Love of Wildlife Ltd. Driven by a deep love for wildlife, nature and wild places, Donalea founded For the Love of Wildlife Ltd in 2014 to address the escalating extinction crisis. This followed 25 years in design and global corporate communications, where she became Director at just 24. Her leadership led to Australia’s world-first ban on lion trophy imports and national action on the ivory and rhino horn trade. In recognition of her tireless advocacy, she was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 2017. Today, she leads Project PanGaia from Western Australia. In partnership with Elder, Preston Thomas - restoring ecosystems, biodiversity and communities starting in the heart of Australia’s Gibson Desert.