Heidi Groffen appointed to KI Landscape Board
Heidi Groffen has been appointed to the Kangaroo Island Landscape Board. Board members Grant Flanagan, Jeanette Gellard, Drew Laslett were also reappointed.
Ms Groffen is among a diverse range of candidates including primary producers, conservationists and more women, who will play a key role in managing environmental issues in regional South Australia after being appointed to the state’s landscape boards.
Ecologist and Co-founder/Manager of Kangaroo Island Land for Wildlife Heidi Groffen, has extensive experience in engaging private landholders in threatened species conservation.
"I am passionate about KI’s biodiversity and natural places, the varying ecosystems and wildlife species that thrive and how reliant the economy is on the natural environment for primary industries and tourism," Ms Groffen said.
In addition to her role at KI Land for Wildlife, she is also former communications and media coordinator at the KI Natural Resource Management Board and a NRM facilitator in the Northern Territory.
A total of 27 member positions have been filled for landscape boards covering Eyre Peninsula, Hills and Fleurieu, Kangaroo Island, Limestone Coast, Murraylands and Riverland, Northern and Yorke, and SA Arid Lands.
Landscape boards play a vital role working with their communities and stakeholders to provide strategic leadership and deliver regional priorities with a focus on land, water, animals, pests and biodiversity.
The appointment of 13 women and 14 men achieves greater gender balance and better reflects the diversity of the communities they serve.
Five of SA’s nine landscape boards will now have gender balance or female majority membership.
Current projects include reintroducing bettongs to Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park, restoring vital habitat for threatened woodland birds in the Mount Lofty Ranges, managing feral deer numbers in the South East, feral cat eradication on the Dudley Peninsula and assisting land managers to optimise soil health for productivity and environmental outcomes.
A robust and competitive nomination process was undertaken before the Minister for Climate, Environment and Water Susan Close appointed the board members based on their skills, knowledge and experience.
“South Australia’s landscape boards are vital in helping manage and protect our productive and natural landscapes,” Dr Close said.
“Taking care of our water resources, boosting biodiversity and improving soil management supports the environment and our state’s prosperity.
“I welcome new members and re-appointed members who are passionate about making a difference in their respective regions.
“I would also like to thank outgoing members for their valuable contributions.”
