WTA Committee

WTA Committee

Ronda Green, Denise Goodfellow, Kate Rodger, Len Doherty,  and Amanda Porter

Chair Ronda Green, BSc(Hons) PhD

Queensland

Dr. Ronda Green is a zoologist who has been involved in wildlife tourism for several decades, and runs the multi-award winning ‘Araucaria Ecotours’ specialising in wildlife tours from Brisbane. Ronda has also recently developed the Scenic Rim Wildlife Information Centre, powered by photovoltaic cells, on her family property near Rathdowney, South East Queensland. She has conducted several research projects for Sustainable Tourism CRC Griffith University as well as other ecological research and initiated wildlife workshops and the 2 day Wildlife Festival in Beaudesert in 2008 as a joint program for WTA and the Logan and Albert Conservation Association. She is also chair of Scenic Rim Wildlife (a branch of the WIldlife Preservation Society of Qld)

Vice Chair Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow, BA, Grad Dip (sociology of tourism), PhD candidate

Northern Territory

Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow is a birdwatching/natural history guide, environmental/Indigenous tourism consultant and writer .  As biological consultant she has conducted fauna surveys in the remote Top End, often solo. In 1981 she stood for Council to save mangrove habitat.  Learning that Indigenous people lacked representation she won their trust by accepting an invitation from a senior woman to catch a water python, entailing four hours in a lake inhabited by large estuarine crocodiles. The Indigenous women were horrified when Denise was then threatened with prosecution, and to protect her they adopted Denise. Denise began working as a birdwatching/natural history guide for international visitors in the early 80’s.  Later she ran a national campaign against operators in Kakadu National Park who rammed crocodiles with boats to make them jump for visitors, a mistreatment that angered the Indigenous owners and made them want to ban visitors. At the request of her adopted Aboriginal sisters, Denise helped establish an appropriate tourism project on their country, Baby Dreaming, in western Arnhem Land.  The elders, previously scared and distrustful of white people, drove 450 kms to Denise’s home to tell her their first visitors – American birdwatchers and students – were “great”. Elders also decided to make their prized hunting waterhole a sanctuary for birds. The sensitive visitation enhanced the status of women and families.   Denise has worked as a wildlife and Indigenous adviser to television, and in 2000 was contracted as an interpreter/transcriber on the Lonely Planet’s Guide to Aboriginal Australia. Her book Birds of Australia’s Top End has been described as winning “top honors” (American Birdwatcher’s Digest), and ‘impressive’ (the American Birding Association’s Winging It).  Her autobiographical Quiet Snake Dreaming is used for literacy projects in European educational institutions and cross-cultural awareness courses. Since 2010 Denise has lectured for the University of New South Wales’ summer school and is presently planning a study tour for the University of Georgia.  She is doing a PhD on American couples who travel internationally to watch birds.

Secretary Kate Rodger, BSc(Hons) PhD

Western Australia

Throughout the last decade Dr Kate Rodger has carried out research on various aspects of human-wildlife interactions. With a background in conservation biology and tourism Kate’s work focuses on bringing these two disciplines together. Kate’s research expertise includes the ecological and social impacts of human-wildlife interactions, marine and nature based tourism as well as environmental policy. Kate is currently employed as a Research Fellow at Murdoch University, Western Australia where she is working in the fields of visitor monitoring and the sustainable management of marine wildlife tourism.

Treasurer Len Doherty

Tasmania

Len Doherty has been involved in tourism for over thirty years and has owned and managed Mountain Valley Wilderness Holidays in north west Tasmania since 1982. The Mountain Valley property has a perpetual conservation covenant to protect the habitat and threatened species, and guests at the lodge are able to gain fascinating experiences from Len’s knowledge of the wildlife. A member of WTA since its inception, Len was a key member in the formation of the Tasmanian branch and the Tasmanian Wildlife Trail brochure. He sees the potential of WTA as a great tool for the wildlife tourism industry into the future.

 

Non-executive committee member:  Jonathan Fisher

Queensland

Johnathan is CEO of Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, one of Australia’s best-known wildlife parks and the venue of next year’s national wildlife tourism workshop. He has also had wide experience in senior positions in both England and Australia with tourism,  wildlife and conservation, including a former role as Guest and Customer Service Operations Manager at Taronga Zoo. Jonathan is chair of National Landscapes Australia’s Green Cauldron Committees and his special interest within WTA is to promote wildlife tourism in the National Landscapes of Australia