Unlocking Earth’s Secrets

Steve’s PhD was in Ecopsychology, seeking to better understand the psychological and behavioural implications of nature connection and how this informs effective environmental education programs. After touring as a full-time singer songwriter upon completion of his PhD, he has returned to teaching and managing a marine conservation & restoration program in Australia for domestic, international and Indigenous students and is currently a nominee for Trainer of the Year in Queensland. Steve is driven to develop innovative regenerative and educational projects and is an ecologist, environmental educator, and musician. He aims to foster a new generation of regenerative leaders, instilling in them a deep sense of responsibility and a passion for safeguarding our invaluable ecosystems.

Sue Bradley is the creator and co-founder of SWAMP Central Coast (Australia) – Sustainable Wetlands Agricultural Makers Project (NFP) – founded in 2020. She devotes much time with her family of three teenage daughters and husband of more than 25 years. Sue’s career started in law where she specialised in paralegal work in property. After having her children, she changed careers to study functional nutrition which led her to further studies in permaculture, soil heatlh and regenerative agriculture. After successfully developing a documentary in soil and human health covid hit which helped to re-shift her focus to work more localised and within community. Building SWAMP Central Coast has been her focus ever since – the organisation being a NFP now has three sites, a community garden (on government land) a market garden (on private land in collaboration with a black soldier fly farm) and another in collaboration with a local Indigenous Health Services Organisation. SWAMP runs programs with community to help engage people to re-connect to the soil, seed, growing produce and the importance of knowing where our food comes from and how it is grown – we grow food with community for community. Through these educational programs, workshops and community led days – Sue (together with a passionate and skilled team) has built up a wide network in the local community to help people gain access to these spaces to learn, grown and connect. Sue also has a love of sharing stories of local ordinary people who do extraordinary things in community and does this through podcasting and at events – she believes through sharing stories we keep the essence of what it means to be human, our purpose and connection to earth.

Anshul is a farmer based in Auroville, India. He has a background in education, soil science, and land design. After his experiences with indigenous communities in India and Colombia, and seeing the rapid degradation of agri-culture, he has been researching the intersections of food, ecology, society, consciousness and if/how a new form of agriculture can support the evolution of nature, communities and individuals. He is pursuing his post-graduate studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Mr. Shwetal Shah is Advisor – Climate Change, presently working with GIZ India and heading the Indo-German bilateral project RECAP4NDC in Gujarat. He has more than fifteen years of experience and has served as Technical Advisor Climate Change, Government of Gujarat, India during 2014-2023. Climate Policy, Nature Based Solutions, Decarbonization, Paris Goal and NDCs, adaptation and mitigation strategies, climate finance are his areas of work and interest. He has been instrumental in Gujarat Climate Change Department’s initiatives of renewable energy policies, State Action Plan on Climate Change, Covenant of Mayors of Gujarat, Promotion of Electric Vehicles in Gujarat, National and International Collaborations, state-wide climate change awareness campaign.

He has obtained M. Tech. (Energy Management) and M. Sc. (Environment Management) from Forest Research Institute University (FRI), Dehradun. He has worked as the Chief Minister’s Fellow during the year 2010-11 with the then Chief Minister of Gujarat and now Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi and worked on crucial urban issues of Resource Conservation, Solid and Liquid Waste Management, Renewable Energy, Marine Debris and Green Buildings.

He is TEDx speaker and has delivered 200+ talks and presentations on various subjects of climate change, environment management, disaster management in UN, Universities, Conferences, Seminars both at National and International levels including the Climate Change CoPs. He has also written papers on EV Adoption, Sub-national Climate Action, carbon neutral town concept, vision for Sustainable Development Goal 2030, District Adaptation framework, Climate Change Action Plan etc. He has been trained as Climate Leader by former US Vice-President Mr. Al Gore in Los Angeles during 2018. He was invited to SABIT – Clean Energy for South Asia by US Dept of Commerce during Feb 2023. He has travelled in five continents to deliberate on Climate Change and Sustainability issues.

Anshul is an alumnus of the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education (SAICE), Pondicherry and holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy from the Pondicherry University. After his graduation he volunteered at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and taught the core concepts of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother’s Integral education and philosophy at a higher secondary level in SAICE. HE has also worked as a French interpreter for over a year. His keen interests are world literature, history, poetry, traveling, theatre and ancient knowledge systems. He is currently pursuing his post-graduate studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies.

HRH. Dr. Briyidt Ripamonti CEO Nearctic LLC is an executive director for the consulting company for over 15 years. Her philanthropic spirit brought her to create multiple projects promoting women leadership, stem education and the protection of the environment with her global initiative SOSWATER GLOBAL a campaign aimed to educate, protect and preserve water for human kind. Currently serves as global ambassador of COP 16 Colombia and honorable member of the Royal Court at the Kingdom of Kush.

Serge Dedina leads the international team at WILDCOAST, which he co-founded in 2000. A former California State Parks Ocean Lifeguard, Serge was elected to two terms as Mayor of Imperial Beach, California from 2014-2022. His innovative ocean conservation work has been reported on by the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, NBC News, Washington Post, BBC, NPR, Wall Street Journal, and 60 Minutes among others. In recognition of his successful conservation endeavors, Serge received the Surf Industry’s Environmental Award, San Diego Zoological Society’s Conservation Medal as well as the California Coastal Commission’s “Coastal Hero” Award. He was also named a UC San Diego John Muir Fellow and honored as a Peter Benchley “Hero of the Sea.” The author of Saving the Gray Whale, Wild Sea, and Surfing the Border, Serge has been a commencement speaker at UC San Diego and a panelist and keynote speaker at the U.S. National Climate Adaptation Forum, UCLA Institute of the Environment, TEDx San Diego, and the California Coastal Resilience Conference among others. Serge holds a B.A. in Political Science from UC San Diego, a M.S. in Geography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Ph.D in Geography from the University of Texas at Austin.