Womadelaide

Jamie Goldsmith

Jamie Goldsmith is a Kaurna Elder who has led or participated in the Welcome to Country at WOMADelaide for more than a decade. A Kaurna Narungga man from the Adelaide Plains, he is, like his father, the late Stevie Gadlabarti Goldsmith, a world-renowned Yidaki (Yolngu for ‘digeridoo’) artist, and performs with the Taikurtinna Dance Group, welcoming crowds to Kaurna Land, sharing his talent and culture with generosity, grace and good humour. Working for 10 years as an educator at the Living Kaurna Cultural Centre, he has taught school groups and the wider community about the ways in which the Kaurna people have used the environment of the Adelaide Plains for food, medicine, art and culture for many thousands of years prior to Colonial occupation.

Karen Smith

Karen Smith now Horticultural Curator of our Botanic Gardens, has for 33 years since her apprenticeship in 1983 been a regularly-returning friendly face ever since. Her work interstate includes research towards the revegetation of an ancient section of the Murray River in Victoria, and Brisbane where she kept tropical parklands in prime condition. She played a key role in the creation of Adelaide Botanic Garden’s International Rose Garden, and she currently curates the iconic Bicentennial Conservatory and wisteria arbour, the Australian Forest and other key collections in the city oasis. As curator of Botanic Park, she cares for its flora and fauna, including the grey-headed flying fox colony near Stage 7.

Tom Kempson

Tom Kempson goes beyond his duties as Gardener with the Corporate Services, Property, Facilities and Development Department at Flinders University: for over 30 years in his role as Groundsman, his dedicated commitment to maintaining the biodiversity of the area has supported the preservation of unique campus bushland and grounds that are enjoyed by thousands of students every year. He has educated many to understand and value the native environment.

His knowledge and enthusiasm has instilled in countless young people and their families a deep respect and appreciation of the local flora and fauna.

Annemarie Brookman

Annemarie Brookman has been Co-organiser of the Permaculture Information stall at WOMADelaide since the festival began. With her husband Graham, she operates The Food Forest, their 20-hectare property producing 150 varieties of certified organic food and fibre – and the living environment for a Learning Centre where the public and students of schools, universities and TAFE discover sustainable design and life skills. They also mentor of young regenerative farmers and permaculture designers. Thousands of people have been inspired by their extensive knowledge and practical teaching. Nationally and internationally recognised for their work, the Brookmans live what they teach.

Kelvin Candy

Kelvin Candy is a Langhorne Creek farmer and Landcare volunteer who has worked with the WOMADelaide Foundation to revive shrubland badly degraded since being crudely cleared some 50 years ago. The mallee-country land – once little more than sand and stone – now sequesters carbon from the atmosphere. Kel and his collaborator, Mick Durant from Greening Australia, calculate that his Langhorne Creek forest will remove 16,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over the century, which will more than offset the environmental footprint of the four-day festival. It is estimated that the two WOMADelaide forests combined (the other is on Kangaroo Island) will remove more than 21,650 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere over the next hundred years.

Anne Brown

Anne Brown has lived and worked in the Northern and Yorke region of South Australia for more than two decades and helps landowners conserve, manage and revegetate their land as a senior vegetation consultant with environmental enterprise Greening Australia. She is a sought-after expert in vegetation management, particularly in grasslands. A lynchpin of her community in the Southern Flinders Ranges, she loves visiting farmers to chat about ways to improve water use efficiency, vegetation and soil structure. Generous with her knowledge and time, she speaks at workshops and presenting training to empower landholders and local communities on topics such as seed collection, plant identification, weed control, and property design.

Ruby Wake

Ruby Wake is an environmental campaigner who makes change at a community level. She is well-known as the Coordinator of The Unley Repair Café – a project which she initiated, based in the Clarence Park Community Centre. The Café, a monthly free, open community activity aiming to divert items from landfill, inspires people to connect with each other and learn new skills around repurposing and repair. With a BSc in Ecology, Environmental Biology; and as Urban Sustainability Officer with Natural Resources Adelaide & Mt Lofty Ranges, she is engaged and enthusiastic, able to inspire everyday people to make small, conscious environmental choices in their lives.

Graham Brookman

Graham Brookman a visionary environmental educator, practitioner and mentor for 40 years, Graham was founding chairman of the iconic Adelaide Farmers Market and the Gawler Environment Centre. With his wife Annemarie he operates The Food Forest, their 20-hectare property producing 150 varieties of certified organic food and fibre – and the living environment for a Learning Centre where the public and students of schools, universities and TAFE discover sustainable design and life skills. They also mentor of young regenerative farmers and permaculture designers. Thousands of people have been inspired by their extensive knowledge and practical teaching. Nationally and internationally recognised for their work, the Brookmans live what they teach.