Barry Owen Jones, AO, is one of Australia's living treasures as well as a writer, broadcaster and former Labor politician. His career has spanned education, film, politics, civil liberties, constitutional change and "the knowledge society". He is the only person to have been elected as a Fellow of all four Australian learned Academies: Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE) in 1992, the Humanities (FAHA) in 1993, Science (FAA) in 1996, and Social Sciences (FASSA) in 2003.

Barry is currently a Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne.

Professor Kate Auty became Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability in June 2009.

She has worked in agriculture and academia, as a solicitor in her own law firm, and as a barrister. She was a senior lawyer for the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia. In 2008 and 2009, she held the Chair of the Ministerial Reference Council on Climate Change Adaptation and was a member of the Premier's Reference Committee on Climate Change.

Kate recently accepted an appointment as Adjunct Professor in the LaTrobe Institute for Social and Environmental Sustainability Centre.

Kenneth Davidson has been writing for the Age on economics and public policy since 1974. He was winner of the Walkley award for best news story in 1977 and National Press Club/Ford Australia Award for Canberra Press Gallery Journalist of the Year in 1980.

He remains a committed Keynesian and opponent of economic rationalism. In his spare time he is co-editor of Dissent magazine.

Chris Berg is a Research Fellow with the Institute of Public Affairs. He is a regular columnist with the Sunday Age and ABC's "The Drum", covering cultural, political and economic issues.

John Rayner is a Senior Lecturer in Urban Horticulture at the University of Melbourne. John's teaching and research interests include the design and use of plants, children's gardens and therapeutic landscapes. He has authored over 30 papers in industry and scientific journals and regularly acts as a horticultural consultant for state and local government authorities.

John has been involved in the delivery of programs for pre-service and practicing teachers in food gardens and green technologies and has helped develop a multi-award-winning environmental studies and garden program in a local Primary School.

Cecile is a Human Geographer and a co-founder of The Victorian Child and Nature Connection (VCNC). VCNC is dedicated to the idea that all children deserve to have every opportunity to experience, love and look after nature. To this end, VCNC acts as a catalyst to empower, connect and grow a movement of individuals, families and organisations who are committed to reconnecting children with nature. VCNC is a cross-sectoral network, involving community leaders from the health, education, environment and community development fields.

In the past nine years, Cecile coordinated campaigns for nature conservation organizations such as the National Parks Association of NSW and The Wilderness Society. She has played a key role in securing several major nature conservation successes, including the protection of 350,000 hectares of forests and woodlands in north-west NSW.

Cecile is passionate about involving everyone in celebrating Australia's unique natural and cultural fabric. To this end, she has led a range of unique nature and cultural experiences for both children and adults as an events coordinator, a guide and a teacher. She has also directed several major concerts and exhibitions, shining the spotlights on remote, unprotected places. In 2010, she completed a fellowship at the Centre for Sustainability Leadership, Melbourne, where the idea of VCNC was born. Cecile is currently undertaking a PHD study in landscape ecology.

Nick Croggon is a solicitor at the Environment Defenders Office. The Environment Defenders Office is a team of lawyers who provide legal assistance to people who want to use the law to protect the environment. The EDO is the only thing like it in Victoria. Nick joined the EDO in January this year, but the EDO has been around a lot longer – 20 years this year! Nick has provided legal advice and representation to individuals trying to stop logging in local forests, to grass-roots community groups trying to stop toxic-waste facilities, and to peak environmental groups campaigning to stop new brown-coal power stations.

Mark Wakeham is the Campaigns Director for Environment Victoria, one of Australia's leading environment non-government organizations. Environment Victoria focuses on campaigns for a safe climate, healthy rivers and sustainable production, consumption and communities. In 2010 Mark was named by The Age's Melbourne magazine as one of Victoria's 100 most influential people for his work on the successful campaign to secure the closure of Hazelwood power station.

Prior to that he worked as an Energy campaigner for Greenpeace Australia Pacific for three years where he helped build a movement of Australians wanting climate change action and successfully worked for the introduction of renewable energy and energy efficiency targets in Victoria, New South Wales and nationally. He has worked in the solar industry, was Coordinator of the Environment Centre of the Northern Territory for 5 years, was a lecturer at the Northern Territory University, and was a radio operator in the Army. He has degrees in Economics, Australian History and Adult Education, as well as a large student debt.

Luke Chamberlain is the Acting Campaigns Manager for The Wilderness Society Victoria. For the past 12 years, Luke has fought for the protection of Victoria's magnificent native forests and has been involved in successful campaigns that have seen protection of forests in the Otways, Central Highlands and East Gippsland and removal of woodchipping from Western Victoria. Luke is working hard to protect the precious forests of Eastern Victoria and see a move of the logging industry into plantations. He works through a combination of community engagement, markets campaigning, peaceful direct action and political lobbying.

Prior to The Wilderness Society, Luke worked for 13 years with IBM and Pricewaterhouse Coopers as a management consultant, specializing in IT.

Professor Dayanthi Nugegoda completed her PhD at the University of London in 1986 and currently heads the Ecotoxicology research group at RMIT University. She has extensive experience in researching the effects of metals, pesticides and other xenobiotics on aquatic organisms and biomarkers of exposure to environmental toxicants, including endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). She currently hold an Australian Research Council Linkage grant with industry partners on "Investigation of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in Australian aquatic environments" in collaboration with other EDC researchers across Australia. Dayanthi was Vice President of the Australasian Society for Ecotoxicology from 2006-2010 and is currently President of the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Australasia (SETAC-Au) and Research Leader for Freshwater EDCs in the Victorian Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and Management.

Nicole Webb is currently the Sustainability Manager at Veolia Environmental Services – one of Australia's largest waste management and resource recovery companies. Her role involves working on sustainability projects, greenhouse gas reporting and promoting awareness of sustainability to employees and customers.

Her qualifications and work experience encompass environmental law, project management and engineering. Nicole has completed a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering and Laws at the University of New South Wales. In addition, she was awarded the University Medal for Environmental Engineering and the University Medal for Laws.

Nicole has also worked for 2 years as the Sustainable Recycling Engineer at Veolia Environmental Services in the UK. During this time she ensured compliance with sustainable development goals for all of Veolia's UK recycling facilities. She also contributed to the development of the industry-led UK Materials Recycling Facilities Code of Practice which was designed to promote quality in the way recyclable materials are sorted.

Vern Steele is the Manager Strategic Resource Efficiency at the Metropolitan Waste Management Group in Melbourne.

The Group is a state government agency that plans for and guides procurement for waste management and resource recovery facilities and services across metropolitan Melbourne. The group provides a strategic and operational interface between state government, local government and industry in partnership with other State Government agencies that have a role in the waste space. This work is guided by a plan for Melbourne, the Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Strategic Plan.

All this results in a continual improvement of services to households and the community, achieved through the sharing of knowledge and approaches, and strategic development of infrastructure.

Vern has a Bachelor of Agricultural Science Degree (Hons) and has previously worked in the areas of artificial breeding, wildlife research and environmental education.

When not looking in a bin or visiting yet another waste facility Vern has a life. Having recently moved, there are projects; veggie garden, chooks, orchard, renovations and retrofits. He loves to get away with the family, usually to the beach for all things surf, sun and fishing.

Dr Gyorgy Scrinis teaches in the graduate environment program at Melbourne University. His research is on the politics and sociology of food systems, and particularly on the science and technology of food production and consumption, such as genetically modified foods and nanotechnology. He also writes on the theme of what he calls "nutritionism", or nutritional reductionism within nutrition science, dietary advice and food marketing.

Mark is an Associate Professor in Public Health Nutrition at Deakin University. He has over 25 years experience working in food policy at local, state, national and international levels.

Mark's research interests focus on analysing the relationships among food systems - environmental sustainability – food security as well as analysing policy-making associated with food fortification. He is a regular presenter at national and international conferences and has published widely.

Mark is a Council Member of the World Public Health Nutrition Association, a technical advisor to the World Health Organization and a member of the National Health and Medical Research Council's Dietary Guidelines Working Committee.

Kirsten's work at the Victorian Eco-Innovation Lab has focused on increasing understanding and awareness of innovations to develop more sustainable and resilient food systems. This work has included undertaking and publishing research such as: "Sustainable and Secure Food Systems for Victoria: What do we know? What do we need to know?"; "Understanding Victoria's fruit and vegetable freight"; "Victorian Food Supply Scenarios and a framework for Food Sensitive Planning and Urban Design".

Kirsten has a background in strategic foresight and has also worked in the Victorian Government, most recently in the Department of Premier and Cabinet on climate change and food policy. Kirsten is also a founding director of the social enterprise Eaterprises Australia, and a board member of Cultivating Community and Transition Darebin.

Hannah grew up on an inner city herb farm in Brisbane which fueled her passion for urban food production. For the past ten years Hannah has worked throughout Australia on designing, building and managing food system projects in cities (and some rural time as well). She currently works with Cultivating Community as their Community Composting Engagement Officer.