BioDiversity Legacy’s Pathways Manager, Loulou Gebbie, grew up on Wurundjeri Country among the cool shadows of the Yarra Valley’s towering Mountain Ash forests, where she found inspiration and an early love for spending time in the bush.

Her early appreciation for the interconnectedness of people and nature led Loulou to embrace the belief that social and environmental justice are inseparable.

This belief was further reinforced during her studies in Australian Indigenous Studies and Human Geography. After deferring a Master’s degree in ecosystem science, Loulou travelled around Australia to deepen her understanding of these landscapes and concepts.

Eventually, she returned to Melbourne for study while working part-time for an economist focused on Australia’s climate transition. The last component of her degree was an internship at the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation in Gippsland, where she crossed paths with BioDiversity Legacy founder, Jim Phillipson.

Loulou’s role as the Biodiversity Legacy Pathways Manager involves nurturing relationships, sharing knowledge and determining pathways that support the long-term protection of land and biodiversity.

She is deeply committed to thinking in timeframes that are ‘beyond our lifetimes’ to ensure biodiversity can be protected for generations to come.

For Loulou, BioDiversity Legacy represents a beacon of hope amidst environmental crises. As she puts it, “BioDiversity Legacy is a framework to turn despair into action. Grassroots efforts are where real, lasting change begins.”