coolmelbourne.org

In everything Cool Australia does, we believe in thinking creatively. We believe in making information accessible to everyone. We do this by delivering resources for free and making them simple and easy to use. Oh and we just happen to provide great environmental education. Join us.

Cool Australia has a mission to educate young Australians for a sustainable future and we do this by providing free classroom resources that are focused on the environment but also curriculum aligned to multiple subject disciplines.  

Resources are developed by a panel of expert teachers and environmental educators to ensure that not only is academic information the latest in environmental teachings but learning activities have been tried and tested in the classroom and ready to go.

Learning activities are year level specific (years 1 to 10) and linked to state curriculum standards, including physical, personal and social learning. Discipline-based learning as well as interdisciplinary learning are also addressed. As the national curriculum is gradually rolled out, (starting 2013) Cool Australia resources will adapt accordingly.

Our product is not something tangible. In the name of sustainability, we do not send you a great big text book via snail mail, that would not only be contradictory but totally old school! Our product is our website. Our resources are all online at coolaustralia.org for you (the teacher) to use as you desire; whether that be via a Smartboard or printing (on recycled paper of course!) Our resources are not just text based, but involve videos, games, quizzes and a whole host of interactive mediums to ensure learning about the environment is fun.

JASON KIMBERLEY FROM COOL AUSTRALIA IN THE NEWS

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Jason Kimberley interviewed by Michael Short on The Zone	Jason interviewed in the Weekly Times 'From little things big things grow'!	About Cool Australia & Jason in the Australian Educator Magazine	Cool Australia's Nude Food Dude talks about sustainability education!

What’s on Cool Australia?

Cool Australia features the latest environmental information from our city and overseas, plus daily weather and water updates:

Our Cool School: the leading online environmental education resource for teachers and students around the country.
Our environment: learn about all the eco-facts.
Videos: watch the best videos from YouTube.
News: catch up on the latest eco-articles in the papers.
Green jobs: search for green work.
Resources: need to know more? We've got all sorts of information to help you and your family work towards a cleaner and greener future.
How to Help: want to know what you can do? We've got heaps of green tips on everything from food to transport to shopping to pest control.
Events: check out dates for environmental action across your state.
The blog: read what the brightest minds say on the biggest issues.
Community, schools and business: read inspirational stories from our neighbourhood, and add your own.

Who are we?

The Cool Australia Staff

Jason Kimberley

Cool Australia founder and CEO Jason Kimberley is a photographer and adventurer with a passion for life and nature. With a background as a retailer and restaurateur, Kimberley had his eco-epiphany on an expedition to Antarctica in 2005. “It is the last piece of pristine wilderness on our planet. Our challenge is to preserve it,” he says.

Kimberley is determined to make environmental change a reality. “We want to plan a future that can be embraced, not feared,” he says. “And to involve all Australians in the journey.”


Krista Nisi

Krista grew up in the Adelaide Hills and took her love of nature to the big smoke where she gained a degree in Biodiversity, Conservation and Park Management from the University of South Australia. Several subjects helped her to realise that her skills lay not in the doing of science, and she went on to gain a Masters in Environment (Environmental Education) from the University of Melbourne.

Krista joined Cool Australia in mid-2008 to work on the development of the Our Cool Schools program, and has since been busy writing, drawing and doodling to create the activities and content on the Our Cool School sites. She brings with her nearly 10 years experience working on sustainability education in the not-for-profit, university and local government sectors.

Lynn Freebairn

Lynn grew up in Adelaide where recycling, having a water tank, composting and not wasting anything where just the norm. Having a father who was an apiarist and spending time with him tending to the hives, she grew up appreciating the finer things nature can offer.

Majoring in photography at North Adelaide School of Art, Lynn travelled, worked and lived overseas before deciding Melbourne was the city to live in. Lynn has worked with Jason since 2005 and has seen the transition from photographic exhibitions and publishing to the current online environmental resources.

As Office & Project Manager at Cool Australia, Lynn oversees the administration and communications while working closely with teachers involved in the Our Cool School Program.  She also looks after many aspects of the Cool Australia website along with co-ordinating relationships with other organisations, managing fundraising projects and grant submissions.


Kristina De Greene

Kristina De Greene relocated to Melbourne from Los Angeles in 2006 with her partner, an Environmental Engineer. She holds an advanced degree in English Literature from Boston University and has completed graduate coursework at Oxford University, England. Kristina has over ten years of experience in Marketing, PR and Communications for the not-for-profit, education and corporate sectors, and has authored communications for various campaigns, fundraisers and events.

Kristina joined Cool Australia in 2010 as the Online Communications Specialist. She has long held an interest in conservation and wildlife, and in Los Angeles, she volunteered and was a committee member for the Wildlife Waystation, a refuge for exotic and displaced animals. Follow the latest green news and come say hello to Kristina on Cool Australia's facebook and twitter!


Szilvia Csanyi

Szilvia moved to Australia in 2009 from Hungary to manage the election campaign for the Greens. Prior to this she was the campaign manager of the European Greens for the European Parliamentary elections.

Her care about the environment and the green issues go back to experiences in Europe. For years she has been advocating about the importance of living more sustainabley and the use of more renewables to society.

As a public relations expert she will continue to do this work at Cool Australia to raise awareness of our environment. She is a doctor of law and has a Masters degree of Politics from the London School of Economics.


Deb Hallmark GAIDC

Deb is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Director of the Transport Accident Commission. Her career has been as a communications and marketing manager with 15 years of experience in senior positions within the advertising and media industry working with advertising agencies such as Cummins & Partners and J Walter Thompson.

She headed her own successful marketing company, ‘Hallmarketing’ for several years working with government contracts and within many different businesses.

Deb also worked extensively in the Not for Profit sector, in volunteer roles and in professional positions as a fundraising and partnership manager for various foundations and charities.


The Cool Australia Board

David Simpson - Chairman

David Simpson had a extended career in advertising around the globe. He returned to Australia to run Bluearth a not for profit promoting activity in primary schools.

He is now is a professional NED, chairs a TEC group and is active in executive coaching.

He believes there is long-term opportunity for Cool Australia to fill niche for people turned off the green/not-green debate who just want unbiased information about being environmentally sensible.



Greg Bourne

Greg has an international background, having worked around the world for BP Exploration.

After working as Director BP Scotland and Regional Director, Latin America, Greg returned to Australia as Regional President BP Australasia.

Greg was CEO of WWF Australia for 6 years. He is strongly interested in lifelong learning for students through the Our Cool School program, and has held other not-for-profit roles.




Susie O'Neil

Susie has 20 years experience working in the agricultural sector in sales, marketing and management roles. 

Initially training as an agronomist on a corporate (Aventis) cotton farm, Susie participated in farm planning, operated machinery and management.  With Bayer’s purchase of Aventis in 2002 she was promoted to General Manager of the BioScience business, a business unit responsible for the commercialisation of the company’s biotech products in Australia.  The company also developed and registered biotech cotton varieties, which were launched in 2007.

Susie resigned her role at Bayer in March 2008, deciding not to return to work following 12 months maternity leave. She retains a special interest in agriculture, women in agriculture, rural communities and the environment.



Paul Kenny

Paul is the Thailand Country Managing Partner for IBM Global Business Services. He has worked with IBM in Asia, US and Australia for 32 years,prior to IBM in the Airline industry.

Paul is passionate about introducing smarter planet solutions into business and Government with the effect of lowering the impact of people to the planet and reducing pollution through smart use of technology.

Paul is also a board member of international schools abroad and wants to bring Cool Australia environmental education to the international stage.



Peter Monk

Peter is the Melbourne managing partner of DLA Piper, the world’s largest business law firm. He is also a corporate transactional partner with 25 years experience representing clients on their domestic and cross border investment activity. 

He has lived and worked in Australia, Asia and the Middle East. As a father of teenage sons, Peter believes that one of the biggest challenges their generation faces is finding a sustainable balance between our environment and the effects of human development.

Education plays a fundamental role in informing our next generation on the tasks ahead and Cool Australia provides an excellent education platform from which they can build their awareness.



Sergio Galanti

Sergio Galanti is an experienced senior executive with broad based experience in Retail, Wholesaling, and Manufacturing delivering successful business turnarounds and transformation programs across a number of large organisations such as Coles Myer and Kraft Foods as well as a number of smaller enterprises.

His appointment to the board to Cool Australia meets a personal goal of using this experience in organisations trying to make a difference by changing how we interact with our environment and each other. A goal influenced by his children accusing his generation for the environmental problem we face today.



Allison Smith

Allison is former Group Strategy & Brand Director of REDgroup Retail. Prior to this Allison held senior positions with Pacific Brands, Myer, Nike and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

She has a personal interest in sustainability believing politics has diluted the larger environmental message. Allison wants to leave a legacy for today's children to help work towards improving our environment.





Craig Kimberley

Craig is the former Chairman of Just Jeans Group limited and has been involved with clothing and textile industry for 40 years.

He and his wife Connie are now the owners of the Herberton Historic Village, in Far North Queensland. This new venture is an exciting chapter in their lives and they enjoy collecting antiques to add to the collection in the museum.

Craig and Connie live in South Yarra and have two children, Jason and Chloe. Their seven grand children keep them very busy and they often all get together for family trips.



Jenny Samms

Jenny is currently the Executive Director of the Ministerial Taskforce on Aboriginal Affairs Secretariat in the Department of Planning and Community Development. She is responsible for supporting the Taskforce in overseeing a whole of government strategy to better target government investment and achieve improved outcomes for Indigenous Victorians. Prior to this role, Jenny was the Executive Director responsible for the Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

In 2002, Jenny commenced a role as Director, Office of Portfolio Integration within the Department of Education. Her role involved portfolio-wide policy development and strategic planning, providing key support to Ministers and the Secretary.

Jenny was a Director (Council Member) on the Monash University Board and on the Board of the College of Advanced Education. Jenny has a passion for education, improving indigenous opportunity and delivering services to the community that create better social outcomes for society.


John Billington

John joined Bendigo and Adelaide Bank in 2010 and has more than 20 years’ experience in the banking and finance sector. He is responsible for managing the wealth management division.

Prior to joining the bank, John was General Manager of IOOF Portfolio Solutions. John was a Principal Consultant at Phoenix Consulting, Managing Partner at Deloitte Consulting and undertook a role as interim Chief Financial Officer at AXA Australia. John has a passion for education and helping rural communities grow and prosper in a sustainable manner.



John Wills

John Wills joined Red Cross in 2009 and is responsible for national commercial activities, which include 190 plus retail stores, a registered training organisation and First Aid Health and Safety.

John’s has more recently held CEO roles with Zoos Victoria and the College of Advanced Education in Melbourne. He has a Masters in Education, Masters in Business (Management) and a Masters in Counselling (Psych).

John has also been on numerous government Boards including Vic Relief, the Australian Practising Nurses Association, the Victorian TAFE Association, Wynn Support Systems and the Victorian Radiology Board.