Arron
Wood

Speaker Profile

2007 Prime Minister's Environmentalist of the Year Award winner Arron Wood has already achieved more than many of us would in a lifetime. He is the pioneer and Managing Director of Kids Teaching Kids, an education model that aims to inspire future environmental leaders, encouraging kids to take up the challenges of saving our environment through managing their own learning on environmental issues. His commitment to mainstream environmental sustainability has seen him advise the Australian Government, work closely with state and territory governments across Australia and New Zealand, mobilise the Australian school community and build links between the corporate world and the community sector. He can be heard on 3AW Radio, Melbourne's number one station, as an 'afternoon expert' on all things environmental, and on 6PR Radio in Western Australia.

Arron was appointed by Lord Mayor Robert Doyle to the high level Enterprise Melbourne Advisory Board to attract sustainable investment to Melbourne to fulfil a key goal from the Council Plan in 'protecting and strengthening the city's economic prosperity'. The Board is responsible for promoting Melbourne's business credentials as a globally competitive city.

Having worked with the iconic Melbourne Arts Centre on implementing behavioural change across a staff of 500 in conjunction with their environmental management strategy and counting many of Australia's most successful businesses as clients, Arron's skill is his ability to galvanise business leaders and community groups alike to deliver innovative triple bottom line solutions.

Arron sees the environment as the single biggest industry within the next five to ten years and he'd like Australian businesses to be at the forefront of this global phenomenon to secure the nation as an environmental knowledge and technology broker in a post manufacturing economy. Whether it is advising 700 local government executives from around the world on how to see sustainability as an opportunity or speaking at the National Business Leaders Forum on re-calibrating the risk from climate change, Arron's leading edge understanding coupled with global experience on sustainability issues results in constant demand for his talents across a wide variety of industries, community groups and government organisations.

Arron received The Centenary Medal for outstanding contribution to conservation and the environment, awarded by the Governor-General and recently completed a Churchill Fellowship which took him to New York and Geneva working with the United Nations to research replication of environmental education programs on a global scale. Arron recently won the prestigious Melbourne Business Award for Contribution to the Environment and was selected to complete Al Gore's Climate Change Leadership Program.

As winner of the 2006 United Nations Individual Award for Outstanding Service to the Environment Arron was also the 2001 Young Australian of the Year (National Environment Winner). Arron holds a degree in Forest Science from the University of Melbourne and is currently the youngest Board Member of the Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority. Arron's commitment to the environment was covered on ABC's Australian Story, watched by 1.4 million viewers, and he hosted and co-produced Channel Seven documentary Our Water, Our Future. Arron was the youngest Waterway Manager in the State of Victoria by some ten years and held the Deputy Chair of the Victorian Waterway Managers Group in 1999.

Arron was the recipient of the Melbourne Award for Contribution to the Environment in 2007 and was named in the top ten education leaders nationally in 2009 as part of The Weekend Australian Magazine.

Arron is now the Director of Firestarter Pty Ltd, an environmental communication and education consultancy business. The business works through behavioural change management, major event organisation, project management, education campaigns and innovative company promotion methods aimed at better linking the corporate sector with community and government. Arron initiated and now runs the highly successful International River Health Conference for students from around the world which has attracted $18 million in funding over the life of the project (single-handedly raised by Arron) and seen 15,000 students participate in the program.

Arron has appeared on Network Ten's Totally Wild and 9am with David and Kim, and Channel 7's Sunrise and Saturday Disney. In 2001 he was chosen as the Australian representative for the 25 most inspirational 25 year olds from around the world as profiled in French Canadian Magazine La Actualite.

Arron has written two books, the first a resource on how the environment can be used to build healthy communities which was translated into Korean for distribution throughout the Korean school system, his most recent an autobiography, Billabong Boy, that shares his own personal story of overcoming great hurdles to turn his passion into a life's work.'

Travels from Victoria