Meet our environmental consulting team

As more and more businesses turn to Western Botanical for our integrated botanical, revegetation and seed testing and treatment expertise, our team of environmental consulting specialists grows too. Here are the senior members of our team.

Geoff Cockerton, Managing Director, Western Botanical

A key figure in the environmental consulting and revegetation industry since 1980, Geoff has an almost unparalleled level of knowledge and experience – he's widely recognised and respected as a leader in WA's revegetation and native seed industry.

• Extensive experience managing major vegetation rehabilitation projects across WA
• Exceptional knowledge of Western Australian flora
• An expert in seed quality identification and provenance information
• Founding member of the Revegetation Industry Association in WA (RIAWA)

Shapelle McNee, Senior Botanist

Having worked in the field of biology and conservation since 1983, Shapelle has a broad range of multi-disciplinary knowledge and expertise.

• First-class botanical surveying capabilities
• Experience across various regions, from the South Coast to the Northern Sand Plains and Yilgarn
• Specialist knowledge of:
  • Biology of rare plant species
  • Conservation biology of rare birds

Jonathan (Jono) Warden, Project Manager

Jono has a wide range of experience in general environmental biology and was previously employed by the Department of Agriculture and the University of Western Australia as a research officer within the CRC for plant-based management of dryland salinity.

• BSc (Environmental Biology)
• Extensive mine project rehabilitation and revegetation experience
• Proven experience managing vegetation survey programs
• A specialist understanding of threatened flora searches and baseline surveys
• An authority on compiling native vegetation clearing permits and desktop reviews

Martin Henson, Senior Botanist

Martin has led, managed and participated in numerous Level 1 and 2 flora and vegetation surveys in the Northern Territory and the Pilbara, Goldfields, Kimberley and South-west regions of Western Australia.

• BSc (Environmental Science) (Hons)
• Proven project and team management experience
• Experience on a range of major projects, including the Gorgon Gas Project and Maret Islands

Alice Quarmby, SeedLab Manager

With experience spanning native seed collection, cleaning, storage, viability testing, germination testing and biology research across Australia, Alice plays a pivotal role in our multi-faceted Seedlab division. Alice also brings to the team her extensive knowledge of coordinating all aspects of the Millennium Seed Bank Project (N.T. Partnership).

• BSc (Biodiversity Conservation) (Hons)
• Proven project and research experience
• Expert knowldge of assessing seed collections and the use of native seeds in rehabilitation projects
• Specialist experience with seed dormancy issues and germination of native seeds in both Western Australia, Northern Territory and South Australia