Belief in power of a biosphere

Anne Lawrence’s country roots keep her grounded
By GRANT REYNOLDS

From the soles of her Blundstones to the heights of UNESCO Biosphere status, Anne Lawrence knows first-hand the urgent need to protect, value and care for the land we call home.

Mrs Lawrence has been appointed as director of the Noosa Biosphere governance board, a role she juggles with a marketing position with the CSIRO in Cooroy, running the Noosa Boardroom with her husband Steve, staying actively involved with a group of business minds called Knowledge Exporters and Entrepreneurs of Noosa (KEEN) and raising two children.

A self-confessed country girl, Mrs Lawrence grew up in Mildura on the banks of the Murray, and her grounding in agribusiness has moulded her understanding of climate change and developing sustainable business practices.

“I went from viticulture to horticulture in Brisbane and then forestry, based in Melbourne but still with people who work with the land, and regional communities,” she said.

“That’s in my blood.”

At the age of 25, armed with a degree in commerce and marketing, Mrs Lawrence set up Sunrange Nursery in South Australia, a viticulture business supplying vines to wineries in southern Australia.
When she moved on, it was multi-million dollar enterprise employing about 60 people.

Driven by an insatiable entrepreneurial spirit, Mrs Lawrence has an eye for a business opportunity.
Add to that a willingness to get involved at a community level, and her career path from viticulture to the CSIRO and now the Noosa Boardroom begins to make sense.

“You identify where the gaps are, then you get involved and help,” she said.

“I’m not actively seeking to be involved in everything but I’m not sitting on my hands.”

Mrs Lawrence sees the biosphere as a community accolade and a way to retain identity while purposefully meeting the challenges a changing environment throw up.

She seeks to satisfy the public expectations of sustainability that arise, while still creating jobs and futures for the next generation Noosans.

“The Noosa philosophy is part and parcel of the community, the community has made Noosa what it is today,” she said.

“In recognition of the hard work done in the past, now what can we do to propel us forward and continue the good work?”

That answer, she said, will be through the cooperation of the different boards and their actions, but it all comes back to community and its actions.

“I grew up on the Murray and the Murray is dying,” she said.

…download article here