In-Person & Livestream: Australia's first Geopark at Nannup, and its proposed path to UNESCO site listing

Join the South West WA Branch for their In-Person and Livestream event: Australia's first Geopark at Nannup, and its proposed path to UNESCO site listing.

About this event

This event will highlight the unique geology and biosphere that constitute the South West of Western Australia. The talk will discuss the journey have the region declared as an Australian Geopark and then the steps to recognition as a UNESCO Global Geopark Site Listing and the future land uses open to the Site. Key milestones include:

• What a Geopark is, and the attributes required to become a UNESCO accredited Global Geopark
• That UNESCO global Geoparks hold no Legal jurisdiction over an area and are aware Geoparks are very different to National parks which operate under and protected by legislation
• That the Nannup WA Geopark does not act as a lobby group – its role is to neither support or oppose activities such as mining, farming and general development projects
• The features of the Shire of Nannup that make it a desirable location for a global Geopark
• The Nannup WA Geopark journey
• What we are currently working on and what our medium-term goals are.
• The amazing opportunities to engage all individuals–from children to the elderly–in aspects of sciences and culture
• Completed, current and planned future interactions with universities and schools utilising information collated for the Nannup WA Geopark

Attendees can download the Nannup WA Geopark app and investigate the Nannup WA Geopark website to build their knowledge on geoparks prior to the event.

There will be limited places so please register early.

In-Person Program
5.30pm - 6.00pm: Registration and networking
6.00pm - 7.15pm: Presentation
7.15pm - 8.00pm: Post event networking
Livestream Program
6.00pm - 7.15pm: Presentation

Speaker/s

Mark White

2025 Community Citizen of the Year & Nannup WA Geopark Chairperson

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Mark White grew up in the wheat belt of Western Australia. Mark has travelled extensively across Australia living and working in the Kimberley, Pilbara and the Southwest of Western Australia.
Mark now lives in Nannup owning and operating several businesses with his wife Leanne for the past nine years. These businesses include the Wild Eyed Press, Wild Eyed Shop and Leanne White Fine Art Gallery.
Mark has been involved in community organisations all his life. His business experiences and work experiences bring project management and business skills to these volunteer roles. The attraction for Mark to help develop a geopark in Nannup was initially inspired by the sustainable economic development benefits for the community but he soon came to realise the benefits to a community are far reaching in all aspects of community life and this has only driven his passion further.
This year Mark was awarded as Nannup Shire Australia Day Community Citizen of the Year (individual) for work as Chair of Nannup WA Geopark.

Angela Stuart-Street

Environmental Science Consultant & Nannup WA Geopark Vice Chair
BSc

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Angela Stuart-Street grew up in Wollongong, NSW. After working as a School Dental Therapist in Cooma for 5 years, she moved to Perth in 1988 to study Environmental Management at Edith Cowan University. She attained a BAppSc and later, a Graduate Diploma in Landcare at Curtin University.
Angela was employed by the Departments of Planning and CALM to undertake landscape analysis work on the South Coast, the Darling Range and the South-west regions for land use planning and management. In 1996 she found employment with the Department of Agriculture undertaking soil surveys in the Great Southern region.
Angela worked with the Department for the next 28 years, moving to work in the Northern Agriculture region and later to the South-west, as well as periodic project work in the Wheatbelt and the Pilbara. She continued to work with landscape and soil analysis, extension, research and agricultural land use planning projects.
Angela has a long personal connection with Nannup, with family being located there. This allows her to see how the Geopark will benefit the Shire, and now retired, she can support this project. She finds assisting locals and visitors to gain a better understanding of the area’s natural and cultural environment and heritage a highly rewarding task.

Peter Tille

Earth Science Consultant, Nannup WA Geopark
BSc

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Peter Tille was born in Sydney and graduated with a BSc in Earth Sciences from Macquarie University in 1983. After a stint with the NSW Soil Conservation Service, he moved to Western Australia, where he found work with the Department of Agriculture, late in1985. He was employed by the Department over the next 38 years, has been based in Bunbury since 1990.
Peter’s main fields of expertise lie in soil survey and land evaluation. He has worked on projects across the state from Esperance to Geraldton to Kununurra, but his major focus has been on the south-west. He also spent time overseas, mapping hedgerows in the south of England and a year on working on the soil survey of Kuwait. His final project before retiring was a publication describing the geology, soils and climate of Western Australia’s wine regions (co-authored with Angela Stuart-Street).
Upon retirement, volunteering to help establish the Nannup WA Geopark seemed a natural progression, utilising his past experiences and expanding his knowledge while developing new skills on an inspiring project