Nigel Sharp is an Australian conservationist and

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

impact investor known for his work on the continent of Australia with threatened species conservation, new business models of

regenerative agriculture Regenerative agriculture is a conservation and rehabilitation approach to food and farming systems. It focuses on topsoil regeneration, increasing biodiversity, improving the water cycle, enhancing ecosystem services, supporting biosequestration ...

and

urbanism Urbanism is the study of how inhabitants of urban areas, such as towns and cities, interact with the built environment. It is a direct component of disciplines such as urban planning, a profession focusing on the design and management of urban ...

, nature-based tourism, and

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

enterprise development.

Early years

Nigel Sharp was born on July 28, 1961, in

Hamilton, Victoria Hamilton is a city in south-western Victoria, Australia, Victoria, Australia, at the intersection of the Glenelg Highway and the Henty Highway. The Hamilton Highway connects it to Geelong. Hamilton is in the Australian House of Representatives, ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Growing up on his family’s farm in Branxholme, Victoria, he later credited much of his interest and passion for conservation through helping his father plant and protect creek lines on their farm and in surrounding areas, to combat rising

soil salinity Soil salinity is the salt (chemistry), salt content in the soil; the process of increasing the salt content is known as salinization (also called salination in American and British English spelling differences, American English). Salts occur nat ...

levels, which was a major issue at the time.

Career

Sharp began his career as a qualified property valuer, and gained experience running a listed company trust. He worked in senior positions across the property funds management and

property development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re- lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to oth ...

industries, including both rural and urban property projects. He began involvement in conservation in 2000 when he helped rescue the predator-free

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

at Mt Rothwell Sanctuary Little River, Victoria and introduced a

breeding program A breeding program is the planned breeding of a group of animals or plants, usually involving at least several individuals and extending over several generations. There are a couple of breeding methods, such as artificial (which is man made) a ...

for species such as the

Eastern Quoll The eastern quoll (''Dasyurus viverrinus'', formerly known as the eastern native cat) is a medium-sized carnivorous marsupial (dasyurid), and one of six extant species of quolls. Endemic to Australia, they occur on the island state of Tasmania, ...

Eastern barred bandicoot The eastern barred bandicoot (''Perameles gunnii'') is a nocturnal, rabbit-sized marsupial endemic to southeastern Australia, being native to the island of Tasmania and mainland Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It is one of three surviving bandi ...

and Southern Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby. In 2010, he and business partner Harry Youngman, widened their collective conservation work by purchasing Tiverton Farm, a working sheep property in Western Victoria, for the purpose of eradicating

non-native species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

and reintroducing Eastern Barred Bandicoot and Eastern Quoll, while maintaining a viable agricultural business. In 2016 Sharp founded the Odonata Foundation, specialising in the business of biodiversity. Odonata designs and manages financially sustainable conservation projects, educating the public and empowering businesses to embrace biodiversity,. Odonata projects have included the National Sanctuary Network (formerly the South-East Australia Sanctuary Operations Network), the Great Australian Wildlife Search, Odonata Academy, Melbourne Skyfarm, Wild Idea Business Incubator, and the organisation manages both Tiverton Farm and Mt Rothwell Biodiversity Interpretation Centre. In 2017, the knowledge gained from projects at Mt Rothwell and Tiverton Farm enabled, Nigel Sharp and Harry Youngman to establish Tiverton-Rothwell and the Tiverton Agricultural Impact Fund to promote regenerative agricultural practices and demonstrate farming’s importance in protecting and restoring natural capital. Among other projects the Fund is responsible for the purchase of Juanburg station, a site of a globally significant conservation, and a project to restore the Great Cumbung Swamp in partnership with The Nature Conservancy Australia.

Key conservation projects

2022 – Successfully returned a breeding population of Eastern Quolls into Tiverton Farm, returning the species to a region it had been extinct for 70 years. 2021 – Helped establish the

Byron Bay Byron Bay ( Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah'') is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of New South Wales, Australia (in Bundjalung Country). It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a headland adjac ...

mobile wildlife hospital, based in Knockrow,

NSW New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a state on the east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Coral and Tasman Seas to the east. T ...

. 2021 – Originated the concept of “regenerative urbanism” at the Glen Junor development outside

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, creating a high value corridor connecting

Brisbane Ranges National Park The Brisbane Ranges National Park is a national park in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, The national park is situated approximately west of Melbourne near the town of and is managed by Parks Victoria. The park covers part ...

and the Werribee Gorge State Park. 2020 – Founded the South-East Australia Sanctuary Operations Network (now the National Sanctuary Network), bringing diversity and connectivity to threatened species conservation. 2020 – Secured the down-listing from extinct to critically endangered of the

Eastern Barred Bandicoot The eastern barred bandicoot (''Perameles gunnii'') is a nocturnal, rabbit-sized marsupial endemic to southeastern Australia, being native to the island of Tasmania and mainland Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It is one of three surviving bandi ...

. 2019 – Marshalled the emergency bushfire evacuation and translocation of Southern Brush-tailed Rock-wallabies from

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, saving them from local extinction. 2019 – Co-designed Melbourne SkyFarm Environmental Education Centre. 2017 – Integrated threatened species programs into three regenerative agriculture enterprises: Orana Park farm, Picardy Station and Sunland Fresh Fruit.

Awards and honours

The Australian Impact Investment Awards (2020) - Outstanding Individual Achievement Zoos Victoria - Lifetime Achievement Award (2019)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharp, Nigel 1961 births Living people Australian conservationists