Monica Mudge, Conservation Campaigner
I’m pleased to be joining the National Parks Association of NSW as a campaigner, supporting work across the Great Southern Forests and the 30×30 initiative.
My background spans environmental education, community development and wellbeing, with a focus on community-led approaches to conservation. I am the founder and President of Treading Lightly Inc., a grassroots organisation based on the South Coast of NSW. Through this work, we deliver programs that connect citizen science, environmental education and local stewardship, and have worked alongside organisations such as NPA to support shared conservation outcomes through on-ground community engagement.
One of our core programs, Habitat for Wildlife, supports community members to restore and create habitat on private and public land, contributing to biodiversity corridors and strengthening local ecosystems. Complementing this, my work has also involved community-led marine education and citizen science initiatives at Collers Bay (Mollymook), contributing to a growing body of local knowledge and fostering stewardship of coastal environments. This work reflects a strong belief in the role of community-led citizen science not only in deepening local connection, but in generating meaningful data that can inform decision-making and support improved outcomes at broader policy and management levels. Across both areas, I prioritise approaches that are informed by, and developed in respectful relationship with, First Nations knowledge and perspectives.
Alongside this, I run Wyld Spaces, a nature-based wellbeing studio grounded in eco-therapy and deep ecology practices. This work supports individuals and communities to strengthen their relationship with the natural world, particularly in the context of ecological change, and to build resilience through that connection.
Over the past 15 years, I have worked with diverse communities, including young people, supporting environmental engagement, leadership development and connection to place. This has included work with disaster-affected communities following the 2019–2020 bushfires, facilitating programs that respond to ecological grief and support recovery.
At NPA, my role focuses on contributing to the protection of the Great Southern Forests, alongside advancing the global 30×30 goal, protecting 30% of land and oceans by 2030, to support biodiversity, climate resilience and long-term ecological health. I’m particularly interested in strengthening the relationship between community knowledge and conservation outcomes, and supporting collaborative approaches that bring together science, culture and lived experience.
Outside of work, I spend much of my time with my husband and two adult daughters when I can, in or near the ocean or rivers, walking the coastline or the Budawangs, camping in my troop carrier, practicing yoga and meditation, and engaging in community initiatives. I look forward to contributing to NPA’s work and connecting with members and supporters across the state.
NPA is pleased to be welcome Monica Mudge as our newest conservation campaigner, joining Danielle Ryan and James Sherwood (campaigns) and Kate Carroll (projects).