Since the publication of his controversial 1968 book The Population Bomb, American biologist and educator Paul Ehrlich has been one of the world’s most strident voices warning about spiraling population growth and limited resources. His charismatic and media-savvy approach brought the population issue to a new level of media prominence.

National recognition from starring in ABC-TV’s The Cook & The Chef series has given chef Simon Bryant a springboard to engage the public in bigger ethical food issues. His passionate support of causes stretches from crop sustainability, fair trade schemes and promoting heritage kitchen gardens to animal welfare.

Author and environmentalist Anna Rose is co-founder of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition. This robust movement boasts 82,000 young people working to solve climate change. The former Environment Minister's joint Young Environmentalist of the Year penned the influential book Madlands: A Journey to Change the Mind of a Climate Sceptic.

Landscape architect Costa Georgiadis is an eco-visionary focused on the big picture. His all-consuming passion for plants and people, sustainability and food security has connected with national audiences through his hit SBS television series Costa’s Garden Odyssey, and in 2012 he became host of ABC-TV’s iconic program Gardening Australia. 

A decade of sustainability research has resulted in Dr Dana Cordell driving key interdisciplinary projects in sustainable water, sanitation and waste management. As co-founder of the Global Phosphorus Research Initiative with colleagues in Sweden and Australia, she alerts policy-makers, scientists and the public about the implications of global phosphorus scarcity affecting food security.

Social activist, manager of independent record label Elefant Traks and founding member of The Herd, Urthboy constructs powerful tales inspired by real-life events.  ‘Has the internet turned activists into "slacktivists"?’ was one of the questions posed on Smokey’s Haunt, the latest album by this persistently provocative hip hop artist.

In a bid to eradicate food waste, South-African-born Ronni Kahn created food rescue organisation OzHarvest in Sydney during 2004. Its aim was simple; to collect excess food and pass it on to feed those in need. Having grown into a national network, OzHarvest has provided more than 15 million meals.

With a background in applied physics, Dr Graham Turner creates the “what if” scenarios that quantify sustainability challenges and explore potential solutions. His work as a senior research scientist at CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences involves whole-of-system analysis on the long-term physical sustainability of the environment and economy.

President of the Australian Conservation Foundation, Professor Ian Lowe operates at the nexus where policy decisions influence science and technology, especially in the fields of energy and environment. He is a staunch advocate of renewable energy, declaring that nuclear energy is a risky and unworkable option.

Michael has worked in education since the late 70s. Teaching in the country and city in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. He has worked for a number of years in the youth career area for the education department and several not for profit organisations. In the past few years he has been Managing Director of a charity with a focus on Youth Services. Michael has worked as Education Manager at the Adelaide Botanic Garden since the beginning of 2012.

Science journalist and broadcaster Robyn Williams, who presents ABC Radio National's Science Show and In Conversation, was the first journalist elected as a Fellow Member of the Australian Academy of Science, in 1993. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in England, but spent as much time acting as studying, appearing in The Goodies, Monty Python’s Flying Circus and Dr Who.

Giles Parkinson is an award-winning journalist of 30 years’ experience; a former Business Editor and Deputy Editor of the Australian Financial Review, a former columnist for The Bulletin magazine and The Australian, and the founder and former editor of Climate Spectator.  He is also the founder and current editor of RenewEconomy.com.au, a website that discusses and analyses the ideas, trends, new technologies and policies that will drive the transformation of the world’s economy.

Randy Stringer works globally to teach and research food security. As professor of Agriculture and Food Policy at the University of Adelaide’s Global Food Studies Program, he examines the role of agriculture in development, climate change and natural resource policy – in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Pacific.

Corey Bradshaw, chair of Ecological Modelling at the University of Adelaide’s Environment Institute, applies mathematical models to multi-species datasets, to determine global-scale biodiversity threats. As human activity is responsible for the loss of countless species, he aims to influence government policy and private behaviour in preserving functioning ecosystems.

Permaculture designer and educator Graham Brookman has, with his wife Annemarie, developed The Food Forest, an organically certified permaculture farm near Gawler that provides about 150 varieties of fruit, nuts, vegetables and bush food.He views growing food in urban areas and the protection of prime agricultural land on Adelaide’s fringes of critical importance to South Australia.

Bernie Hobbs is an award-winning science writer and broadcaster.  A regular judge on ABC TV’s The New Inventors, she was also the brainchild behind the ABC’s award-winning environmental website PLANETSLAYER, and the driving force behind the organisation’s Green At Work website.  Bernie can be heard regularly discussing science on ABC radio, hosting science and environment events around the country, and raving about her new fully electric car. 

Tasmanian environmental activist Miranda Gibson has spent more than 430 days perched in protest atop The Observer Tree, an old-growth eucalypt in danger of being logged in Tasmania’s southern forests. The 31-year-old former teacher will Skype WOMADelaide audiences from her 60-metre-high tree-top platform, where she has vowed to remain until the forest is officially protected.