After finishing school, Jonathon White studied ecology and natural resources at university, while working as a casual gardener on weekends. After graduating, he spent many years working in the nursery industry, eventually starting his own garden maintenance business. Since then he has obtained additional qualifications in horticulture and garden design, and his business has expanded to incorporate garden design and installation.

These days, Jonathon designs and installs all styles of gardens; however, his true passion is native habitat gardens and through their creation he is able to fashion the happy marriage of his two loves – horticulture and the natural environment. He also operates a small wholesale nursery where he propagates and grows an extensive range of native and exotic plants. Many of these plants are used in his design installations, with native grasses being his favourite.

For many years now, Jonathon has shared his gardening knowledge by tutoring adult education courses and he is always fascinated by the diversity of people he meets. He is also frequently inspired by the level of love and devotion so many people invest in their gardens.

Jonathon believes that whether your goal is to obtain a part-time job in a retail nursery, or to develop a large company with many staff, the horticulture and landscaping industry has many opportunities for people with varying aspirations. All you need is a love of plants and a willingness to learn.

His love of gardening started as a child when he grew some vegetables in his parents’ backyard. His other love has always been the natural environment.

After gaining a degree in Rural Science, Frank joined the CSIRO Division of Animal Health, and interesting times followed in the ivory towers of research and academia. Ten years later he was back in the real world helping Victorian farmers tackle livestock health problems and fickle markets. Then his world expanded as he moved out of his comfort zone, for many years at a time, to work with farmers in Asia.

Between these challenging periods in Asia, he held various positions with Australian government department, which took him into the newly emerging fields of biotechnology and environmental science.

Living and working in rural areas of India. Malaysia, Laos, China and Japan exposed Frank to the incredible variety of their farm production systems. Some of these systems are quite complex, with many different kinds of “livestock” – silkworms, poultry, fish, cats, dogs, pigs, goats, cattle and horses – all doing their bit to sustain the production system. In hindsight, he considers that perhaps many of these systems are more appropriate to our world of rising energy prices and global warming than the systems we use in Australia. This view was reinforced during a year studying organic farming on the North Coast of New South Wales.

Steve Taylor is the tutor for Lifestyle Learning Direct’s Starting a Small Business course.

Steve has been involved in several small business ventures over the years, ranging from film production to retail, to Performing Arts School, theatre companies and a freelance writing orientated operation. Along the way, he has completed Certificate IV courses in Small Business Management and in Workplace Training and Assessment in order to further his knowledge and qualifications.

Regardless of what kind of business you're in - from pest control to pottery making, from garden maintenance to graphic design - most of the fundamental aspects of operating a small business remain the same.  You have to be something of a 'jack-of-all-trades' because you'll be involved in marketing, budgeting, customer relations, staffing, scheduling and a whole range of other activities.  You're the boss.  The buck stops with you.  There is no one to whom you can delegate separate responsibilities, as there would be in a large organisation with defined departments and structures.

The demands on you can be much greater than they would be if you were simply someone else's employee, but the rewards in terms of independence, self-determination and satisfaction can also be far greater.

Planning, preparation, research: the more you can do before actually embarking on your venture, the better your chance of success. 

Michael Pyne - Writing courses

With a Masters degree in Education, plus a Master of Arts degree in Australian History, Michael currently has nineteen books to his credit. These mostly comprise English, plus modern and ancient history, texts that cater to the NSW high school curriculum. He also teaches part-time at Sydney University's Centre for Continuing Education in both Vietnamese and Middle-eastern history.  

Michael has been with The Writing School for twenty years now and has tutored many students who have gone onto success in writing. He never fails to be impressed by the depth and extent of writing talent that exists here in Australia, and the amount that is yet to be discovered. His own experience with writing has convinced him that writing is a very personal process, providing a means of self exploration as well as a way of communication.  

Michael is an avid traveller with a particular focus on Indo-China. He is also passionately interested in politics and enjoys the company of people with similar interests. His love of history complements his interest in politics and he likes to unravel the problems of the present, especially in Australia, by delving into their historical causes. History is his great passion in reading.

It was while serving in the navy that Jeff Toghill began putting serious effort into his writing. Travelling around the world, visiting new and interesting places all the time, it seemed totally natural to keep his own personal record of his travels. Eventually he extended this to writing about the people he served with, and others whose lives Jeff found interesting.

It was only a small step from writing for him-self to writing for magazines, so that by the time Jeff decided to seek a career ashore, he was already a well-established freelance writer for magazines all over the world. That small step became a big step when he turned professional, and the hobby which had brought Jeff handy pocket money now made him a comfortable living.

Initially Jeff tried different types of writing, looking for the genre that would best suit him. For several years Jeff wrote drama features for ABC radio, then switched to television where he found a good market for his scripts, subsequently writing individual dramas as well as scripts for ‘soapies’ and popular series like ‘The Sullivans’, ‘Division 4’, and other well known productions.

Although fiction short stories were very lucrative, to widen his scope, Jeff tried novel writing. While his first novel was published in Australia, he felt this was not a sufficiently profitable field, so he turned to magazine writing. For many years Jeff wrote both as a staff writer and a freelance writer for a number of major magazines, and at one stage he was editor of a national magazine where he honed his editing and proofreading skills.

Non-fiction, Jeff found, better suited him as it took in a wide range of subjects and gave him a chance to extend his writing experiences. Subsequently he began to write books on a wide variety of subjects, including Australiana, sports, biographies, history, travel, education and walking. His latest Australian book ‘Walking Sydney’ is part of a series on walks in the major Australian cities. Jeff has published almost 70 books in UK, USA, S.Africa, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand, and he is currently engaged in writing for a main-stream London publisher. Jeff enjoys teaching new writers the skills of his profession, and gets tremendous satisfaction from interaction with them and seeing their work appear in magazines and on the bookstands.

Jeff lives in Sydney with his family and Jack Russell terrier, ‘Titch’.

Deborah Bates - Life Coach Tutor

As a teenager, Deborah embarked upon an exciting 20-year travelling, working, personal growth, studying and living journey across Australia. She then went on to develop herself further through drama, dancing, theatre, light opera, writing, publishing, philosophy, people, additional study and the community.

Currently she works as a community worker where she successfully co-ordinates placements of people within local community organisations. In addition to this, she mentors, counsels and tutors individuals in life management and relationship challenges. She also conducts personal growth workshops and holds discussion groups, and has written and published several workbooks and manuals.

Her professional qualifications are:
• B.A. (majoring in religious and philosophical studies)
• Diploma Professional Counselling MAIPC MAIC
• Certificate IV Business (Human Resources) Distinction
• J. P. (Qualified) MQJA

 


Dr Peta Stapleton is a registered psychologist in the state of Queensland, Australia and has completed a Bachelor of Arts, Postgraduate Diploma of Professional Psychology and Doctor of Philosophy. She has spent 8 years lecturing at Griffith University on the Gold Coast, and is currently involved in private practice, specialising in addictions and eating disorders. She is also currently working for the Medical School at Griffith University, investigating how to develop the skills of clinical educators.

Peta is passionate about research and is well known in her area of specialty within Queensland. She is consulted regularly by national radio, television and print media for her expert opinion. She has also been awarded many honours, including the Australian Psychological Society’s Elaine Dignan Award for research into women’s issues. 

Peta’s first book DIY: Change Your Life Subconsciously was released in August 2005. Her second book Attract Money Subconsciously: DIY was released in May 2006.

Peta is married with one daughter and resides on the sunny Gold Coast, Australia. To find out more about Peta, check out her web site at www.petastapleton.com.

Rosemary Davies is passionate about plants. Her involvement in the industry ranges from being a contributor and initial selector/interviewer for the development of Australia’s Open Garden Scheme, designing and guiding tour packages for garden tours through England and Europe, and writing and publishing five books (and co-authoring four others).

She has travelled widely and also lived in both rural and metropolitan areas, which gives her the added advantage of an excellent understanding of climatic conditions, soils and other factors that can be vital to the success of students’ understanding of wider aspects of horticulture and the environment. Rosemary’s academic qualifications include:

•  Bachelor of Vocational Education and Training (majoring in professional development, mentoring and communication)
• Diploma of Technical Teaching
• Diploma of Horticultural Science
• Diploma of Advertising and Marketing

After completing uni, Rachel worked for Netball Queensland in a junior and participation development role, which involved developing the “Net Set GO!” participation program to encourage children’s physical activity and skill development. During this time, she also formed a partnership to develop a sports science business – Advanced Sport – and in 2006 she left Netball Queensland to focus solely on Advanced Sport and establish an athlete gymnasium and senior school strength programs.

In 2007, Rachel relocated from Brisbane to the Gold Coast to pursue her original passion (nutrition) and commenced studies in the highly competitive Masters of Nutrition and Dietetics program at Griffith University. Currently, she has completed all nutrition and dietetic theory and looks forward to finalising her studies as an accredited practising dietician (APD).

Rachel also works part-time for the Australian Drug Foundation, co-ordinating their alcohol and sport management “Good Sports” program in the Gold Coast and Beaudesert regions. This allows her to continue an important involvement in community grass-root sports: the backbone of Australia’s elite sporting prowess.

Rachel is still involved with Advanced Sport, providing their nutritional support while at the same time setting up her new business venture – Easy Step Nutrition. In her spare time she enjoys being active, utilising the Gold Coast’s spectacular beaches, and loves great food and cooking new and fabulous recipes for her fiancé and friends.

Tony Aldridge was born and raised in the city of Broken Hill in far western NSW, and he’s always had a great appreciation of the artistic celebration of the outback in all its forms. At school his teachers emphasised the mythical qualities of the Australian pioneers, and his earliest interest in literature was derived from Lawson, Patterson and other celebrated writers of the nineteenth century such as Richardson and Boldrewood.

At uni Tony was tutored by Thea Astley, who was interested in the relationship between art and Australian history. These influences helped develop his preference for a direct and uncomplicated writing style – one he has tried to maintain in his work.

His first successful writing experiences were submissions to school magazines and uni newspapers. Since then he has written and co-authored a number of books and publications, with subjects as diverse as the challenges of youth, myths and legends, sport, and the difficulties of balancing sport and study at the elite level. He has also reviewed a number of books for publishing companies, tutored Higher School Certificate students in English and History, and has been a senior HSC examiner.

Tony also completed a Masters degree, which presented writing challenges of a different type, and he discovered it was good to focus on the discipline necessary to be successful in expressive, rather than poetic, writing modes. His experiences have convinced him that writing is a very personal process, providing a means of self-exploration as well as communication, and not simply an outcome. It should be enjoyable and fulfilling.

Tony has been working with The Writing School for over 15 years now and he’s constantly amazed and delighted by the creativity, imagination and ability with the written word that his students demonstrate, and he receives a great deal of satisfaction from working with them. He looks forward to helping you achieve your writing goals, whether it is for personal or job satisfaction, or eventual publication of your writing work.