Christobel - Communications Team Member

Before settling in Byron Shire in 1993, Christobel Munson spent decades working in journalism, publishing, marketing, IT and communications in Canberra, New York, Tel Aviv, Sydney, Hong Kong, Scotland and India.

With her partner, Christopher Sanderson, in 1994, she co-founded an intentional community outside Bangalow, pioneering its establishment as a Community Title. Twelve families share the 46ha rural property. The community has planted 11,800 indigenous trees over 10 years, as it works to restore pockets of Big Scrub on a run-down dairy farm. Each house has its own onsite sewage management system, and harvests rainwater; many have solar PV.

She’s mad about the orchard, bush tucker food forest and native plant ‘jungle’ she’s planted around her passive solar-designed home, which runs on energy generated by a 10kW ground-mounted PV array and stored in three LG batteries. After charging the house and 2019 Kona Highlander EV, any excess energy is sold back to the grid as green energy.

A natural networker, Christobel contributes to the monthly Bangalow Herald magazine and is a hands-on member of the Bangalow Parklands team, maintaining and enhancing the park at the heart of Bangalow. She and Christopher were founding participants of Zero Emissions Byron in 2015, and she was its chair for two years.

Christobel Munson

Katrina Shields - Communications Team Member

Katrina Shields has a background as Occupational Therapist, community development worker, adult educator and non-fiction writer.

As the Sustainability Coordinator at Byron Community College from 2008 to 2015, Katrina established permaculture education, sustainability education and campus sustainability, and has developed educational resources for State and Federal Governments including Australia-wide energy efficiency ed, regional backyard food growing ed and professional development for teachers embedding sustainability into learning programs.

A member of Northern Rivers Sustain Food and Sustain Energy working groups, she has added a Graduate Certificate in Education for Sustainability to her Masters in Applied Science (Social Ecology).

In the 1990s she tutored at Southern Cross University in group processes, community consultation and community development. For 10 years she co-ran the Social Change Training & Resource Centre, providing training and strategic planning for a wide range of NGO’s and government departments.  In the 200’s she was the coordinator of Barung Landcare, in Maleny, Qld.

With a long history of community activism and sitting on NGO boards, for 18 years Katrina was a volunteer for Heart Politics and its forerunner ‘Interhelp Australia’ running workshops and conferences for activists. She is a former President of Mullum SEED (Sustainability Education & Enterprise Development) managing the Mullumbimby Community Garden, and is on the Management Committee of the Ngara Institute.

Katrina is currently working on writing projects and is an academic advisor for the Australian Sustainability and Environmental Action program of the US based School for International Training. She is a former ZEB Board member.

Sasha Mainsbridge - Community Engagement Officer

Sasha Mainsbridge is a Behavioural Scientist and Operational Efficiency Specialist who has been involved with ZEB since its inception. As a member of ZEB’s founding Waste Team, she contributed to the local carbon emissions baseline calculations. In 2015, Sasha founded Mullum Cares Inc to support conservation through waste avoidance, starting with actions to eliminate single use plastics. The Mullum Cares Library of Stuff, launched in 2019, enables families and organisations to reduce their consumption - and embedded emissions - by building a treasure trove of items that are shared among members.  Mullum Cares regularly partners with ZEB on projects as reducing waste also reduces emissions.

With extensive networks that include the local business community and environmental not for profits, Sasha now works part time for ZEB as our Community Engagement Officer.

Sasha Mainsbridge