Our Team

Llewellyn started his career in the construction industry, passionate about sustainability but discouraged by the waste and practices he observed.  Working in the industry exposed him to how significantly all systems needed to improve to keep a healthy planet.

Inspired to contribute beyond the construction industry, Llewellyn gravitated toward early education and began working as a trainee educator. This affirmed his belief that early education is of the utmost importance to the development of children and a perfect environment to strengthen sustainable and ethical values in children and the community.

Knowing he could not bring together his vision for Sustainable Play Preschool alone, in 2017 Llewy began putting together a team of passionate people with diverse professional experience and industry backgrounds.

An advocate for children’s education and sustainable living, Kirsty has worked in Early Childhood Education since 2009, with 6 of these years as an Educational Leader.

Kirsty believes that every child has the right to access a quality education where they feel safe, secure and supported to learn and develop. She supports play-based learning and believes that positive learning experiences in the early years sets up the foundation for a life-long love of learning.

As the Preschool Director, Kirsty believes in leading by example and treating others with respect, encouraging educators to work to their strengths and support them in developing their capabilities with mentoring and guidance.

At home, Kirsty and her family enjoy growing and harvesting produce from their own gardens, spending time outdoors with their dogs, and being active. Their house is equipped with solar power, rainwater tanks and a large worm farm to recycle food scraps and feed their gardens.

Kirsty couldn’t pass the opportunity she saw in working for Sustainable Play Preschool, creating a better future for all by educating the next generation of future leaders.

Enthusiastic, creative and a passionate storyteller, Emma brings an incredible amount of light with her wherever she goes! With an infectious smile and genuine love for learning new things, it’s no wonder that children (and families) are drawn to Emma’s warmth and enthusiasm. With a Certificate III and RIE training under her belt, Emma has a vast array of experience working with children throughout their early learning journey.

When not at the Preschool, Emma loves to read, mosaic tile and enjoy brunch with family and friends.

Tammy is our colourful Newcastle native who loves working with children. She began her childcare career in 2007 at a centre in Cardiff as a Certificate III Trainee, and continued working as she received her Diploma – working for the same centre for 14 years! As a Diploma Room Leader she spent time in all age groups and loves them all.

With her interest in sustainability, she was elected “Sustainability Officer” at her last centre, which involved setting up and maintaining the vegetable gardens, worm farms and compost, while working on initiatives to reduce waste.

She is a big animal lover and became vegan for animals in 2017. Tammy has remained vegan for animal welfare first, but now also for personal health and the health of the planet. In her spare time, Tammy is a fitness fanatic – enjoying boxing, Kempo jiu-jitsu and holds her Certificate IV in Fitness with the Australian Institute of Fitness.

Tammy is pleased to join the amazing team at Sustainable Play Preschool and to help shape the future for our children, the animals and the environment.

With over 10 years of experience in the early education sector, Kirby brings with her a wealth of experience and knowledge. Having worked within a few services in the Maitland and Newcastle area, Kirby is an incredibly creative educator with a deep passion for inspiring in children a love of learning and exploration from a very early age.

Rachael was inspired to become an Early Childhood Educator after embarking on her own family’s learning journey with her two boys who have autism and ADHD. She is passionate about cultivating an inclusive environment that provides a better approach for children with alternative learning styles and needs, with a special interest in supporting children on the spectrum. At preschool, Rachael enjoys supporting children’s sensory needs, creating child-led science experiments and leading open-ended art and craft activities. She is currently working towards her diploma. In her free time, Rachael spends quality time with her family – going on scooter rides, beach walks, geocaching, kicking the soccer ball around and metal detecting.

Rosie is a passionate animal lover and Early Childhood Educator with over 12 years of experience in the industry. She loves all things nature and is not afraid to get her hands dirty. She prides herself as an advocate for children’s rights, with a particular focus on implementing RIE practices and developing respectful caregiving practices.

When not volunteering or fostering animals with Sweet Pea Animal Rescue, she enjoys playing soccer, going for walks, spending time with her partner Chris, seeing family, friends, and gardening.

Angie holds a Diploma in early childhood education and has received training in RIE with Polly Elam, Circle of Security, Let’s Count by The Smith Family, and Key Word Sign.

Angie has a passion for creating open-ended, child-led experiences for children and believes every child is unique, incredibly capable, and competent of anything they put their minds to. She is an advocate for risky play, allowing children to explore their own capabilities as well as developing their ability to assess risks during their play. Angie sees the benefits of outdoor learning and believes children can learn so much from outdoor play and the environment.

Angie implements a holistic approach to children’s learning, understanding that each child has a unique way of learning, and she does her best to cater for all learning styles

My name is Emma, I love working as an early childhood Educator. I started my career working towards my certificate III as a trainee, and then furthered my study and skills with doing my Diploma. Over these 3 years, my fascination has grown with the early years of a child’s life and how it’s the fundamental building blocks of a their brain development. As an educator, I have the privilege to support and build positive, supportive and nurturing connections to assist each child in developing confidence, resilience and find their sense of belonging in a community to support their development. I have an appreciation for the RIE approach, nature play, schematic education and building strong respectful relationships with children and families.

Linda’s love for native edible plants was ignited after studying the philosophy of permaculture. Driven by her passion for education, natural ecosystems and Australian edible plants, she went on to study conservation and land management and gain a Diploma of Business.

Surprised by the lack of awareness and familiarity of what is growing in our own backyards, Linda jumped at the chance to join the Sustainable Play Team. She enjoys educating children about the bounty of native foods on their doorstep and hopes that children and staff alike will be drawn to the garden for comfort, delight, exploration and of course something yummy to eat!

In her free time, Linda loves to use different Australian produce to create wholesome and delicious meals for her partner and son. Linda is also the proud owner of Oz Tukka, a local Lake Macquarie business that uses unique Australian bush flavours to create gourmet products.

With over 20 year’s experience in Early Childhood Education, Mandy has developed a deep passion for sustainability and integrating environmental learning within everyday practice.

With a natural flare for creativity, Mandy is dedicated to promoting each child’s autonomy and uniqueness, and facilitating experiences and learning opportunities that encompass the connection to their environment, families and the wider community.

Mandy also enjoys gardening, bush walking, painting, sculpting, singing, dancing, and playing the piano.

Having worked in early childhood since 2013, I am deeply passionate about building connections with children and families and creating a warm and intentional environment for young children to develop in. Children are natural learners who thrive when they are supported by the people around them, facilitating their strengths and providing them with challenges through play in their environment. When respected and given the time, space and opportunity, children display their capabilities and sense of self in their world.

My family moved to Newcastle from Sydney in 2023. I love enjoy getting outdoors with my family, spending time gardening and caring for both indoor and outdoor plants.

Graduating with a Bachelor of Design, Alana is our go-to person for anything creative! Alana is passionate about sustainable, plant-based living and incorporates these ideas into her creative work. In her free time, Alana loves going to the beach, rock climbing and photography.

Jo came to Sustainable Play in 2024 after many years of cooking in professional environments. She’s a parent of a Sustainable Play Preschool alumnus and has loved working on the back end of the Preschool making delicious, fresh plant-based food for the children and our staff team. Our menu has exploded with flavour since Jo began – the preschoolers and especially our staff are so grateful for Jo’s amazing abilities in delivering beautiful plant-based dishes. Jo meets the staff and children’s dietary requirements and preferences with grace and care, ensuring that each individual has the right food for their body. We feel spoiled and thankful for Jo!

Our administration superstar, there’s not a lot that Christie can’t do! With a permanent smile on her face, Christie is our family’s go-to support system and you can usually find her in the office, or sometimes soaking up all the fun and excitement in the playground.

Christie is also a mum to two young girls. When not at Sustainable Play Preschool she loves to cook, read or head outdoors for a walk in nature – no matter the weather!

Before coming to Sustainable Play as a Trainee in its opening year, 2021, Em worked for 4 years as a School Aged Care Educator in OOSH. She made the transition to Early Childhood Education as she believes the first 5 years of the child’s life are the most vital.

Emma’s personal philosophy focuses on supporting children to discover and realise their own potential as unique individuals as well as valuable global citizens, who can help shape a better world. She aims to inspire a deeper connection to nature and all living creatures by encouraging children to freely
explore and learn from the natural environment around them. Finding the simplest joys in life for children are jumping in puddles, rolling down hills, making mud pies or looking for insects under rocks, Em understands that this is invaluable to the development and overall wellbeing of children.

Em is studying an Advance Diploma with Melbourne Rudolf Steiner Seminar as a pathway to a Bachelor of Education. Em is inspired by Steiner’s holistic approach to education because it focuses on the development of the child’s whole being. As Rudolf Steiner said “to educate the whole child, his heart and his will must be reached, as well as his mind.” Em believes if children are educated in this way, they will feel more secure within themselves, their environment and will be more inclined to lend a helping hand.

When she’s not at work you’ll usually find her in an early morning yoga class, bushwalking, swimming in the ocean, collecting sea shells on the shore or sketching wildflowers. She loves spending time outdoors and finding ways to live more sustainably including worm farming, composting and growing mushrooms. Emma has a passion for Indian classical dance and the arts.

Emma loves her time at Sustainable Play Preschool as it is her wish to make a difference in the world by educating the younger generations to come.

Freya has been working in the early childhood industry for 12 years. She loves an environment that is inviting and fosters creativity, natural learning, and growth for all. 

As a child, Freya grew up in nature and spent lots of time helping her mum who ran an environmental education centre at Awabakal. She loves to connect children with the natural world through art, music and nature play and aims to provide sustainable programs that allow for nature to not only take over, but also provide guidance. 

Freya loves to engage children in risky play which allows them to be independent and manage their own risks to develop executive function abilities and risk management skills.

Freya enjoys being creative with cooking and the connection that can be made when sourcing food from the garden and eating a plant-based diet. She has a passion for loose parts and the role they provide for imaginative and creative experiences with preschool children. Nature has such an important role to play in the preschool years and connecting this at an early age provides a deep respect for our environment.

Freya believes Nature is the source of all true knowledge.

Growing up around Lake Macquarie, Grace has spent a lot of time exploring the local bushland, camping or on bush walks with her own children. Grace strongly believes in the importance of nurturing a love of our environment in children by spending quality and extended time in bush settings – where children are allowed to engage in risky-play and are encouraged to build relationships with each other, but also their bond to the natural landscape.

Malia has always hoped to work in the Early Childhood sector. She grew up in our beautiful Lake Macquarie, and has a great passion for all things outdoors and exploring our natural environment.

Chloe has been working in the early childhood education and care for over 5 years. She is passionate about promoting children’s voices and rights through play experiences. On the weekend, she loves to go camping, play soccer and walk by the beach. She also enjoys spending time with her dog Tilly.