Tim Jarvis AM
Adventurer, Environmental Scientist and 2024 South Australian of the Year
Environmental scientist, explorer, and sustainability expert Tim Jarvis draws on 30+ years of leading expeditions and environmental advocacy to inspire audiences on leadership, motivation, and climate action. A pragmatist with a global perspective and was South Australia’s 2024 Australian of the Year.
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Tim’s childhood love of the outdoors has led to his career as an environmental scientist and in leading expeditions to some of the world’s most remote places. With more than 30 years of experience in both disciplines, Tim has a wealth of knowledge about what it takes to lead teams to perform at the highest level – knowledge he regularly shares with corporate and governmental audiences around the world.
Tim’s sustainability beliefs, like his approach to expeditions, are based around a pragmatic optimism – understanding the scale of the task ahead and prevailing through a combination of outcome-focused goal-setting, adaptability, resilience and good teamwork.
He also understands that there is no single solution to achieving sustainability outcomes. This is reflected in the wide range of initiatives he supports and works on, including environmental advocacy work with conservation charities WWF, Fauna & Flora and the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife and marine conservation advocacy work with The Pew Foundation.
Tim also provides strategic and practical sustainability advice to a range of corporate organisations. His current roles with partner organisations include providing environmental advice to outdoor apparel company Patagonia for whom sustainability and brand quality are top priorities, Vitality Ambassador for global insurance company AIA, and Environment Ambassador for the BGIS Property Group, and he is head of the adventure advisory panel and on the advisory board of the Australian Geographic Society. Tim is also a highly sought after public speaker, particularly on leadership and motivation as well as on environmental, biodiversity and climate-change-related issues.
Tim holds Masters degrees in environmental science and environmental law. He was conferred a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for services to environment, community and exploration in the 2010 Australian honours list and was voted Conservationist of the Year in 2016 by the Australian Geographic Society. In November 2023 Tim was named South Australia’s Australian of the Year 2024.
Video
Topics
Leadership
By Endurance We Conquer: lessons in leadership from a lifetime of expeditions
In his presentation (virtual or in-person) Tim will talk about the lessons learnt from both the Shackleton Epic Expedition and his current climate change awareness project 25zero to talk about leadership, problem solving, risk management, resilience, teamwork, motivation and goal setting in an organisational and personal context. In the context of the challenges the world faces as a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic, when the need for resilient and humane leadership, adaptability, motivation and team cohesion is greater than ever, Tim’s observations have even more resonance.
Isolation
Coping with Isolation – lessons from a lifetime of exploration and environmentalism
Tim’s experience of isolation has taken many forms over the years, from undertaking expeditions to some of the world’s remotest regions to the loneliness of working for himself, of leadership and of challenging environmental norms. In his virtual presentation, Tim will share with his online audience the coping mechanisms that he has employed in these widely ranging but surprisingly connected scenarios.
