Michelle is an innovative and thought-provoking teacher and educator. She is committed to designing and delivering education workshops and professional development courses, that enable people to care about life on Earth, and create Earth centred governance systems.
Michelle teaches regularly into University courses as a guest lecturer, including with Griffith University, UNSW, Bond and other institutions. She hosts a series of highly successful professional development courses every year, and has been creating and hosting community education workshops and events for AELA, since 2012.
Visit Michelle’s testimonials webpage to read what others have said about her teaching and training.
University
Michelle is a regular guest lecturer at a number of universities in Australia, including UNSW and Griffith University. Michelle speaks into law courses, community development courses and cross-cultural forums in Australia and overseas.
- Selected University lectures, workshops and courses include the following:
- 2024 – ‘Rights of Nature: A New Paradigm of Ecological Justice’- Guest Lecture for Masters Class, Azim Premji University, India – (online, 21 May)
- 2024 – ‘Sustainability Leadership” – Guest Lecture for Golden Oasis Spring Foundation, Lagos, Nigeria, (online, 28 April)
- 2023 – Bond University, Wild Law Course, March 2023 – Guest Lecturer
- 2023, 2022 & 2021 – UNSW Masters Course on Sustainability – Guest Lecturer (Sept, Nov)
- 2022 – 5 May – “Engaging with communities beyond the Academy”, 1 Day Professional Development Workshop designed and delivered for Griffith University’s “Flourish” Conference, for Mid Career Researchers
- 2019-2016 – Michelle created Australia’s first university level course on Earth laws, which was taught at Griffith University Law School in Brisbane as a summer school each year from 2016 to 2019.
- 2015 – January to July – Professor/Course Teacher – Center for Earth Jurisprudence (CEJ), Barry University, Florida USA
Professional development courses
- “Introduction to Decolonisation” – Professional Development Course (4 Weeks), created and delivered for AELA
- October 2024
- “Introduction to Earth Laws” – Professional Development Course (4 Weeks), created and delivered for AELA
- February 2023
- March 2024
- “Earth Centred Futures” – Professional Development Course (8 Weeks), created and delivered for AELA
- July-August 2022
- May-June 2024
- “Building a New Economy for Australia” – Professional Development Course (8 Weeks), created and delivered for the New Economy Network Australia (NENA).
- May-June 2023
- June-July 2021
Workshops and public webinars – designed and hosted by Michelle
- “Exploring Bioregionalism” – July 2024 to November 2025 – featuring speakers from Australia and around the world
- Earth Laws Month 2023 – September 2023 – 25 webinars hosted across September 2023, featuring speakers from around the world
- Earth Laws Month 2022 – 32 webinars hosted across September 2022, featuring speakers from around the world
- “Climate Conscious Lawyering”, AELA Webinar Series – Exploring Earth Laws, 1 July 2021
- “Caring for Country, Caring for Each Other: Celebrating World Localisation Day in Australia”, AELA Webinar Series – Exploring Earth Laws, 14 June 2021
- “Exploring River Rights, with Dr Erin O’Donnell”, AELA Webinar Series – Exploring Earth Laws, 1 June 2021
- “An Introduction to Indigenous First Laws with Dr Anne Poelina, Martuwarra River Council (Kimberley Region, WA)”, AELA Webinar Series – Exploring Earth Laws,11 May 2021
- “Making ecocide a crime: international update with Jojo Mehta, Stop Ecocide International”, AELA Webinar Series – Exploring Earth Laws, 14 April 2021
- “Earth Systems Law and the Earth Condominium Concept”, AELA Webinar Series – Exploring Earth Laws , 17 March 2021
- “Introduction to the Rights of Nature and Earth Laws“, 2021 Workshop Series (March to November)
- “Connecting to Place, Caring for Country”, Workshop co-hosted with Future Dreaming, Brisbane, half day workshops held in March, April, May, June and December 2020
- ‘One Ocean Symposium: Exploring Rights of Nature and Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction‘, New York, Saturday 24 August 2019
- ‘Earth Laws: Rights of Nature and bioregional governance’, co-hosted by TreeSisters, Sunshine Coast University, 27 April 2019
- ‘Developing a GreenPrint – bioregional governance for East Gippsland”, 2 Day Workshop, 12-13 April 2019
- “Sustainability and Earth Centred Governance”, Invited Speaker, Staff Symposium, St. Ignatius High School, Edmund Rice Network, Townsville 16 June 2018
- “Rights of Nature and Bioregional Governance” – East Gippsland, Victoria, 29 July 2018
- “GreenPrints: A pathway to Earth centred, bio-regional governance”, RenewFest, 17th May 2018
- “Sustainability and Earth centred governance,” St Laurence’s College, Brisbane, 10th May 2018
- ‘Earth laws and governance’, Brisbane, EcoCentre, June 2017
- ‘Exploring Earth Laws, Earth Democracy and the Rights of Nature’, One day workshop, Orbost, Victoria, 6th March 2016
- ‘Earth jurisprudence and the Precautionary Principle’ – Workshop delivered to Earth Ethics Institute, Miami Dade College, 20 March 2015
- ‘Introduction to Wild Law, Earth Jurisprudence and Rights of Nature – Paper presented at Australian Earth Laws Alliance Workshop, Sydney 3 May 2013
- ‘Living Within Our Ecological Limits: the Role of Law and Governance’ – Paper presented at Australian Earth Laws Alliance Workshop, Adelaide, 30 November 2012
- ‘Earth Governance, Ecological Limits and the Role of Law’ – Paper presented at AELA Workshop, Melbourne, 17 August 2012