Jeremy is the vice president of Stormwater NSW and Co-Founder of Ocean Protect.

A Kiwi born and bred, with a huge passion for the environment, Jeremy has called Sydney’s Northern Beaches home for the past 20 years. He lives and breathes the ocean and is dedicated to turning the tide on its demise.

Jeremy and Michael Wicks have owned Ocean Protect for almost a decade and recently led the organisations’ rebrand from Stormwater360 to Ocean Protect. The rebrand better reflects the organisation’s purpose beyond profit and its efforts to protect our oceans and waterways. With so much focus on single use plastics, Jeremy identified a need to evolve the convsersation about waterway health to include how urban pollution (including, but not limited to, plastic) reaches our creeks, rivers and oceans.

In 2019, Jeremy’s passion for the environment saw Ocean Protect enlist local governments (including the City of Ryde, City of Sydney, Noosa Council, Northern Beaches Council and Burwood Council) to commit to a ‘Zero Litter to Ocean’ target by 2030. This will see councils implement initiatives that will ensure there is zero discharge of gross pollutants into waterways during rainfall events. Ocean Protect hopes to get more councils across Australia to join this movement to stop pollutants from entering our waterways.

Jeremy’s infectious personality and commitment to preserving the natural environment saw the inception of the Ocean Protect Podcast in mid-2019. Jeremy and Principle Environmental Engineer, Brad Dalrymple use the podcast as a platform to speak about the issues facing the world’s waterways. With 40 podcast episodes to date they host have chatted with guests such as Marine Biologist Laura Wells, Founder of Bali Hope Tom Hickman and Co-Founder of Take 3 for the Sea Tim Silverwood.  In December 2019, Jeremy alongside Brad, competed in the Bali Hope Swimrun event on Lembongan Island. The event raised $33,000 for Friends of Lembongan and the Bali Children’s Foundation, funding the education of local children and increasing the capabilities of the island’s local recycling centre.