About People Planet Purpose
An award-winning consultancy supporting organisations and communities to connect people and planet through strategy, engagement, evaluation and education.
About People Planet Purpose
Led by Landcare Australia award recipient Zhan Patterson, People Planet Purpose supports organisations and communities to connect people and planet through strategy, engagement, evaluation and education.
Bringing years of experience across the Education, Government, Tertiary and NGO sectors, People Planet Purpose works with organisations to create meaningful impact across four focus areas:
Community and stakeholder engagement – bringing people together around shared environmental and social impact goals
Strategy and strategic direction – creating the frameworks that turn vision into outcomes and real change.
Policy and Program evaluation including social and environmental impact – measuring what matters, communicating it clearly
Environmental engagement, education and advocacy – building awareness, connection and action
Through these focus areas, People Planet Purpose supports organisations to enable and facilitate connected and cohesive communities, alongside work with the planet.
Our planet is in crisis. Now, more than ever, we need empowered people and communities and a healthy and regenerative planet.
About Zhan
Hi, I’m Zhan – an engagement specialist and strategic facilitator who brings a depth of know-how in developing strategies with impact, supported by tools to measure and communicate them clearly.
My key areas of expertise are community and stakeholder engagement, strategy development and implementation, as well as program and policy evaluation. From my work in education, I am a confident facilitator, whether for a gathering of 20 or 2000.
My work spans the education, tertiary, NGO and government sectors and I hold a Bachelor of Education, Masters of Environment in Education, Policy and Economics, Graduate Certificate in Evaluation from Melbourne University, an IAP2 Certificate from the International Association of Public Participation and a Diploma of Project Management. This combination of professional qualifications and experience enables me to bring a depth of understanding of program strategy and evaluation to program management to ensure outcomes are successfully realised, measured and communicated.
My underlying interest in, and passion for, the natural world is reflected in my work across these multiple fields – from leading global strategy and partnerships at the University of Queensland to being one of the founding committee members of the Hawkesbury Environment Network in Sydney’s North West – all with a common thread of connecting people and the planet.
Cross-sectoral expertise
The combination of creating successful large-scale strategies and the know-how to translate the strategy into practical on-the-ground outcomes with multi-disciplinary teams is a key strength of People Planet Purpose.
The consultancy has applied this know-how in their work across the Education, Government and NGO sectors including work in the water, energy and biodiversity sectors spanning the NSW and Queensland Governments, as well as social impact work including the Queensland Government’s Youth and Women’s strategies, and the University of Queensland’s Global Strategy and Partnerships.
Zhan’s work with young people is focused on supporting them in creating on-the-ground action whereby environmental and social change can occur. This work was evident in the Alive! Program, which Zhan developed in conjunction with the Hawkesbury Environment Network in Sydney’s NorthWest. Zhan was awarded the NSW Innovative Landcare Award and was National runner-up. The Alive! Program was featured in the Landcare in Focus publication (August 2014) with special guest Costa from Gardening Australia. You can also read more about the history of the Network here.
Rewilding and Land Regeneration
Alongside this professional work, I aim to do my bit for caring for the planet with my family through re-generating the land we live on in Southeast Queensland. Learn more about this work below.
