Deakin University Teams
South Africa Global Placement 2019
SLE225 Global Environmental Placement took me to South Africa for Big 5 research at Kwantu Game reserve through CIS Australia. This placement involved wildlife monitoring, big cat rehabilitation and physical restoration work with fellow Deakin students as well as volunteers from around the world. We cut down trees, moved rocks to restore roads and found ourselves covered in cactus spikes as we attempted to remove the invasive species from the reserve. We frequently worked in teams to complete these activities and spent long hours together, causing a few tensions as people fatigued, however I was able to use patience, compassion and consideration for others. There were instances where issues arose between some volunteers and I was able to listen to their concerns and help them come up with a compromise that benefitted both parties. This experience has enhanced my ability to be a supportive team member and work empathetically with diverse groups.
This placement also involved learning from and working with reserve staff members and visiting the local school one day a week. These experiences furthered my skills in working with people with different cultural backgrounds. My intercultural readiness check prior to departure demonstrated that I have strong skills in intercultural communication and active listening which were further strengthened on this global placement.
We were able to positively impact the local environment through both physical conservation work and education of local children, while learning new conservation skills from our conversations with the rangers.
Please view a letter from past Deakin student Delaney about this global placement below.
“Alexandra was very attentive, sociable and was always willing to work with others as a team”
Placement Supervisor - SLE225 Global Placement Evaluation Form
Promotions Manager Deakin Enviro Club 2021
In my final year at Deakin, I nominated for an executive committee position at the Deakin Enviro Club and was appointed as the Promotions manager for 2021. Teamwork was critical in this role as I collaborated with the executive team to organise and plan environmental events for our volunteers and promote them on social media. Support and patience were a huge requirement over the course of the year as we faced many challenges around the cancellation and rescheduling of events due to frequent and long lockdowns. However, we managed to run a few successful events, one of which was a day hike at the You Yangs where myself and the club president partnered with two other university clubs to plan and lead a hike through nature to connect students to their environment in a year where we have been indoors so much. I believe that connection to nature benefits mental and physical health while leading to positive outcomes for environmental protection in the future. Other planned events that have been rescheduled to next year include tree planting in the Otways, conservation work in Wilsons Promontory and social events like the Op shop ball. These events will encourage members at Deakin to have a significant impact on their environment and work with a team of dedicated and like-minded individuals.
My primary role as promotions manager was to develop and post content to maintain club engagement which was successfully completed through Instagram competitions and events promotion. This required some creativity as fellow executive committee members and I produced innovative content to ensure participants remained engaged through lockdown periods.
Click on the button below to view the Deakin Enviro Instagram.
University Teamwork
SLE309 Wildlife Conservation
In this unit I joined a group of 5 passionate students to run an online workshop and develop a threat abatement plan for tourism on Australian islands. I was so fortunate to have a dedicated team of peers to work on this assignment with. We held regular meetings over Zoom to plan both of our assignments where each team member contributed to discussions and listened to the ideas of others. We ran a very successful workshop for fellow students involving a range of creative online tools such as a Padlet I created and facilitated to collect participants ideas. We assigned roles according to each of our skills and preferences which allowed us to have a strong work ethic and team outcomes. I had the role of leading the workshop discussion time as well as completing a number of parts of the written assignment, while other team members played to their strengths. For example one team member shared their screen on Zoom and created breakout rooms using her fantastic tech and organisation skills to ensure our workshop ran without a hitch. Some team members had found their written sections difficult to complete as they struggled to find relevant information so myself and other group members offered some assistance to help finalise our written report which resulted in a distinction.
Follow the link below to view the team Padlet.
SLE226 Environmental Team-based Research
In this unit we undertook a Great Victorian Bird Survey (rather than a Grampians field trip pre-COVID-19), where we recorded the number of birds we observed in our own local area. We shared tasks equally amongst the 6 group members as we planned our assignments over Zoom. This assignment involved the individual data collection stage and a group poster to present our findings. We faced many difficulties as we adjusted to university online but there was a significant amount of support in our group which paid off as we received our final grade of a distinction. Team members were required to evaluate each other using the online tool ‘Feedback Fruits’, below you will find comments provided to me by my peers about how I performed as a group member.
Click on the button below to view our team poster.
SLE114 Introduction to Parks and Wildlife Conservation
One of my highlights through university was this unit where we spent 4 days in cabins at Cape Conran Coastal Park where we learnt to conduct wildlife surveys using a range of new techniques including radio tracking, GPS tracking, Elliot trapping and microchipping. We worked in teams to conduct trap checks early in the morning and complete activities together as we were introduced to the world of wildlife conservation. This was my first and only camp at Deakin giving me insight into what its like to work with fellow students through the day as well as head back to the cabin and cook a meal together. You quickly learn a lot about your individual team members when you work so closely and discover how each person likes to work, listen and share ideas. We all have different styles of communicating and learning, to successfully work in teams it is critical to understand this.
View some photos from the Cape Conran field camp above.
“Alexandra was a pleasure to work with, she is a very good listener and contributed to team discussions throughout the development of the assignment. Alexandra attended all meetings and assisted the team when considering solutions to issues.”
SLE309 Wildlife Conservation Team Member 2021 - Feedback fruits
“I loved that Alexandra was an active member of our team, contributing to every discussion and always made sure others were heard. I also really appreciated the effort she put in to our assignments and to our team. She was always there for our team members and our assignments, contributing great ideas.”
SLE309 Wildlife Conservation Team Member 2021 - Feedback Fruits
“Alexandra demonstrated great teamwork skills. She participated in all meetings and brainstormed great ideas. She was proactive in replying to and addressing team conversations. Alexandra provided good feedback for other team members work and always has a friendly attitude.”
SLE226 Environmental Team Based Research Team Member 2020 - Feedback Fruits