Volunteering
This first trip to Africa is what sparked my passion for environmental science and wildlife conservation, encouraging me to make it a career. I discovered a love for working in diverse teams with people with incredible values and knowledge to help animals, people and the environment. I was able to use my own creativity to design enrichment tasks for some of the chimpanzees and recruit my team members to aid me in the setting up and monitoring of these activities.
Zambia Chimpanzee Orphanage & South Africa Big 5 Research 2019
In 2019 I travelled to volunteer at a chimpanzee sanctuary in a remote part of Zambia through African Impact. Here I worked in a very small team of volunteers and staff members to carry out daily tasks such as preparing chimpanzee food, assisting with veterinary care and designing and creating enrichments tasks. Each of these activities required key teamwork skills to share the workload, listen to and implement each other’s ideas to ensure the successful running of the sanctuary for the health and safety of its animals.
On the same trip I travelled to South Africa for another African Impact project to carry out wildlife research and restoration on various game reserves. Here I worked in a much larger group of volunteers from all over the world, this taught me valuable lessons about working in diverse teams and listening to and learning from a wide array of cultures. Our research tasks involved rotating roles and sharing responsibilities over the spotting of animals and tracks and data taking. These tasks as well as tree planting and physical restoration made a significant impact on the reserves we worked in restoring habitat for wildlife and providing vital biodiversity data to land managers and other stakeholders.
National Sustainable Living Festival 2021
In early 2021 I joined the team at the National Sustainable Living Foundation as a promotions intern. My primary role was running the social media accounts and producing creative and engaging content to promote their largest events; the Sustainable Living Festival. This festival accepts applications from various organisations, small groups and individuals who want to share their passion for sustainable living and environmental protection. This experience was one of the first opportunities I had to work with a team of professionals where I could learn countless skills related to the running of an environmental non-profit organisation. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, my work was primarily done from home before I was able to visit the office, this meant that I had to learn how to contribute to a team environment while working remotely, becoming familiar quickly with Zoom and the importance of clear communication.
This internship contributed towards my unit for SLE301 Professional Practice, you can find my evaluation form below with comments from my supervisor as well as links to the 2021 Festival Report and the NSLF Instagram that showcases some of my work.
Roots & Shoots Volunteering 2020-2021
In late 2020 I applied to join the Roots & Shoots Victoria team at the Jane Goodall Institute Australia and was appointed an Area Coordinator role for South East Melbourne. In this role my key project has been the Roots & Shoots Victoria Leadership Experience where I was a core team member, working with 4 other volunteers to design and implement a program for university aged participants. This program was a recipient of funding from the Parks Victoria Innovation fund, supporting us to purchase equipment, accommodation and catering for a leadership camp in the Dandenong Ranges. With my core team members from around Victoria, we planned a weekend of environmental workshops, outdoor activities and team building exercises. My key contribution was developing the workshops from range of speakers with expertise in broad environmental and social topics. This program also provides seed funding to small groups of volunteers to run their own environmental activity in their local area such as a tree planting, weed removal, beach clean up or another original idea. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic we had to adapt the program and move workshops online in 2021 and we hope to run the in-person camp in the future.
At R&S I have also been involved in planning physical conservation and facilitating a conservation careers workshop for high school students for the Princes Trusts 'Achieve Fest'.
Please see a letter below from my RSVLE teammates Glenn and Mahima and a thank you email from team members at the Princes Trust Australia.
Indonesia Shark and Marine Conservation 2019
in 2019 I decided to try something a little different, travel to Gili Air, Indonesia to participate in marine conservation and learn to scuba dive. Gili Shark Conservation is a small organisation that conducts shark and marine research, coral reef restoration and underwater plastic removal around the Gili Islands. While most of my environmental focus has bee terrestrial based, this was an amazing opportunity to explore the underwater ecosystem and make a different but equally positive impact. Here I was so lucky to work in a small team of volunteers from all corners of the globe, many of which had incredible scuba diving experience and marine conservation knowledge. As a beginner my team mates were always so encouraging and reassuring when the diving became difficult or daunting. Our main tasks included underwater fish counts and data collection, watching underwater video and always making sure to collect any floating plastic that we came across.
Unfortunately, half way through my trip I became ill. After 5 days of recovery I was still unable to return to the dives, but I didn't want to let the team down. With my teammates and supervisor we decided I could still make a difference on land by speaking with local businesses and restaurants about single use plastics. Speaking with these businesses, I was able to assess their sustainability levels and record the steps they were taking to improve their practices, a highlight was providing certificates to those who ticked all the boxes. I found that the locals were so proud of their sustainable practices and truly care about protecting the beautiful environment on their doorstep. For the remainder of my trip I worked on the plastic free paradise campaign and assisted my team by watching underwater video. While the experience didn't go quite as planned, I left the Islands feeling as though I still had a meaningful contribution and positively impacted the environment.
Below is a link the Gili Shark Conservation Plastic Free Paradise campaign.
Australasian Dark Sky Alliance Youth Ambassadorship 2021
I was awarded a position as one of 5 of the first ever Youth Ambassadors at the Australasian Dark Sky Alliance. This experience provided us with the support and training to develop our own creative project that has a positive impact on light pollution across Australia. My fellow ambassadors and I met regularly to discuss ideas and help each other develop individual projects. One of my key tasks was to interview each of the Youth Ambassadors for a feature article introducing who we are and why we are working to protect the night sky, you can view this article in the window below. I also worked with other ambassadors to create content for ADSA social media accounts. Working closely with uni students from around Australia with such diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise from human geography to astronomy, and coming together to raise awareness of a little known environmental issue was one of the most positive experiences I’ve had. I'm looking forward to being a mentor to the 2022 cohort of youth ambassadors in the future.
Please find a reference letter from the ADSA Founding director, Marnie Ogg, and board member and science communication mentor, Jen Martin, below.