Written by Henry Gibson
I’m Henry, the 2023 Wagga Wagga Sustainability Adviser and I wanted to give a little insight into my role and some of the campus activities that I have initiated and collaborated on this year.
At Charles Sturt, we have a small (but awesome) team of Student Sustainability Advisers that coordinate environmental and social sustainability-themed events/initiatives throughout the year.
In this role I have worked with both the Sustainability at Charles Sturt and Residence Life teams (and lots of others along the way).
Sustainability Advisers play to their strengths and passions, so we all perform in our role a little differently but that offers team diversity and moments to learn from each other.
2023 has been great and I have loved the opportunity to fuel my passion of being able to make sustainable changes around campus as well as the connections I have made with other Sustainability Advisers.
In my role I have assisted with Open Day workshops, gardening bees, evening spotlighting events, student grants and contributed to online and social media communication.
One of my favourite projects this year has been rejuvenating the Wagga campus gardens.
We’ve significantly increased the number of garden beds around campus, and it’s been great holding various working bees and getting other students involved with growing their own produce.
We’ve planted a variety of things and are lucky enough right now, to have some things ready to be picked!
As a farmer, and someone who’s always had a veggie patch, this initiative was important to me.
I love watching how a garden teaches others about caring for the environment and how biodiversity can encourage pollinators which are essential to a successful garden.
I also think it’s a great way to organically grow your own food and reduce the number of food miles from paddock to plate.
My stand-out moment this year has to be, firing up the pizza oven in the Murrumbidgee Gardens; a social, laid-back, and fun evening, where everyone felt welcome.
So much so, that we collaborated with the Student Activity Planning team to have another. Again, proving popular with over 5kg of dough used along with plenty of fresh herbs sourced from the garden.
Delicious and fun!
My time with the Sustainability Team has been enjoyable and worthwhile; I have made positive contributions to our campus environment and engaged students with events, initiatives, and sustainable practices throughout the year.
We are now recruiting for new 2024 Student Sustainability Advisers, so if you think this sounds interesting drop the Sustainability Team an email or visit the Sustainability at Charles Sturt on Instagram or Facebook.
These are paid positions which offer flexible working hours, so your can fit your work around study and other commitments (even better).
Student Sustainability Adviser Jobs – closing Sunday November 12
To apply for an online position click here.
To apply for a campus position click here.
A final note
I hope to see activities continue next year with the new Wagga Sustainability Adviser and, fingers crossed there is more pizza.
If you wanted to make direct contact with the team, email: sustainabilty@csu.edu.au
If you wish to share your story with Charlie contact charlie@csu.edu.au
