Environmental Science Teamwork Hallmark Application

Prana Energy and Bunjil Energy (Prana’s indigenous sister-company) are commercial solar energy providers who install and manage renewable energy solutions for businesses, organisations and government to shift energy generation from fossil fuels to renewables. For 1-2 days a week over eight months in 2017/18 I worked with the two founders, three managers and other team members to create a new recruitment and on-boarding system. In the team I was responsible for researching innovative recruitment systems, running discussions and meetings to identify the vision and needs for the system, generating ideas and then creating and implementing the new system. I then used the new system (including creating position descriptions, posting job adverts, reviewing applications and undertaking interviews) with the founder to recruit a passionate CEO and sales team members who added vibrancy and diverse skills to the team. Together they are accelerating renewable energy use and indigenous employment.

 

" He (Mark) listened well to team members and provided creative solutions to solve problems, resulting in an effective system and documents."

 Jarrod Conroy, Founder of Prana Energy

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The EcoCity World Summit is an international conference exploring how urban development can be ecologically sustainable, economically prosperous and socially just. I worked in small groups, and independently at times, in a team of 25 people of different ages and cultural backgrounds to ensure the smooth operation of the conference. I took direction from the event coordinator and used clear and timely communication in the team to ensure the team was informed on the progress of sessions. I displayed leadership when we did not know specific details by finding the information and disseminating that to the team so we could give more accurate guidance to the attendees. This allowed us to meet event timelines for over 100 talks and workshops, a keynote presentation by Al Gore and managing 2000+ attendees from government, business and social sectors over the 3 days in 2017.

 

Since 2017 I have volunteered each year at the National Sustainable Living Festival, which transforms Birrarung Marr into a sustainability hotspot for a weekend. This year I co-hosted the Off The Grid speech hub featuring talks from Michael Ablemen, Beyond Zero Emissions, and many more sustainability leaders. As a team member I gave Acknowledgment of Country, introduced speakers and assisted them to deliver inspirational messages. I used initiative to ensure presentations were set up professionally and the speakers’ requirements were met. I listened carefully to the venue coordinator and suggested improvements that resulted in speakers being grateful and impressed with our hosting abilities, supporting them to present effectively. Off The Grid played a key role in educating the public on sustainability and contributed to the festival receiving 100,000+ visitors in 2018 with a volunteer team of 422 people strong.

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"...his (Mark's) willingness to jump in and solve a problem, regardless of how small, showed a notable propensity for teamwork."

Alexandra Faure, Off The Grid Venue Coordinator, Sustainable Living Foundation 

 

At the 2017 Australian Open I volunteered with Ausnviro to communicate sustainability initiatives to the tournament spectators. In small teams of 2-3 people we worked autonomously following our supervisor's directions. We were able to educate 500+ people about sustainability at the Australian Open. In the team, I used my communication and feedback skills to improve our message and each other’s performance. This allowed us to present more compelling experiences to attendees. I used my creativity in collaboration with the other team members to generate new ideas for the following year. Unfortunately the Australian Open did not continue with these sustainability initiatives in 2018.

 

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At Deakin I was a Peer Support Network Leader for Environmental Science students in 2018 and will continue to be in 2019. Working in pairs, our goal as peer leaders is to help new university students transition into university life over the first half of the trimester. I used my organisational and problem solving skills to keep consistent contact with my fellow leader and our students to ensure we could meet at appropriate and regular times. I also used my problem solving skills when helping solve difficulties new students were having. I have provided feedback to the Deakin staff for improving the program and initiated, organised and ran an ‘Amazing Race’ activity during O’Week. This aimed to get new students connecting before formal study started, for a more welcoming transition. It was great to see my teamwork paying off as the students in my group settled into university and developed good friendships.

 

In the Sustainability Leadership unit at Wageningen University our team ran a one-and-a-half hour tutorial on gender and diversity in sustainability leadership. Our four-person team of different nationalities developed many ideas for the session so I provided constructive feedback to concentrate our key message. I ensured everyone was included in discussion to resolve conflict over ideas. These skills contributed to our team achieving the highest grade, and most importantly, effectively facilitated learning on a sometimes tentative issue. The students from different cultures opened up and had honest heartfelt conversations that were very moving.

 

In Trimester 3, 2017 I completed a Global Environmental Placement in Nepal run by Seven Women and Hands On Development Tours. The cultural immersion tour focused on sustainable development challenges in Nepal, particularly for marginalised women. I worked with The Seven Women Centre’s Country Director and Deakin Senior Lecturer to generate ideas for solving the centre’s composting problems and greenhouse upgrades, considering the contextual barriers. Using  listening and effective communication skills I was able to determine the exact needs of the project and communicate the solutions we created, and how to implement them. This resulted in clear information and understanding for the Country Director, and a solution of the kitchen waste being used for compost to grow food for the kitchen. During the two-week trip our team of eighteen people, consisting of Deakin students and Australian and international professionals experienced some confronting situations in a third-world country. I made an effort to include everyone in discussion or debrief to help the team process the experiences and learn from them. Providing my own thoughts, feelings and experiences openly and honestly allowed me to give advice to those who needed it. As a result our team bonded incredibly well and learnt life-long lessons. We are all still in touch and continue to share and mutually learn from each other’s life experiences.

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"...many of the team of students that struggled at the time may not have even been aware that Mark was supporting them in difficult times, but it was abundantly clear to me." 

Janine McBurnie, Senior Lecturer (Environmental Management & Sustainability), Deakin University

 

I studied Environmental Sustainability at Hubei University in China to further my understanding of environmental challenges in China and improve my intercultural teamwork skills. During and outside of class I used communication skills - particularly listening and clear explanation, alongside cultural consideration to achieve positive teamwork outcomes. Group teamwork outcomes included each team member contributing to the group and developing new skills. I used these communication skills across group work and presentations. Also more broadly when building friendships.

 

During the Hydrology and Water Resource Management unit and the Environmental Team Based Research unit I have used my teamwork skills to produce beneficial team outcomes. Over the trimester-long projects I listened well to other students and provided constructive feedback. This aided decision making in the field and for presenting our team's findings.

 

With every teamwork experience I have it solidifies the importance of teamwork in the environmental field to me. Each and every experience provides me with new insights to take with me and share on my journey; and in my next teamwork project. I have come a long way over the last few years and am continuously learning how to work better in teams. Anyone with environmental interests is aware that there are many environmental challenges that humans are facing. These challenges are opportunities for us to make a meaningful difference. The more we work as teams, the more we will achieve. I feel this quote from Ryunosuke Satoro sums this idea up nicely:

             

                                                        "Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean."

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                                                                     Let's be an ocean with waves of change.

 

 

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Thank you for your consideration and I hope that you agree that my range of teamwork capabilities demonstrated across work environments, team sizes and cultures makes me a fitting candidate for the Teamwork Hallmark.

 

Mark.​