UniSC alumni Fien Van den Steen and Carmine Buss met for the first time at the Green Summit in Bangkok in 2022. Organised by the United Nations and Humanitarian Affairs, it brought together 150 passionate students worldwide to listen to global experts in sustainable development. Fien and Carmine turned out to be an amazing team with complementary skills and perspectives. They became Humanitarian Affairs Green Ambassadors committed to implementing sustainability projects within their community. This is their story of inspiration and collaboration and how you can get involved.

Where it all started...

Fien: I used to work as an investigative journalist across the world, reporting on environmental issues such as climate change, and the impacts of mega projects. After 7 years, I realised that there were already many ways to solve the environmental crisis with many people doing amazing things, however climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution issues were worsening. That was a sign to throw the pen in the corner and return to university. I wanted to act, and more specifically, work for the United Nations and create global ripple effects of change.

During my bachelor of Environmental Management, I was able to make an impact from day one by becoming co-chair of the Student Senate co-chair, a UniSC council member, and relaunching Enactus – an award-winning social entrepreneurship student group. Then came the big opportunity - attending the Green Summit at the UN Conference Centre in Bangkok. A sneak peek into my future, perhaps? I am grateful to have been recognised for my commitment to sustainability and the community during my studies, receiving the Australasian Green Gown Award, the Australian Council of Environmental Deans and Directors (ACEDD) Scholar Award, and the Chancellor's Medal, University Medal and Student Leadership Award at Graduation recently.

Carmine: After 14 years in hospitality, I sought something more meaningful, leading to a psychology degree at UniSC, not to become a clinician, but to understand how psychology could address societal issues. I thrived as an undergrad, actively volunteering to explore different interests. During honours, I connected my passion for the environment with academia, applying psychology to climate action. This was it; this is my purpose! At my Graduation in 2021, I was honoured to receive the Chancellor’s Medal, University Medal, and Student Leadership Award for my academic and voluntary contributions.

From such a high, I naïvely enrolled in a PhD seeking every co-curricular opportunity, including attending the Green Summit. When I returned, I was eager to dive into my studies and start a sustainability project. But I experienced acute role fatigue and burnout. Too much too soon! After a year's leave from my studies, I recommenced my PhD in environmental psychology research with renewed focus and application to my role as a Humanitarian Affairs Green Ambassador (and a new respect for life/study balance!).

From Green Summit to light bulb moment

Returning inspired and ready for action after the Green Summit, we immediately identified our community's sustainability strengths and gaps. The strengths? The wealth of expertise at UniSC. The gap? Connecting these experts to the community in an interactive way. To address the gap, we sent out an email to gauge the interest of staff and the response was overwhelming. We created a working group of 40 staff across the university who helped fine-tune our idea. It was humbling to have so many staff respond to our call for action when bringing our ideas to fruition. Dr Vikki Schaffer and Dr Leanda Garvie offered fortnightly meetings to assist with our first events. From consultation, we co-founded the Upskilling Sustainability Initiative, with the aim of holding monthly workshops and creating an online community. There was certainly an appetite in the university, but would there be one from the community too?

From idea to action – our biggest triumph

It turns out the community's desire for upskilling sustainability matched the desire of the university (and us)! We held five events across five months, including contributing with citizen science to the Sunshine Coast Dark Skies Reserve proposal, the Sunshine Coast Marine Bioblitz and a Sustainable Nighttime Economy event. Our Facebook community continues to grow, connecting sustainability collaborations across the coast. In November, we present our initiative at the ACTS Conference: The Future of Sustainability.

Next steps - sustaining sustainability

We have been on an amazing journey so far, and it has been uplifting to see the enthusiasm of the working group members, presenters and attendees. We don’t want to see that stop. The challenge is to keep Upskilling Sustainability sustainable without relying on gifts of time from us and others. How do we make it financially sustainable and weave it into our lives?

Could we make it an independent social enterprise, perhaps? Sustainability must be accessible, but it must also remain accessible for us without burdening other areas of our lives – which many entrepreneurs will recognise.

How you can get involved

If you have gone before us on a similar journey, know someone who has, or just want to get involved, let's connect; we are eager to learn and collaborate. When people ask us why we do this, we smile and say, "because it's just the right thing to do".

Let's connect:

• Facebook group - Upskilling Sustainability Sunshine Coast

• LinkedIn - Fien Van den Steen
• LinkedIn - Carmine Buss
• Email - upskillingsustainability@gmail.com