Cleaning up

Late last year, University of NSW students Turia Pitt and Celine Steinfeld received surprise phone calls. They were two of 20 young people appointed Green Ambassadors, sponsored by the Commonwealth Bank and Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) - an organisation that co-ordinates 10,000 volunteers annually.

"I was really happy to be recognised for all the environmental work I'd done but also really shocked as my friend had secretly nominated me," says 20-year-old Pitt, who is entering the third year of a double Mining Engineering and Environmental Science degree.

Celine Steinfeld, a 22-year-old bachelor of science and media communications honours graduate, was in the same boat. A friend had put her name down for the award after working with Steinfeld on the "Bagbusters" campaign at the Watershed Sustainability Resource Centre in Newtown.

In 2002, just before Steinfeld started at UNSW, she had started Bagbusters, a community education drive that encouraged local businesses and consumers to shun plastic bags and switch to reusable cloth bags instead. Her volunteer campaign won her a Local Government and Shires Association Award and recognition from Clean Up Australia. Then Marrickville Council adopted her program and funded her to work for the campaign for two years while she continued at UNSW part-time.

"Doing volunteer work is so essential to learning about environmental issues," Steinfeld says. "I gained invaluable knowledge and experience and was able to directly apply the content I was learning in uni class."

Closer to her home in Clovelly, Steinfeld was the president of the local bush regeneration program at Gordons Bay for four years.
During the same period, Pitt also threw herself into green issues. She was chosen as a finalist in the Miss Earth Australia competition in September, a national beauty pageant that requires participants to have extensive environmental knowledge.

Living on campus at UNSW, Pitt had been part of the Eco-colleges campaign, encouraging students to recycle and be aware of their energy and water usage.

The Green Ambassadors award acknowledges and rewards the commitment and input of young people such as Pitt and Seinfeld in conservation says Karen Dimmock, CVA strategic program manager. "Our winners show very strong environmental leadership, initiative and a high understanding of and involvement in their local communities," she says.

The ambassadors each win a digital camera and can visit a range of conservation volunteer projects in remote parts of Australia.

Published: 13 February 2008