DEAKIN HALLMARK FOR TEAMWORK EXCELLENCE IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Hi, my name is Crystal. I am a final-year Environmental Science (Environmental Management and Sustainability) student who is passionate about positive environmental change. Throughout my university degree I have exemplified exceptional teamwork skills, both within university experiences and volunteering. I believe that the key to success is strong teamwork skills to strive for common goals and achieve success. Below I have delved into my experiences with teamwork and hope that my range of experiences is admirable as a candidate for this hallmark.
Sustained and meaningful contribution to diverse teams
Standard 1
Throughout my degree at Deakin University I have experienced many team-based environments which have enhanced my teamwork skills including leadership, organisation and initiative. This includes working with diverse teams at university, placement and volunteering.
SLE225: Global Placement - Koh Tao, Thailand
In the summer of 2019, I was fortunate enough to volunteer overseas in a once in a lifetime opportunity with CIS Australia. The four-week WIL program on this remote island with 10 Deakin students revolved around coral reef restoration. Marine degradation is an issue very close to my heart. Growing up in the coastal town of Warrnambool, I have always cared for the ocean and been inspired by its beauty. Therefore, I was determined to make a positive impact during my placement in Koh Tao.
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In the first week we obtained our Advanced Open Water Dive Certification. The next three weeks entailed daily lectures and dives with the New Heaven Reef Conservation program where we completed Ecological Monitoring, invasive species removal and artificial reef restoration. I was required to work as a team constantly, specifically when scuba diving. This was essential for my team’s safety and success underwater and also enhanced communication and leadership skills.
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In particular, a common task completed underwater was reef restoration which required patience, accuracy and collaboration with other team members. This task was crucial to the success of our work and involved collecting coral fragments and carefully hitching them to the artificial reef structure. While individually working, I noticed two of my team members both very confused and frustrated, showing signs of stress, this can be a major safety issue whilst scuba diving. Without hesitation, I assisted my team to actively solve the problem. By using our skills learnt to communicate underwater, they conversed to me which part of the task they did not understand. I slowly and calmly demonstrated how to hitch the coral onto the structure, ensuring they understood. I encouraged and commended them as they then completed the task successfully.
My team members were very thankful and felt accomplished with what they had achieved. By working as a team, the coral hitching was completed correctly which is crucial to the reef’s survival and our success as a team.
SLE308 Policy Instruments for Sustainability
I believe that communication is a key component of effective teamwork. In my final year of my bachelor’s degree, I completed SLE308 Policy Instruments for Sustainability. Within this unit I was randomly allocated to a group whom I had never met. Due to COVID-19, the only form of communication was via video call or message, which was challenging at times. However, I used exceptional communication skills to create a positive team environment. I achieved this by including others, for example if a team member hadn’t spoken on video call in a while, I would ask them a question so that they felt included and valued. I also demonstrated initiative by editing all group members individual’s videos into one professional video. This extra workload also required leadership and organisation as I had to make prompt and appropriate decisions for the group and coordinate individual videos efficiently.
Crystal was a valued team member of our group. She contributed to communications, meeting deadlines and finalised our presentation. I would happily work in a group with Crystal again. Keep up the great work!
Emma White
Crystal shows a lot of initiative to get the assignment completed added to that she also puts forward her creativity in making the video look professional
Shash Dodampahala
Great team member with fantastic communication skills. Took on increased workload with editing the groups final video. Great work quality and effort.
Kate Jones
Significant impact of teamwork on the environment
Standard 2
Motivating positive environmental change is very important to me. I am passionate about educating others about issues such as climate change and biodiversity loss. I believe it is crucial to create awareness in society in order for people to understand and implement individual change, whether this be recycling or eating less meat. My ability to work in teams has enabled me to successfully make an impact on environmental problems. This is supported by the examples and evidence below.
Sea Shepherd Australia
I have been volunteering as a Video Producer for Sea Shepherd Australia since April 2020. I enjoy putting my creative skills and environmental knowledge into an organisation that creates awareness and drives positive environmental change. My passion for ocean preservation has been heightened since working in this team as I am able to make an impact on environmental issues, locally, nationally and globally. The videos that I produce as part of the Communication team at Sea Shepherd are posted on social media including Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, both on their Australia and Global pages. Therefore, reaching a wide audience and educating the community. Successful videos created include Ocean Defenders for Threatened Species Day, World Maritime Day and Moreton Island Clean up. A link for Ocean Defenders has been provided in the Volunteer menu bar and below.
Crystal is an invaluable part of the Sea Shepherd Communication team. Her dedication to marine conservation is outstanding and her knowledge of marine environments and wildlife is a great asset to the conservation movement. She is creative, dependable, and has consistently worked with the whole team to produce highly impactful work. Her innovative approach to solving problems has allowed us to create some incredibly powerful and informative media assets that have been used to raise awareness and help meet ambitious campaign goals.
Bessie Byrne, Digital Content and Media Coordinator, Sea Shepherd Australia
SLE225: Global Placement - Koh Tao, Thailand
My work in Koh Tao, Thailand completing reef restoration has an overall positive impact on the local coral reef environment. I used learnt techniques to plant coral fragments which had been destroyed by the recent monsoon. By working successfully in a team, we were able to make a combined impact by working towards the common goal of restoring the reefs health. Reef restoration in my team was extremely rewarding as I could visually see the damage and then afterwards observe the positive impact made by myself and the team. I learnt how to deal with challenging environments whilst keeping environmental health in mind. For example, being cautious not to damage coral when I was pushed around in strong underwater currents.
Development or implementation of creative and innovative ideas or processes within a team
Standard 3
Teams can come together to combine and share ideas. Creativity can create a positive team environment as it is often inclusive and diverse. All teams have members with strengths and weaknesses, however the success of a team is determined by the way in which peoples strengths are put to use.
Marine Mammal Foundation
I completed university placement for SLE301 at the Marine Mammal Foundation (MMF) in Mentone. I have since held an ongoing volunteer role for this non-for-profit organisation where I am responsible for a mini project on Foetal Folds in Dolphins. I work in a close team with my supervisor to achieve the common goals of monitoring the local dolphin population. Over my time at MMF I have creatively developed a Foetal Fold catalogue which enables individual dolphins to be recorded and tracked on sighting. It is an important tool for the success of the organisation in order to track dolphin sightings. This enables the whole team at MMF to be able to easily identify and retrieve data. At MMF, I have enhanced initiative and organisational skills which has led me to be a valued team member.
Crystal on many occasions exceeded expectations of the internship requirements. She was able to follow instructions effectively and apply her own problem-solving skills where possible. She was able to learn new skills and techniques quickly enabling her to complete required task very efficiently. Moving her internship remotely caused no issues with her project progress as Crystals’ was able to successfully work more independently. She easily fitted into MMF’s work environment and was a joy to work with. We have asked Crystal to stay onboard as a volunteer with MMF enabling her to continue her great work on the Burrunan Dolphin Foetal Fold project.
Bridgette O’Shannessy, Volunteer Coordinator, Marine Mammal Foundation
SLE226: Team Based Research
This unit was my first major teamwork experience in my university degree. I was allocated to a group of 6 where we investigated invertebrates in riparian and non-riparian habitats in the Grampians. Whilst in the Grampians on camp, we shared the common goal of acquiring accurate data in an efficient matter. We achieved this by equally delegating roles and setting smaller daily goals which worked towards the overarching goal. The key to success in this team was making use of individual strengths. For example, one specific team member had excellent knowledge and experience with invertebrate identification using microscopes, therefore he took leadership during this task. Our team was inclusive of all members. Due to the diverse range of individuals, we all had varying ideas and opinions. This could be challenging at times as it could become difficult to come to a consensus. During these situations it was crucial to listen to all team members ideas to ensure everyone felt valued, heard and equal. We discussed a range of peoples creative and innovative ideas and decided how they would benefit the team.
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I encouraged team members to share their ideas, actively listened and showed interest in their opinions. I took upon feedback on my individual ideas from team members and gave feedback to others. The practical teamwork in the Grampians encouraged me to show leadership and organisation in order to meet team goals. I often encouraged and motivated others in order to achieve a positive and equal team environment.