Reaffirming the old mantra that actions speak louder than words, University of Tasmania Cradle Coast medical student Chester James-Smith has earned international recognition for his on-campus sustainability initiatives and passion.
The recent recipient of the inaugural Green Impact Australasia student award for sustainability, Chester said he was inspired by the importance of living a sustainable life in every way- as well as by the beauty of the Cradle Coast region he called home last year.
“The Cradle Coast is a unique place with its intimacy to wilderness, strong community spirit, rugged history and fascinating socio-political challenges, all of which really inspired me,” Chester said.
“Nowhere else in the world can you drive down the street and be towered by wind turbine parts on one side and wood chips on the other.
“It is easy to feel detached in our comfortable lives from the climate crisis and other social justice issues, but living in the Cradle Coast region, I really felt like I was on the frontline and this was exciting.”
Chester spent 2019 at the University’s College of Health and Medicine Rural Clinical School, as part of his Bachelor of Medicine studies.
During his time on campus Chester encouraged behaviour change and motivated his peers to engage in a range of sustainability projects including ride to work days (rewarded with hot breakfasts), bike maintenance skill sharing for students, leading a student team to meet political representatives to discuss climate change and health, and planning and overseeing the construction of an innovative bench seat, bathtub worm farm, which inspired other staff to want to construct more on campus.
He was also involved in campus greening activities, ranging from creating herb gardens to planting native trees.
The Green Impact Australasia Awards recognise the most creative and engaging sustainability student and staff champion amongst thousands of people who take part in the Australasian Green Impact program.
The Green Impact program provides a bespoke framework for companies and institutions to empower staff and students to work together and make positive social, environmental and economic differences on a local level.
Chester said it was a thrill to receive the award, which was as much a recognition of his team-mates’ and fellow student efforts, as of his own.
He said his year at Cradle Coast provided the opportunity to look more deeply at everyday practises and principles as well as the broader issues around sustainability and to put real improvements into place for the long-term.
“Not only was I, with my class mates, able to explore the bigger issues but we also got the opportunity to question the ethics and design principles of our daily living,” he said.
“Through community connection, community projects, food harvesting and compost cultivating we had a blast and in those moments created a world for the future.”
Image: Chester (standing foreground) with fellow students on Ride to Work (hot breakfast) morning.
