Coming together to make change
Based in Palm Beach, environmental consultancy Glowing Green Australia is dedicated to actively supporting the local community. Founder and Senior Environmental Advisor Larissa Rose talks to Holly Bartter about their collaboration with the Palm Beach Surf Life Saving Club, educating our future leaders, and making a difference. Having completed her studies right here on the Gold Coast, Glowing Green Australia director Larissa Rose has a distinct memory of her career taking shape. “I was reading a piece on renewable energy technology in 2008 - at the time I was a GET IT May 2021
florist - and I ripped the article out of the paper, stuck it on my wall and wrote on it my new career,” she shares. “I enrolled myself into environmental studies and I finished with a Masters degree in Climate Change and Environmental Management. Now I am a part-time lecturer at Bond University where I was once a student. It’s amazing how you can really create powerful outcomes if you put your mind to it!” Today, Glowing Green Australia provides its clients with innovative sustainable approaches in their business, and engaging the community through education is a cornerstone of its work, starting in the early days of the business with ‘Glowing Green Crusaders’, now a steadfast program of the organisation.
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“It is a big part of our brand - and we’ve really elevated this program since launch and even created an Instagram Top Glowing Green Crusaders nomination platform for kids aged 5-12.” In 2020, Glowing Green Australia utilised the ‘Crusaders’ program in collaboration with the Palm Beach Surf Life Saving Club. “We had supported their fundraising days by volunteering and facilitating a kids enviro education workshop stall, and from this we identified synergies between both of our roles in the community,” says Larissa. “We had several strategic conversations on how we could support the Palm Beach Surf Life Saving Club on its journey to becoming ocean-friendly and reducing single use items, and we developed the ‘Palmy Crusaders’ kids activity leaflet.”