SPAN NEWS
WELCOME TO SPAN NEWS
APRIL 2025
Welcome to our first issue of SPAN News for 2025. We are delighted to share with you the exciting career journeys of six members of the SCEGGS community whose work life is heavily influenced by their environment.
SPAN (SCEGGS Professional Alumni Network) harnesses the strength of our community to provide opportunities for our current girls, Old Girls, parents and members of our wider community to connect with like-minded peers. This is a significant element of being part of the lifelong SCEGGS community where every person should feel supported and celebrated. We hope this issue of SPAN News ignites your spark!
We love hearing from others in the SCEGGS community who are keen to share their career story or learn more about SPAN.
Please contact Tina Mavritsakis at span@sceggs.nsw.edu.au or on 02 93321133.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
SCEGGS Darlinghurst is built on the land of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation. As we share knowledge, teaching and learning practices within this school, we pay respect to the longstanding and continuing histories, cultures and knowledges of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. EDITOR
(1996)
The career of a professional cross-country skier living in a Scandinavian country is a life many of us in sunny, warm Australia cannot fathom. Phoebe CRIDLAND (2019) is currently living that life, competing as part of the Australian National Team in cross-country skiing in Norway. She gives SPAN News a behind the scenes look at what it is like to compete at an international level, and why her time at SCEGGS instilled confidence in her to take bold and unconventional steps.
You are currently living in Norway to compete as part of the Australian National Team in cross-country skiing. What are some of the major differences of life in Norway compared to life in Australia?
Here in Norway, cross-country skiing is considered a national sport, with a vast array of summer and winter facilities across the country, a surplus of coaches and training groups, and a deep cultural respect for the sport. This was the most obvious difference to me before setting up life in Norway and was the difference that drove me to make the move here. In Australia, cross-country skiing has a very small community; it is not uncommon to meet someone who had not heard of the sport, or to get questions and strange looks of curiosity when roller-skiing. It has been very nice to be living in a country where something that I dedicate most of my time to is a spectacle and is a part of the country’s culture and history.
There are many other clear differences here like the long summer days, a language with rich dialectal diversity, five months of winter and snow, and a landscape of fjords and forests. Having now lived in Norway for 1.5 years, I can also appreciate the smaller nuances between my two homes. Here, there is an intense love
for the ‘friluftsliv’ - directly translated to the ‘free air life’. This can be seen in the way that Norwegians embrace the outdoors year-round, regardless of the weather. There is a wellknown saying here that ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes’. I’ve also experienced a different rhythm of daily life, with a strong emphasis on work-life balance that prioritises family time and overall wellbeing. Work hours tend to be shorter, and there is a clear respect for the boundary between professional and personal life. I’ve come to appreciate this more balanced approach which has suited the demands of my life as a skier.
What experiences at SCEGGS do you believe led you to pursue a path of competitive cross-country skiing?
Although I only spent two years at SCEGGS, my time there was invaluable to the life I lead now. SCEGGS instilled in me a strong sense of independence—the idea that success is not defined by following a conventional path, but by having the confidence to carve out your own. This gave me the courage to take risks, to step out of my comfort zone, and to embrace the challenge of moving across the world to follow my passion.
It was through Inter-school Snowsports that I was first introduced to cross-country skiing. Without having the opportunity and encouragement at SCEGGS to pursue crosscountry skiing at a national level, I would definitely not be where I am today.
I still remember sitting in Mr Gallagher’s office in Year 12, facing difficulties with balancing my expectations in both academics and sport. He said something along the lines of “Phoebe, you can’t be good at everything all at once.” At that point in time, I didn’t believe him and wanted to prove him wrong. However, this piece of advice has followed me long after school and led me to make the scary decision of pausing my Science and Law degree at the University of Sydney to dedicate two years to my dream of competing at the 2026 Milan Olympics.
Looking back, I realise that SCEGGS not only encouraged academic ambition but also nurtured the confidence to take bold, unconventional steps toward personal success. That lesson has made me who I am today.
What does a typical week look like for you as a cross-country skier and how do you manage the physical and mental demands as a professional athlete?
My schedule varies a lot depending on the time of year and the type of training block I am in. Our season runs from mid-November to the end of March, and our training season from May to mid-November. Winter is focused on preparing for and recovering from racing, whilst summer is focused on building a strong endurance base and strength.
If you find me during the training season, a typical training week would include between 16 and 22 hours of training spread across 10 to 13 sessions, meaning I will train twice most days and fit in a rest day about every 10 days. The mode of training also varies between running, roller-skiing, skiing, cycling and strength. The intensity also varies—I have between two and three intensity sessions during the week, whilst the rest is done at an easy intensity.
“Stepping outside of what is ‘normal’ and feels ‘safe’ is daunting but the opportunity to chase a dream is worth it.”
In addition to training, 20 hours of my week is dedicated to my work which allows me to train, compete and live on the other side of the world. As an athlete of a small sport in Australia, there are currently not the resources or funding to dedicate 100% of my time to training and resting. I am fortunate to have a flexible job which allows me to work from Oslo when I am at home and from wherever I am when I am racing or on training camp.
This routine can be both physically and mentally demanding, requiring the ability to maximise rest and recovery, manage expectations and navigate setbacks. Physically, I’ve learnt that establishing a routine with small, consistent habits makes the biggest difference - including good sleep, nutrition, hydration and stretching.
This also means making choices and sacrifices that set my lifestyle apart from that of a typical 23-year-old, whether that is structuring my days around training and recovery or turning down social occasions to prepare for an intensity session the next morning. It’s all about finding the right balance!
Managing the mental demands is just as challenging. Each new setback, injury and sickness offers another opportunity to test an athlete’s resilience and motivation. Overcoming these challenges isn’t just about pushing through, but about adapting, learning, and maintaining perspective. I rely on goal setting and mindfulness techniques to help manage the ups and downs, but it remains one of the most difficult and often overlooked aspects of sport.
How do you think your career as a professional cross-country skier has influenced your relationship with the natural world?
I am very privileged to spend many hours of my day training outside, most of this being in the forests of Oslo. Having access to such dense forest 10 minutes from my home is something that I had never experienced before and has opened my eyes to the benefits of being able to switch off from the busy modern world. The simplicity of moving through nature, whether skiing in winter or running in summer, allows me to step back from the pressures of training, competition, and daily responsibilities. It’s a reminder of how small we are in the grand scheme of things and how important it is to slow down, breathe, and appreciate what’s around us.
As an athlete competing in a sport which relies on cold weather and access to snow for training and racing, the effects of climate change have been very noticeable over the past few seasons. There have been occasions in the middle of winter where we’ve arrived at a race venue with a thin strip of white amongst the grass and bark. In some cases, snow is transported from other locations for the race to be held. Experiencing this firsthand is both sad and deeply concerning - not only for the future of cross-country skiing but also for the more serious and widespread consequences of a changing climate.
What are your top tips for SCEGGS students who are interested in a career as a professional athlete?
My biggest piece of advice is to not be afraid of taking an unconventional path. The traditional trajectory of school to university to career is not the only option; if you have a passion for sport, don’t be afraid to take a different route and give yourself the chance to pursue it fully! Stepping outside of what is ‘normal’ and feels ‘safe’ is daunting but the opportunity to chase a dream is worth it.
It is also important to remember that there is more to sport than the results! It’s about embracing the journey - including how you manage the challenges, take in the highs and get to push your limits. I am extremely proud of the results I have achieved in my sport but, I am most grateful for the experiences it has given me across the world, meeting different people and visiting places I would have otherwise never travelled to.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
ANTHEA FAWCETT (1984)
Environmental consultant and founder of Foodswell, Anthea FAWCETT (1984) shares lessons from her broad international career, including working with Indigenous communities, and posits fresh and actionable tips on how we can bake a sustainable perspective into everything we do as human beings.
You have held numerous roles across the wide-ranging sustainability sector. Can you share some of your career highlights?
Some colleagues describe me as a bit of a bowerbird, dilettante of sorts, and I really have been fortunate to follow my heart to work with some amazing people on diverse public and private sector initiatives that have helped shift the dial, however incrementally, to enable change. So many high (and quite a few low!) lights but a few stand out either for their ambition or impact. Being part of the team that curated and delivered Australia Today Indonesia ’94 was pretty incredible as it built all sorts of connections between Australia and Indonesia in business, the arts, sport and for the environment that live on today. The Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 was certainly a highlight as is my recent work in the team that delivered the world’s first Global Nature Positive Summit
in 2024. Other highlights include work with world leading renewable energy start-ups, and sustainability and design theory groups like the EcoDesign Foundation. It’s great to see how far we have come in the renewable energy/climate space, however great the challenges still are. I loved my work hosting Foodswell’s podcast Nourishing Matters to Chew On. A little like writing an oral book - so enjoyable to speak directly with amazing people during the COVID lockdown.
You founded Foodswell, an organisation that prioritises access to healthy food grown in healthy systems for all Australians. What led you to seeing a need for this type of initiative?
When I created Foodswell in 2013 there were relatively few Australian organisations tackling food insecurity or food systems health and
environmental sustainability issues in a linkedup sort of way. So, we wanted to help change that: to raise awareness and provide support via on-ground programs and through policy and advocacy, particularly for remote and rural communities. Foodswell was also created to provide a charitable home for the Remote Indigenous Gardens Network that worked to support remote communities to create and own local solutions. So much has and has not changed since then: the Intervention is over and First Nations leaders and Aboriginalowned and -controlled health organisations lead from the front to empower local food and health solutions that deliver strong results, as COVID demonstrated. Nowadays, there are many urban and rural grassroots, health research, regional food sovereignty and market initiatives creating positive change on so many levels–which is great. I’m a farmer’s daughter. I may live in the city but as they say, ‘You can take the girl out of the bush...’, – so Country and caring for it drive what I do. Our emotional, physical and environmental wellbeing are all so interconnected, aren’t they? Climate change and its wicked intersections with food, environment and community resilience are creating a plethora of opportunities for all of us to do our bit to grow resilient, adaptive systems that can care for us all.
Your career has seen you work closely with the Australian Indigenous community, particularly at the Remote Indigenous Gardens Network. What can our Indigenous communities teach our broader society about connection to the land and our food?
There is so much we can all learn from each other with goodwill and by valuing collective wisdom, so where to start? With a long lens,
perhaps a key lesson I’ve learnt is to try to think with a seven-generations perspective to care for people and the environment, to look backwards and forwards in decision-making. What might that mean? Don’t rush – possibly do less, be still or let be before rushing in to deliver a simple solution to a complex problem. Don’t try to change the whole system – but understand where in it you might intervene to affect a small but significant change that can support other people to collaborate with impact. Respect age and difference, and value collective wisdom – invest in circular conversations that may take time but enable others to join, learn and travel with the issues so that they can contribute to decision-making that will endure. Hopefully, there’s something for everyone in that! Especially in complex, sometimes divisive situations, projects or politics.
‘Think global, act local’ is well known for good reason, and something our Indigenous peoples have done for millennia. It is something we can all do, especially when it comes to food, community and biodiversity resilience wherever we live, shop, garden, see and care for other people and species. Seeing the environment ‘everywhere’ and ourselves as part of it, can change where we see environmental opportunities (How’s your circular economy going?! How much energy will that AI device gobble up?). Nature not only provides beauty and amenity but the ecological services that provide and restore our clean air, water, cool places and healthy soils for healthy food and wellbeing. So, enjoy getting out and about where you live to learn about and care for new foods, plants and animals who will love you back in more ways than one (ah, suburban lillypillies and bush herbs! Did you know our cities, urban waterways and green spaces are key biodiversity hubs?!).
In your environmental consultancy work, what are the most common themes on projects that organisations need your guidance on?
My environmental consultancy work is perhaps better described as a quirky amalgam of sustainability, design and social innovation, corporate affairs and community development.
and Governance (ESG) framework and action is well recognised, as is social inclusion and empowerment of diverse peoples and genuine respect and inclusion of the intellectual and cultural property rights of First Nations peoples.
“Don’t try to change the whole system – but understand where in it you might intervene to affect a small but significant change that can support other people to collaborate with impact.”
My work has spanned more decades than I sometimes wish to recollect and across those years the themes have evolved. In the early days defining and pursuing sustainable development ‘seemed’ rather straight forward –a little more business as usual with greater eco-efficiency, energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reductions, along with greater productivity. The Age of the Anthropocene and the wicked challenges of pursuing net-zero and no further extinctions and biodiversity loss (nature positive) has changed all that. Nowadays, innovators in business, government, the philanthropic and community sectors recognise just how difficult but necessary transformation is if we are to live within planetary boundaries. The importance of the Environment, Social
Transparent disclosure, reporting and action on climate and nature related financial and other risks are key themes that organisations increasingly require guidance on. So too, business and supply chain transformations and the radical partnerships required to address the climate-nature challenge call for systems thinkers, designers and enablers to help build and embed collaborative programs and partnerships that involve diverse interests and can endure.
Going forward I hope to work on themes that bring my experience and technical and connector skills to the story to build partnerships that will deliver increased investment in nature and nature-based infrastructure solutions for adaptation and resilience.
Careers in the sustainability sector are set to increase. What advice would you share with SCEGGS girls interested in this type of work?
The times are a changing and now more so than ever – in business, government, conservation, society and politics: so, stay tuned, strap in and claim your space girls, because it’s your world, and you can shape the future. It may all look a little scary at times but it’s also very exciting and the planet needs you!
“Read the hard, good stuff and be wary of the web as your source of truth. Enjoy experiential learning with people, in places outside of your usual tribe. And don’t forget to find and treasure your tribe too!”
Tip 1: Don’t try to change the world and don’t be disheartened by current international changes you see.
Be positive, not righteous. Now is the time to stand up and be counted and you can do that with impact, by looking after yourself, and staying focused on specific, positive ‘parts’ of the crazy system puzzle where you can fit and where you will make a difference.
Tip 2: Invest in a core technical skill that can ‘travel’
You’ll likely have many jobs over one career or perhaps many careers. Invest time early in your studies to develop one or more foundational technical skills that you can always leverage and use in diverse ways with a variety of organisations and contexts: STEM skills for the future. For example, ecological and biological science; accounting; law; engineering; architecture and landscape architecture; agricultural and other sciences; coding and technology – bricks and mortar ‘skills’ for so many sustainability roles across so many sectors.
Tip 3: Read widely, deeply and luxuriously; invest in life-long learning
Read the hard, good stuff and be wary of the web as your source of truth. Enjoy experiential learning with people, in places outside of your usual tribe. And don’t forget to find and treasure your tribe too!
Tip 4: Get qualified for nature
If you know you really want to work in nature repair, conservation and regeneration – take time to explore the biological and ecological sciences and get specific, technical qualifications. There is a huge world opening in nature markets in Australia and internationally, and a huge demand for passionate scientists and ecologists in these new markets, as well as in government, agriculture and the conservation movement.
Tip 5: Get qualified for nature in business
If you know you want to work in business, law or finance – go on, make sure to select every nature finance, ESG, climate and nature governance, transparency and reporting elective that you can – so you can be the very best and be a change leader within your organisation and its sector.
AN ADVENTUROUS JOURNEY
MACKENZIE
PEDERSEN (2013)
As someone who never identified as ‘outdoorsy’ whilst at SCEGGS, Mackenzie PEDERSEN (2013) shares memories of her first Year 9 Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award hike, and how that eventually led to her current role as a Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Leader at Cranbrook School.
What impact did completing the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award at SCEGGS have on your decision to make it part of your career?
I remember vividly the first hike I did for my Bronze the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award when I was in Year 9. I was terrified! I was not an athlete, nor a particularly ‘outdoorsy’ person, so carrying my own tent and sleeping bag, and walking for three days in the bush was entirely overwhelming. Although I found that first hike challenging, it was an accomplishment I was remarkably proud of. I discovered a beautiful new part of Sydney, experienced three days completely disconnected from school, and completed a physical challenge that I thought would be beyond me.
What are the most special parts of having an outdoor component to your job?
The students and teachers mostly live in the inner-city, and their schedules are busy with academic work and co-curricular commitments. Finding time to be in the beautiful natural landscapes around us is hard to come by! It is so special for students to be able to learn to respect the natural environment, be challenged physically, and develop their resilience in an
experience they get to share with their peers. While the students are enjoying their time away from technology, building new friendships and making life-long memories, the accompanying teaching staff can enjoy time away from their own busy lives, and foster their pastoral relationships with students. Disconnecting from the busy-ness of day-to-day life, and enjoying the peace of open fires, stunning landscapes and a meal outdoors, is the reset that all students need during the year.
Tell us about your favourite hike that you were a part of.
My first time accompanying a hike will always be by most memorable. On the second night of our five-day journey, we were hit with an immense rainstorm. Shelters were blown away, sleeping bags were filled with water and suddenly the whole campsite was wide awake at three in the morning! Despite the rain blowing in almost horizontally, the freezing temperatures and the utter absurdity of hunting down tent pegs in flooded grass with a headtorch, our students smiled and laughed the whole way through. While taking turns the next morning to dry clothes, shoes and sleeping mats by the fire, the students reflected on the “best night ever,” sharing their own experiences of the wind, the rain and the
cold. It is moments of incredible teamwork and opportunities to develop resilience like this that demonstrate the critical role that these outdoor adventures have on students.
What are the most rewarding aspects of working with students embarking on the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award?
For busy students, it is incredibly rewarding to be able to congratulate them on being just that, busy! When students discover that they may be rewarded for their extensive sporting commitments and for starting up a new hobby, they are immensely proud of themselves, and it is wonderful to be able to support that. Brainstorming service opportunities with our participants is even more rewarding. Learning about what our participants individually recognise as needs in their local community is incredible. It often provides further insight into a participant’s goals and dreams and allows us to learn so much more about them. Hearing how our experienced participants talk so fondly of their time completing service is truly exceptional, especially as they will often mentor younger participants through the program.
How do you see your role contributing to the career readiness of young people, and how has this influenced your own career path?
One of the goals of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award is to encourage students to be well-rounded and globally-minded individuals. We wish to encourage students to be involved in a variety of opportunities at school, beyond the classroom and beyond the sporting field. By supporting their involvement in service opportunities, development of new skills and an engagement with the natural environment, the
Award provides the opportunity for students to build skills in demonstrating empathy and compassion, respect for the environment, and for many, a belief in themselves during tough physical challenges.
“It is so special for students to be able to learn to respect the natural environment, be challenged physically, and develop their resilience in an experience they get to share with their peers.”
What advice do you have for SCEGGS girls considering building a career in youth development or similar programs?
Becoming a teacher is the best decision I have ever made. Not only can I be many different people in a day - a deliverer of knowledge, a mentor, a manager, a sounding board and a problem-solver, but working with youth means I get to be inspired to be even better at all these roles every single day. Young people are incredibly forward-thinking, creative, hard-working and interesting individuals and supporting them to become whomever they wish to be is an absolute honour.
A CHEF IN THE COLDEST PLACE ON EARTH
JORDAN SMITH (1996)
Originally profiled in 2013, Jordan SMITH (1996) returns to SPAN News to update us on her career developments since moving on from working in the Kimberley region, to now entering her seventh season as a chef in Antarctica. Jordan shares how she gets creative in the kitchen with only one food drop a year, and how she turned from a city girl to a woman who thrives in remote environments.
Last time we spoke, you were working at Kimberley Coastal Camp and now you’re in your 7th season as a chef in Antarctica! What have been some of the most significant changes for you during this time?
Obviously going from the hot climate of Northwestern Australia to the cold of Antarctica was the biggest change! The clientele has changed too; I’m no longer cooking for people on holidays who are catching fish or looking at ancient Aboriginal rock art, but for scientists and tradies who are working outside in the cold. Also, instead of cooking for up to only 16 people, I’m now cooking for anywhere from 25-120 people,
depending on which station I’m at and what time of the year it is. I have worked three summers plus one full year at Casey, a 10-month winter at Davis and a nine-month winter at Macquarie Island (a 35km long sub-Antarctic island, halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica). This summer I’m working at Wilkins Aerodrome which is the blue ice runway situated on a glacier which is classed as “deep field” and I’m only cooking for 8-12 people (which is a nice change!). Another big change is that instead of getting food delivered by helicopter whenever there was room as I was in the Kimberley, we now get our food delivered once per year via the Nuyina (the icebreaking ship) along with all the other supplies needed for the stations for the year.
Although much of your time is spent cooking indoors, in what ways do you get outside and immerse yourself in the Antarctic environment?
Firstly, to go anywhere outside of station limits you must complete ‘survival training’ which is a day of orienteering and radio skills, wearing all your Antarctic supplied kit and carrying a field pack with mandatory essentials. You then spend the night outside in what is affectionately called a ‘chip packet’ aka a bivouac bag and eat rehydrated food cooked on a camp stove. This is all to teach you the basic skills to be able to survive outside in the harsh climate, if something were to happen (thankfully I’ve never had to use these skills for real!). After that you also complete Field Travel Training where you learn to drive Hägglunds, stay in a field hut overnight and learn all the protocols on how to open and close the huts safely (there are vents and heaters and boiling snow for water that all need to be learned, amongst other things). Once these are ticked off and the Station Leader is happy that you are prepared and you get approval, mostly we go out to field huts for a night or two at a time. Once at the field huts you can go for walks in certain areas (some areas are not allowed due to crevassing or designated wildlife sanctuaries) and look at the wildlife and views which are
spectacular! My favourite thing to do is go for walks (around the station or in the field) and take photos of the wildlife or scenery (when the weather allows! Sometimes it’s just not possible because of blizzards or the dark during winter—although the darkness has its upside: the incredible auroras!).
What is something about working as a chef in Antarctica that people would be surprised to hear?
Apart from getting our food supplies delivered only once per year I suppose the other thing people are surprised to hear is that the chefs can then cook whatever we like with what we’ve got. We don’t have set menus that we have to follow, but it is our responsibility to make sure that everyone is getting a varied and nutritious diet and that the stocks last the entire year (for example, you don’t want to use all your beef mince within the first couple of months!). Most of our food is frozen, tinned or dried but each station has a small hydroponics system, so we do get some fresh vegetables and salad which are much appreciated by all. During the winter months there is only one chef per station cooking for up to 35 people five days per week (occasionally six). On the chef’s day off it is help yourself to leftovers or sometimes someone else wants to cook for everyone, usually a BBQ,
“ It is a tradition that the chef goes all out and produces the best meal of the year and it’s the chance for all the winterers to celebrate the darkness and the fact that you are one of only a few hundred people each year that get to do it.”
which in the winter is often held in the garage/ workshop as it’s too cold outside for the BBQ to work! The other main thing is that most people on station have secondary jobs; over the years I’ve been Deputy Station Leader, part of the Fire Team, a Lay Surgical Assistant (four people each year are trained at the Royal Hobart Hospital to help the Station Doctor in case of an emergency), and the Postmaster.
Seasons in Antarctica look a little different to the rest of the world! How do the seasons guide what you cook?
As it is always cold down here (it rarely gets above five degrees Celsius, even in summer) the ‘seasons’ don’t really affect what I cook.
Mostly it is hearty, hot homestyle food that everyone enjoys; lasagne, stews, burgers, risotto, stir fry, curries etc. We generally make most things from scratch including all the bread, yoghurt, desserts, pastries etc, and our milk is powdered. We also cater to most dietary requirements, so as you can imagine the chef is always busy. We do have events that dictate food such as ‘Formal’ nights, birthdays, themed dress-up parties, Christmas etc. The Mid-Winter Feast is on 21 June and is the biggest day in the chef’s calendar, one that we all work on for weeks leading up to it. It is a tradition that the chef goes all out and produces the best meal of the year and it’s the chance for all the winterers to celebrate the darkness and the fact that you are one of only a few hundred people each year that get to do it.
What advice would you give to SCEGGS girls who are interested in working in remote environments?
Get out there and do it! I always thought I was a city girl but the more I’ve travelled over the years, the more I love smaller communities. I found an occupation that I like, but I knew that it would allow me to travel, which I love. The challenges you find in remote environments and small communities will teach you so much about yourself and the world, and these days with internet access almost everywhere (even down here in Antarctica) you are never very far from family and friends, so you’ve got nothing to lose. My biggest advice is probably for the girls who are unsure of what they want to do after Year 12; if you can find an occupation that you’re passionate about that’s great, but if not, find an occupation that you like that will allow you to follow your real passions in your spare time - don’t live to work, work to live, experience and enjoy.
“The challenges you find in remote environments and small communities will teach you so much about yourself and the world...”
SAILING THE SEAS
SYLVIE STANNAGE (2020)
Representing Australia at the 2023 World Sailing Championships and studying a Law/International Security degree full time whilst on the road are just some of the achievements of Sylvie STANNAGE (2020) that make her a true force! Sylvie takes us through what life is like competing on the international stage… and even throws in a few travel hacks she has learned along the way!
You have achieved some extraordinary feats in your professional sailing career. When did your love for sailing begin?
I started sailing when I was 11 years old, but it took me several years to love it. Sailing is not a sport that is particularly easy to pick up, and many of my first few years were spent capsized, crying, or both.
The turning point was a competition day on Botany Bay, when I was particularly stressed about going onto the water. My dad brought his camera down to the waterfront, and while standing in the water to help me launch, he told me I had to fake a smile so he could get a good photo, and that I might actually have some fun out there if I tried to. My grumpiness evaporated; I had a fantastic afternoon of racing, and I’ve been in love with the sport ever since. That photo is now hanging on my wall, next to the jersey I wore at my World Cup debut several years later.
How has being a professional sailor developed your connection to the ocean?
At best, I am never more than about 30cm above the water in my boat, and if I make a bad mistake, I find myself a long way under it! Some of my most memorable sails have been offshore out of Sydney, on the open ocean. The feeling of being out there in the waves is incredible. It’s almost like you can feel the Earth breathing, despite the intensity of the wind flogging the sails and trying to knock the boat over. I have been lucky enough to see whales, dolphins, turtles and sharks while out there, which make it all the more special each time.
Having grown up on Sydney Harbour, it’s been wonderful to watch it progressively become cleaner over the last decade or so. A big commitment at the World Sailing level is to clean up our regatta sites, and try to reuse and recycle our equipment, all of which ties into the privilege we have in being able to spend our lives out on the water.
“I’m proud of my decision to pursue full time studies alongside my sailing, and a big part of my contribution to the sailing community has been encouraging other young women to do the same.”
How do you prepare your mind and body to compete?
Sailing isn’t an easy sport to train for. To be at my best, I need a combination of endurance, mental clarity and ridiculous core strength. When I first competed at the Women’s World Championship at the start of Year 12, my eyes were opened to just how strong the women at the front of the fleet are. Since then, my coach and fitness trainer have worked with me to support a physique that is strong and mobile enough to pull ropes, minimise injuries, and hold what is essentially an upside-down plank for 25 minutes at a time.
Sailing is a decision-making sport, which is often likened to chess on water. I race in fleets of up to 70 boats at a time, so I must constantly evaluate who is making gains and losses, and how I can best position myself to come out ahead. Before each start, we gather information from the wind, tide, waves and other boats to
create a fundamental race plan and then adjust it on the fly as the conditions change. The most important part of preparing my mind for competition is having confidence in the training I have done beforehand. Being able to trust my technique means that my body can be on autopilot, while I am scanning and assessing the ever-changing race situation, and most importantly, avoiding other boats!
You are currently completing a degree in Law/International Security studies. How do you think the skills you have developed as a professional sailor will shape your legal career?
Like any other form of professional sport, sailing teaches you discipline, time management and self-motivation. Combining elite sport with full-time studies has forced me to really hone these skills. The most important regattas of my year are during the European spring and
summer, which coincide with first semester at university each year. Quite often, I will be up at 3am watching a lecture or tutorial, before grabbing a couple of hours of sleep and racing for Australia in the morning. I’m no stranger to reading textbooks on airplanes, bringing study notes to the boat park, or talking my coach’s ear off about legal issues I find interesting.
When I eventually decide to swap sailing for law, I will go into it with a deep understanding of how to perform at my best, how to deal with tough feedback, and how to keep myself on track towards my goals. I’m proud of my decision to pursue full time studies alongside my sailing, and a big part of my contribution to the sailing community has been encouraging other young women to do the same.
What else is next for you? We hear you are working towards the 2028 Olympics?! Tell us about what that process looks like.
We have two peak championships every four years. The Olympics, where each qualifying country can send one athlete only, and the World Sailing Championships, where the best 100 women in the world are invited. I represented Australia at the 2023 World Sailing Championships in the Hague, where I finished in the Gold Fleet for the finals. Leading up to the next World Sailing Championships in 2026, I will compete on the World Cup circuit, at regattas in Spain, France, Germany, China and the USA. In addition to that, I will be doing my physical preparation in the gym and on the bike, practising key skills on the water, and racing at every opportunity, including against the men.
Selection for the Olympics is a somewhat mysterious process, involving a mixture of results and discretion. At the end of this year, I will graduate from university, and I’m excited to have a period where I can truly dedicate myself to my sailing and see just how fast and far I can go!
What are your top tips for making the most of a career that involves a lot of international travel?
Train yourself to fall asleep at every opportunity. Luggage always goes missing when you need it most – be prepared to live out of your carry-on. I wish I could say something more profound about organisation, but I am the sort of person who packs for a three month trip the morning of my flight.
Have a paper copy of every aspect of your itinerary. This has saved me countless times. Finally, one of the best parts of travelling internationally for my sailing has been all the wonderful people I have met. While it was very intimidating walking into the World Cup boat park for the first time, the more I feel at home amongst my competitors, the better I perform. Take time to meet the people, sample the food, see the sights and learn the history of wherever your career takes you!
SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS
STEPHEN TURNER
Past
parent Stephen Turner shares how a successful international career in the resources sector culminated in co-founding Sea Forest. Sea Forest cultivates a specialised strain of seaweed to produce the SeaFeed additive to create solutions that help fight climate change and generate more food with fewer resources. We’ll let him explain the fascinating details of this discovery, as well as look at some of the wins and resistance experienced in taking the product to market, along with tips to succeed in a start up environment.
How has your prior career in the mining sector influenced your work with Sea Forest?
I have enjoyed a career in the resources sector taking unrefined early-stage mining and metals processing projects from concept though to producing stock exchange listed companies, working in both developing and established countries. My resources career focused on South Africa, South America, Australia, Indonesia and the USA. Succeeding in some of these projects gave me the confidence to naively tackle climate change.
“Sea Forest hired the best scientists in the sector and took the resources ‘start-up’ business model to climate change.”
My formal education was a BCom and what took me from finance to entrepreneurship was perseverance.
So, when I read that the CSIRO had discovered a natural method for abating 14% of global greenhouse gases, and the barrier to implementing the abatement was that no one had been able to commercially farm the product’s source, an Australian native seaweed, I took on the challenge. Recognising the interest investors had in climate mitigation solutions, with my business partner Sam Elsom, we formed Sea Forest Limited, supplementing our capital with that of supportive, climatefocused investors. Sea Forest hired the best scientists in the sector and took the resources ‘start-up’ business model to climate change.
Sea Forest’s SeaFeed additive is now available to farmers. What customer groups have notably embraced the product, and where have you found the most pushback?
Sea Forest has benefited from the support of some of the most influential groups and individuals globally. From Prince William’s Earth Shot Prize Finalist Award (2023), Telstra Best of Business Awards for both Innovation and Sustainability, Innovation Aus Award for Excellence – AgriTech and Overall Hero (2024), Fastest Companies (2023) and the (Elon) Musk Family’s Unreasonable Group (2024), endorsement by Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, Zac Efron’s documentary ‘Down to Earth’, to the ongoing support from McDonald’s, Mars Corporation and Morrisons supermarkets in the UK.
“The biggest challenge has been that no individual person, company or sector wants to pay for climate change. Taking action to mitigate climate change has a cost.”
EcoMilk, the first commercially available climate friendly fresh milk product was launched by Ashgrove Dairy last year, and its EcoCheese products will be released this year. Fonterra has been using our SeaFeed product for four years and Europe’s largest dairies, Friesland Campina and Arla are both undertaking SeaFeed trials as we await European regulatory approval.
Grill’d, the burger chain, launched its GameChanger climate friendly burger over a year ago, and continues to receive stronger than anticipated customer demand.
MJ Bale, the clothing company, produced its first no-impact knit wear over two years ago, and we are now also working with Uniqlo’s Fast Retailing for a low impact wool range to be launched this year.
Many of Australia’s top wagyu and angus producers, such as Stockyard, Stone Axe and Rangers Valley are undertaking long term trials of our SeaFeed product.
When we started Sea Forest, we were confident the livestock sector would embrace the methane solution once commercially available. We underestimated farmers’ conservatism, and the time required for a new product’s adoption into the long-term, continuous production cycles of the dairy and meat industries.
The biggest challenge has been that no individual person, company or sector wants to pay for climate change. Taking action to mitigate climate change has a cost. Farmers, whose livestock is producing 14% of global emissions, are doing so for consumers, so the farmers do not want to incur any costs or risks. Ultimately the cost of mitigating climate change lies with the people in developed nations, either through government imposition or a decision to pay more for climate friendly products.
Sea Forest’s experience, with producers like Grill’d and Ashgrove Milk, is that a meaningful section of Australian consumers is willing to pay a small price premium for the climate. We hope to see this replicated across more dairy products as well as red meat. Beef production is years in the making, with breeding, background feeding, and feedlot stages comprising a complicated supply chain.
Around the world, innovating and executing climate solution initiatives is often accompanied by strong opinions in the media and society. How do you manage this dialogue and keep focused on the mission?
It is important to remain focused on the absolute necessity of mitigating climate change. While there is a vocal minority who dispute manmade climate change, it is important to provide hope and confidence. Education, largely media-driven, is important. Ensuring as many people as possible can access data, understand the effect of manmade climate change, and compare and assess approaches and solutions is a role that Sea Forest contributes to.
Sea Forest has shared in the media that you have undergone a long and extensive Research and Development (R&D) process in cultivating the seaweed (asparagopsis) at scale. In what ways did the process enhance your connection to the natural environment?
Sea Forest has the largest marine lease in the Southern Hemisphere at 5,300 hectares and a 30-hectare land-based pond facility with over 600 ponds drawing and releasing seawater, so the company is dependent on conserving its host water bodies. Witnessing the near extinction of Tasmania’s giant kelp (the world’s fastest growing plant) inspired our team to close the life cycle of this seaweed. In our first year of this ongoing project, we replanted
300,000, and last year over 2 million, giant kelp seedlings. Another restoration project has been the reintroduction of a previously devasted local oyster to Tasmanian rivers.
Sea Forest’s seven PhDs in its management team and many impressive young science graduates form a powerful team that are constantly monitoring and protecting our environment.
Working at a startup must be a dynamic experience – what are your top tips for succeeding in a startup environment?
Startups are uniquely rewarding but demand constant flexibility. While the business goals remain the same, the path to achieving them is one of discovery and change.
Developing a new business based on a new product to tackle a new problem is constantly challenging. Overcoming the challenges provides the rewards.
It is important to work with optimists. I have started many businesses but never succeeded alone. You need the encouragement and support of an optimistic partner and team.
So, my top tips for the startup environment are:
• Perseverance
• Optimism
• Patience
• Teamwork
• And a little bit of luck!
What is next for you and Sea Forest?
Sea Forest’s supply to Australia’s dairy and beef sectors is growing, and we look forward to supermarkets providing consumers with more climate-friendly choices.
Our focus is now on European markets while building our presence in South America which has about 25% of the world’s cattle—384 million—compared to Australia’s 24 million. This requires regulatory approvals and replicating large scale animal trials in each new jurisdiction. Sea Forest needs representation in each country and we are working to appoint established livestock feed additive distributors. It all comes down to perseverance, the knowledge that the climate goal is essential and maintaining an optimistic team to share the journey.
“It is important to remain focused on the absolute necessity of mitigating climate change. While there is a vocal minority who dispute manmade climate change, it is important to provide hope and confidence.”
CAREERS
Work Experience Placement Callout
Can you help us to offer work experience placements to Years 10-12 students this year?
Senior students are encouraged to undertake work experience over a holiday period and in the past, Old Girls and Current Parents have been instrumental in supporting our work experience program, providing senior students with robust and valuable learning opportunities in a workplace setting across a wide variety of industries.
However, in the last few years, as workplaces have changed, it has impacted the opportunities for young people to take part in this formative experience. We would love to hear from you if your workplace is in a position to offer a placement this year. This could range from a few days to a few weeks, from Anthropology to Zoology and any industry in between!
Lunchtime Career Chats
Our informal career chats are lunchtime sessions throughout the year where senior students connect with Old Girls to hear about their professional journey. It is a phenomenal way for our girls to gain valuable insights into specific industries, learn tips to apply for internships, studying and working overseas and help them to think big about what might be possible for them after school.
Our students have varied interests and thoughts about their futures, so it doesn’t matter what you have done, our girls would love to meet you and hear about your experiences!
If you are interested in helping out with a work experience placement, or would like to learn more about our lunchtime career chats, please email our Careers Adviser Andrea Pinnock at andreapinnock@sceggs.nsw.edu.au.
We look forward to hearing from you!