At the 2003 Local Government Managers Australia National Congress in Adelaide, FOCUS invited delegates to nominate an individual and team from their Council who are excelling in their field and promoting the organisation’s corporate goals. In this edition we showcase two more of our competition winners.
Individual Winner – Tanya Miller, Senior Environment Officer, West Torrens City Council, South Australia
Senior Environmental Officer, Tanya Miller, joined the City of West Torrens, near Adelaide, in a newly created position just five years ago. Tanya, now 28, was employed to run a pollution prevention project. After two years, she became an Environmental Project Officer then quickly progressed to the role of Senior Environmental Officer.
Since joining Council, Tanya has completed a postgraduate degree in environmental management and is now studying for an MBA at Adelaide University.
“My work is a lot about change management within the organisation and the community,” she said. “If I feel I have changed someone’s outlook on the environment, then I have achieved something.” Tanya recently completed a six month secondment with the Department of Environment’s Office of Sustainability.
“It was very policy focused and it gave me a statewide view of environmental and project management,” she said.
Another career highlight was the Save Water and Power (SWAP) show, staged last year by nine SA Councils. The comedy show was written and performed by a Victorian based theatre company.
“Environmental managers usually have a science background so our education mechanisms can be very bland!” Tanya said. “The SWAP show was a very amusing and effective way of communicating with our target audience.”
Tanya advises Council’s Executive Management Team on environmental strategic policy and manages the environmental and ecological sustainability of new developments. Last year, she was nominated as South Australia’s Young Female Local Government Manager of the Year for her capacity to achieve goals and motivate others.
Group Manager of City Development, Mark Withers, says she demonstrates energy, initiative and sensitivity in her approach to work.
“Tanya’s role was new to Local Government when she came to West Torrens City Council, so she had to undertake a lot of research regarding this position and try to determine a direction for herself and for Council,” he said. “There was a steep learning curve to make issues, such as water and energy conservation, important to Council.”
Mark Withers said Tanya had introduced Council to the Cities for Climate Protection program and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives.
“These projects would not be on the Council agenda if wasn’t for Tanya’s drive and initiative,” he said. “She provides expert advice to Council and Group Managers relating to environment and sustainability issues.”
Tanya’s role also requires her to explore new environmental initiatives for Council, such as turning Thebarton Neighbourhood House into a model for energy and water conservation.
She also provides sustainability training to Councillors, staff and community members, which has led to the formation of an Environmental Management Advisory Committee that advises Council on environmental issues.
While her main role is project management, Tanya is also Acting Manager of Environmental Services. This position includes the inspection of food premises, public health, immunisation, pollution prevention and an environmental management program.
“Tanya has shown flexibility and adaptability in accepting this role when the Manager is on leave,” Mark Withers said. “She is also a team leader in Council’s Continuous Improvement Program, which helps staff to expand their management skills.”
Team Winner – Bushcare Teams, Hurstville City Council, New South Wales
Hurstville City Council introduced a Volunteer Bushcare Program four years ago, in response to growing community interest in the regeneration and preservation of local bushland. Council manages 79 hectares of remnant bushland 20 kilometres south of Sydney.
The Hurstville program was based on the highly successful Bushcare teams working around the Royal National Park in neighbouring Sutherland Shire.
Hurstville now has 60 registered volunteers working in 21 teams at Oatley, Peakhurst, Lugarno and Riverwood, mainly along Georges River. The groups work on bushland regeneration for three hours on a weekly, fortnightly, monthly or bimonthly basis.
Volunteers can be involved in the following projects.
- Weed identification and removal.
- Native plant identification.
- Soil stabilisation and minor drainage works.
- Propagation at Council’s native nursery in Peakhurst.
- Collecting seeds and cuttings from threatened species.
- Native Tree Day.
Volunteers receive Council training and their work is supervised by Bushcare Officers, Vicki Willes and Heather Stolle, and Wetland Officer, Jason Cockayne.
Comprehensive public liability insurance is offered to all registered participants.
Environmental Officer, Julie McInnes, said the focus of Bushcare was regeneration, rather than planting.
“The idea is not to do planting, because that is artificial regeneration. We would only do that if a site was too degraded to have any seeds left in the soil,” she said. “We encourage natural regeneration by removing weeds and improving soil quality. Our Bushcare volunteers find it a very enjoyable and sociable experience while contributing to local environmental restoration.
“We have a core group of volunteers who have been with us from the start. They have been really consistent and supportive.The community has a real attachment to our bushland because they live right next door to it. We also have many volunteers from other Council areas who don’t run Bushcare programs.”
