A Change Maker: Creating A Paradigm Shift For Gender Equality In The Workplace

08/17/22 • 49 min

Today on Beyond the Green Line, Shonelle Gleeson-Willey talks with Kurt Laboyrie, an area manager at the Soil Conservation Service. Kurt is also a past member of the International Erosion Control Association Board, and recently received a Change Makers achievement from the organization Future Women.
Kurt has always lived on the coast and spent time in nature, where he developed an understanding of how sediment and water moved. He earned his masters’ degree in Coastal Planning and Management, then began his career in erosion control in sand dunes.
He worked on dune stabilization and natural area management, fire trail and asset protection, zone construction and maintenance, creek line remediation projects, contaminated land rehabilitation, and design and construction of drainage structures. He also held advisory roles as a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control.
Kurt now manages numerous civil and environmental construction works, serving local landholders, state, federal and corporate clients. Maintaining his focus on coastal environmental management, Kurt has kept a passion for environmental legacy, always striving to contribute to lasting change.
The Soil Conservation Service is a government contractor and also deals in the public space. Kurt shares his insights on how to build good teams for highly varied jobs, and how those diverse teams enable the company to fix problems for clients and take on challenges and risks that not everyone would be willing to.
Kurt and Shonelle also chat about Kurt’s desire to see gender parity and equal pay in the construction industry. Many top companies have a measure of equality at the highest levels, while the construction industry is behind in this and has been traditionally very male-dominated. Kurt shares what a single individual in the system can do to encourage more diversity and equity in their work culture.
Kurt recounts a contaminated land rehab project that his team recently completed, which comprised of both terrestrial and aquatic rehabilitation. Older boat paint containing lead and other harmful metals was effecting a populated area’s oysters, fish and potentially humans, and it was Kurt’s job to come up with a way to get all the harmful material out of the harbor and send it to a registered site.
He talks about the importance of the staging equipment they used, how they implemented two sediment curtains into the process, why they used a dredge, and how they pumped contaminated water into dewatering bags, sealed to limit human exposure.
We’ll hear Kurt speak on the unique challenges of working in the coastal environment, and share how he’d love to see better alignment on Best Practice across states and legislations in order to see LGA’s working together for the most efficient solutions.
Learn more about Soil Conservation Service: www.scs.nsw.gov.au/
YouTube https://www.bing.com/search?q=soil+conservation+service+youtube&qs=n&form=QBRE&msbsrank=6_6__0&sp=-1&pq=soil+conservation+service+cs+youtube&sc=636&sk=&cvid=9EE4426D9FCD43B48E8BF22659F0DE1F&ghsh=0&ghacc=0&ghpl=
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/NSWSCS/
LinkedIn.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/soil-conservation-service?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ebing%2Ecom%2F&originalSubdomain=au
More about the Gender Parity Take aways:
Understand Yourself- so you can help. Do you have unconscious Bias, do this test?
Select a Test (harvard.edu) Choose the Gender-Career IAT.
Understand the problem- https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/selectatest.html
The Lift- What is the gender pay gap?
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+lift+gender+youtube&&view=detail&mid=143F5413B212A71023E7143F5413B212A71023E7&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dthe%2Blift%2Bgender%2Byoutube%26qpvt%3Dthe%2Bli

Previous Episode

The Regeneration of Pasture Cropping: An Integrated Approach To Grain And Pasture Production

On today’s episode of Beyond the Green Line, Shonelle Gleeson-Willey talks with the inventor of pasture cropping: Colin Seis.
Colin oversees 3,500 Merino sheep on his property in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, where he also grows cereal crops and natives grasses. He and his son, Nick, breed Kelpie dogs on the land as well.
Collin has received a Conservation Farmer of the Year Award, Australian Carbon Farmer of the Year, NSW Regional Achievement and Community Award, and was recently called one of the top 6 most influential farmers in the world by the Melbourne Weekly Times.
His 2,000 acre plot is called Winona, and it has a widespread reputation for holding up amazingly during drought. Its predominant soils include coarse and fine sands derived from granite, which are not considered highly fertile, but he shares with us how pasture cropping is a way of working alongside nature instead of against it, resulting in a more robust and resilient farm.
Colin describes pasture cropping as the way that crops were originally cultivated in ancient times: not by killing every other plant in the area, but by sewing crops in with native grasses and other plants, so that competing roots can improve a crop’s vitality, water retention and wind protection.
Colin developed the approach of pasture cropping along with a neighbor farmer after a devastating bush fire in 1979. Today, the land can now officially be called restored grassland, and Colin can be found teaching his regenerative methods to farmers around the world through his online “Smart Soil” classes.
Collin’s sheep are also managed holistically, using a method he describes as time-controlled grazing.
He educates us that gross margin (profit) is greater in a pasture cropping, because multiple products are being harvested. The crops are about the same yield, just slightly more variable. But native grass seed is harvested in addition, increasing profits.
Fertilizer is still used on Winona, but has been reduced over time as sheep grazing increasingly becomes a type of natural mulching and fertilizing.
Collin recounts that in the early years, he was ostracized by the industry for attempting to sell combined crops, and had to have self-belief and confidence to continue. He notes that his first supporters were ecologists, because they had understanding of diverse systems.
He discloses that one of the biggest advantages of pasture cropping is the stimulation and germination of dormant seed - even seed that has been sitting for decades. This can be a significant factor in restoring grasslands.
Soil carbon levels have increased over time at Colin’s farm, and current measurements are detecting increased carbon as far down as a meter. Colin shares that this is due to plant diversification, and bigger perennial plants with deeper roots.
We know you’ll be encouraged to hear from one of the legends in regenerative agriculture on this episode.
Check out Colin’s family land:
www.Winona.net.au
And take a look at his classes:
www.SmartSoilEdu.com

Next Episode

Helping Communities Maintain a Voice During the Renewable Energy Boom with Warwick Giblin

In this special episode of Beyond The Green Line, Shonelle Gleeson-Willey is delighted to announce that Moss Environmental has merged with OzEnvironmental Pty Ltd, a like-minded boutique rural consultancy.

OzEnvironmental, under the direction of Adjunct Professor Warwick Giblin, has operated since 2011 in the discipline of environmental and social impact management. It has built a formidable reputation acting for rural councils and landholders on energy and mining projects across Australia, including NSW, Queensland, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

With this merger, Moss Environmental propels itself into new dimensions of service excellence. Our environment and heritage service offerings are expanding, and our capabilities in the realm of environmental impact assessment, including community impact and stakeholder engagement, are taking a giant leap forward.

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Becoming aware of a large project in the approvals process in their area can lead to much uncertainty and distress. A local council may become aware of a proposed development through the planning portal or from the developer themselves.

The vast majority of current renewable energy projects, for example, will be determined at a state level because they fall into the category of state significant development or Critical State Significant Infrastructure. That's why it's so important that council understands their role in the approval process and makes their voice heard through well researched submissions and negotiations during the development of the voluntary planning agreement.

Landowners can become aware of pending development plans through a variety of different avenues, including a letter that's been posted, a social media post, or a knock on the door.

Often, people will experience physical and mental wellness challenges because of resulting worry. They begin to wonder what will happen to their piece of paradise, whether they will receive compensation, and how they will retain a voice in the daunting power dynamic of dealing with developers.

Warwick encourages people in this situation to rally community, build a support network, and utilize professional advice from an environmental practitioner who is familiar with the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act and the assessment and determination process.

In this episode you’ll hear Shonelle and Warwick share stories about their mutual desire to see communication between developers and affected communities be more balanced. Too often, meetings seem to involve developers telling communities how the process will go, and Warwick believes a change in this dynamic will only happen when developers are truly convinced that it’s in their best interests to take the voices of the community into account, even in the early planning stages.

If you're interested to know more about the expanded services now offered by Moss Environmental, please visit our website at www.mossenviro.com.au