The following is a guest post in our climate champion series by Sarah Cole
Name: Sarah Cole
Location: West End, Brisbane
Role: I manage the national Climate Champion program
I believe that, to enjoy your job, you have to know that you’re making a difference. Luckily, I never really wonder about that. I manage 38 Aussie farmers who are super-enthusiastic about talking to other farmers about their experiences getting on and dealing with the climate, and I’m enormously privileged to do so.
I’ll be writing more blog posts to introduce you to the dynamic women who take part in the Climate Champion program.
Image credit : Econnect Communication.
QLDBOM Workshop: Learning what drives Qld’s weather from Bureau of Meteorology staff with Climate Champion farmer
Although farmers have always dealt with the vagaries of the weather, climate variability and change seem to be pushing Australian producers to the edge of profitability, along with other factors that affect food and fibre production in this country.
Margins get narrower, rain comes less often or all at once, heatwaves burn up the grain on its stalk…
Yet the women running these enterprises are optimistic, and excited. They’re confident that they can use Australia’s best forecasts and research to make the best decisions to farm well, and they’re positive about agriculture’s future.
Their businesses and decisions are very complex, I now know. And I’ll introduce you to their innovative practices on-farm.
I have learned some very important lessons from them:
· Telling your own story is a powerful way of teaching and inspiring others.
· There are always more hours in the day to get things done than you think.
· Ask for help from your networks and experts to learn new skills.
I find them inspiring people because they are strong voices in the climate issue, they are important supporters of other women getting involved and finding opportunities, and they never seem to give up on fantastic, big ideas.
In my climate ‘journey’, I see my everyday steps towards sustainability as taking a back seat to my work that supports the activities of the Climate Champion participants. These are people who are getting out, talking to their neighbours, making farm businesses work—walking the walk. Being part of that is an honour.
Image Credit : Econnect Communication
Sarah on location in Longreach after talking to Climate Champion woolgrowers
Kind regards,
Sarah
The Climate Champion program aims to
- get climate-related research information out to you – research about new technologies and practices for dealing with climate variability and climate change
- feed information from farmers back to researchers about what you need to better manage climate risk on your property
We will be featuring ten posts, from ten amazing women over the next 20 weeks. Make sure to check back on the 10th of July for the next installment.
Don’t forget to head over to the 1MW website for information on taking action against dangerous climate change! We are daughters, mothers, sisters and grandmothers getting on with practical climate action to live better for us and the planet. Join the movement at www.1millionwomen.com.au
1 Million Women 
I have already read enough about the Climate Champions to be inspired by them, and this post just made me more excited about the program: thank you so much for sharing this!