Community and social campaigning are the focus for Parkwood’s Skye Miller following her positive experience as a volunteer during a student internship program.
In fact, the 23-year-old’s ambition is to create a Gold Coast hub where community and business can come together to discuss social issues, raise awareness and promote education on environmental issues.
Now graduated from a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Sociology at Griffith University, Skye continues to volunteer with Gold Coast based not-for-profit organisation Yeskandoo, which raises awareness of plastic pollution.
Through the Community Internship program any Griffith University student can get out of the classroom and into the workplace for valuable work that supports communities.
“I heard about the Community Internship program through an internal student email and decided to give it a go because I like a challenge,’ she said.
“I chose the Community Internship as an elective course and it has really inspired me to engage with the community to create change.
“I’ve had this ambition to create a business hub to do with raising awareness and promoting education on environmental issues and I wanted to get the right community-based experience in how to do it.”
Skye took the BYO approach to her internship by researching volunteer opportunities on the Gold Coast. She soon discovered Yeskandoo, which is committed “to a life less plastic”.
Skye then introduced Yeskandoo to the coordinators of the Community Internship program at Griffith and a new partnership began.
Reduce, reuse, recycle
Joining a small team of volunteers at Yeskandoo, Skye was required to organise and promote public events where they could spread the word with current and future generations about the damage our reliance on plastics does to the natural environment.
“It comes down to the 3Rs of reversing our environmental impact,” she said.
“Reduce consumption of plastics. Reuse plastics where possible and recycle as a last option, because if the estimates are correct, about 8 out of every 10 items put in a recycle bin don’t even get recycled.”
“My role with Yeskandoo is to organise, promote and facilitate events where we hold screenings of the documentary ‘Bag it’, which is about pollution caused by plastic.
“Each event is an opportunity to discuss ways we can as a community improve our habits and reduce the consumption of plastics.”
Skye aims to continue campaigning for change with Yeskandoo whilst she establishes her networks and works towards realising her dream of building a hub on the Gold Coast for community and businesses to come together about social issues.
Find out more about Community Internships at Griffith
Check out Yeskandoo’s current campaign – the Boomerang Bag Project
