GUEST: Beni McKenzie, social worker in practice in the Gold Coast region of Queensland.
Beni is Vice-President of the AASW (South) Qld Branch and a member of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) National Advisory Panel for Climate Action. Over a number of years, Beni has been active in finding ways to embed eco-social work practice principles into his mainstream work and opportunities to spread the word on eco-social approaches to his colleagues and other social workers at local, regional, and national levels.
INTRODUCTION TO THIS EPISODE
An upsurge in green or eco-social work theorising can be traced back as far as the mid to late 1990s but its incorporation into mainstream practice in Australia has been a much more recent phenomenon. Academic research and social work training institution interest in eco-social work approaches started to pick up here around the mid-2000s and was given increased impetus by World Social Work Day events in 2017 themed on ‘Promoting Community and Environmental Sustainability’ one of the sustainable development (SD) pillars of the international, Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development initiative, launched in 2012.
Stimulated by the increased interest in eco-social work ideas occurring at that time, a number of branches of the AASW, the peak social work organisation in Australia, started to meet, to share eco-social work ideas and practice and to network this information with colleagues.
INTERVIEW TALKING POINTS –approximate time elapsed location in minutes.
- Guest self-introduction – 2.38
- Guest perception of ESW practice in 2021 – 5.05
- How can ESW help tackle climate change and other SD challenges? – 7.21
- Why should the SW mainstream be involved with physical environmental challenges? – 11.47
- Opportunities for ESW practice in the short to medium term future. – 15.20
- Meso and macro level ESW advocacy focussed on climate change and public health – 18.56
- Guest closing comments - including reflection on the lack of a systems approach to current environmental budgeting in Queensland – 23.25
- Close of interview – 30.43
REFERENCES AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE DISCUSSION
- Associate Professor Jennifer Boddy Griffith University – see various relevant research outputs
- Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) “is an internationally recognised think tank that shows through independent research and innovative solutions how Australia can prosper in a zero-emissions economy.” For example, see BZE’s Million Jobs Plan which shows “how in just five years, renewables and low emissions projects can deliver 1.8 million new jobs in the regions and communities where these are needed most.”
- Professor Lena Dominelli – see various relevant research outputs
- The Climate and Health Alliance (CAHA) is “a coalition of health care stakeholders who work together to see the threat to human health from climate change and ecological degradation addressed through prompt policy action. The membership of CAHA includes organisations and individuals from across the health sector, with organisations representing health care professionals from medicine, nursing, public health, social work and psychology, as well as health care service providers, research and academic institutions, and health consumers.” A good example of CAHA’s diverse campaigns and projects is its advocacy with the federal government to develop a National Strategy on Climate, Health and Well-being for Australia.
- Micro, meso and macro practice opportunities within eco-social work. For some suggestions see: Boetto (2017) AASW CPD training (2020) and Nicholson/CAHA (2020)
- Author Bruce Pascoe’s book Dark Emu (2014) which ‘puts forward an argument for a reconsideration of the hunter-gatherer tag for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians. The evidence insists that Aboriginal people right across the continent were using domesticated plants, sowing, harvesting, irrigating, and storing — behaviours inconsistent with the hunter-gatherer tag.’ The book has generated much public debate and some useful critique since its publication.
- Project Drawdown: ‘The World’s Leading Resource for Climate Solutions’ with a ‘mission to help the world reach “Drawdown”— the point in the future when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline, thereby stopping catastrophic climate change — as quickly, safely, and equitably as possible.’ The educational resources on the website are well presented, engaging and solution focussed. For example, see the Climate Solutions 101 video series.
- Queensland state budgetary support announcements for renewable energy and low carbon technologies in 2021.
- Quiet time spent in nature – there is a growing understanding in Australia and internationally of the health and wellbeing benefits of spending time in the natural world or green spaces.
- Self-care – especially maintaining adult mental wellbeing in the face of climate and eco-anxiety and eco-grief. The NFP Psychology for a Safe Climate group based in Melbourne have a wealth of relevant resources on their portal site. A growing number of groups and organisations are also exploring the best way to support the health and wellbeing of children in the face of similar stressors – including the Australian Psychological Society and the Emerging Minds group.
- Systems mapping. Discussion about future social work assessment approaches which incorporate physical environmental factors is also occurring about health sector and hospital based social work roles. For example, it has been suggested that existing patient/client protocols for psychosocial assessment, intervention, education, and discharge planning for vulnerable groups could be modified to include immediate physical environmental threats such as heat waves or mental health vulnerabilities associated with longer term physical environmental impacts. Such impacts are already occurring in the aftermath of natural disaster events intensified by global heating. Social work skills could also contribute to community climate change adaptation planning strategies to better protect future human health and wellbeing as global heating impacts increase.
- Transformative opportunities within eco-social work approaches – for some recent discussions in the Australian context see Boetto (2018) and Bell (2019)
GUEST AND CONTACT DETAILS:
Guest: Beni McKenzie – E: AASW Queensland Branch aaswqld@aasw.asn.au
Householders’ Options to Protect the Environment (HOPE):
T 07 4639 2135 E office@hopeaustralia.org.au WEB FACEBOOK
Production:
Produced for HOPE by Andrew Nicholson E: counsel1983@gmail.com
T: +61 413979414
This episode recorded in Toowoomba, S.E. Queensland, Australia on 27thJuly 2021
Artwork: Daniela Dal'Castel Incidental Music: James Nicholson
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