Global mission puts down local roots

[ The University of Melbourne Voice Vol. 3, No. 1  14 April - 12 May 2008 ]

Animal science and management undergraduate Amanda Yeo is on a mission to encourage the planting of 1000 trees. The University of Melbourne student has just returned from New Orleans where she took part in the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGIU) to ‘make a difference’ in key areas of world need.

Ms Yeo was among hundreds of scholars, university officials and global leaders who met to discuss how students, graduates, and educational institutions can work together to transform global challenges into opportunities.

The CGIU’s four main focus areas are energy and climate change, global health, human rights and peace, and poverty alleviation.

Ms Yeo, whose studies are based in Melbourne’s Faculty of Land and Food Resources, has committed to personally plant 10 trees in 2008 “and to encourage at least 1000 people to plant a tree each to aid in offsetting our carbon footprints”.

“People are increasingly aware of the impact of global warming,” she says. “I am sure that with an organised tree planting day at my university, students would be willing to contribute to planting one tree.”

Ms Yeo applied to attend the CGIU meeting when she read about it through the Talloires Network, a collective of individuals and institutions committed to promoting the civic roles and social responsibilities of higher education.

She hopes to work in Singapore’s Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority or its National Environment Agency where, she says, environment policies can be set and aid in environmental sustainability in Singapore.