GCCA | Graduate Careers Council of Australia

Graduate Careers Australia

ergo - Number 97 Dec 2004 - Feb 2005

Environmental Careers on TV – EnviroPLUCK

The following is an on-the-set report from enviroPLUCK co-producer Cathy Oke, who worked on this ground-breaking environmental careers series in Australia throughout 2004...

Many of you may have heard of a unique television series called enviroPLUCK which aired this year on community television Channel 31 in Melbourne and Adelaide, via RMITV’s PLUCK segment. This “first of a kind“ TV show featured eight half-hour shows providing info for those wanting an environmental career, and was considered a resounding success – not only for those of us involved in its production, but also by the audience. The team which brought you the television show are now about to release a DVD…so those who weren’t able to watch can benefit from the insights offered by the shows hosts and guests.

As a co-producer of the series I was privileged to work with an amazing group of dedicated volunteers from the Environmental Jobs Network and RMITV, all of whom contributed two or three nights of their life each week for over three months to make the series happen. A lot of work went into organising a schedule of stories that accurately reflected the wide range of environmental careers. This included finding the talent to be interviewed, writing scripts, rehearsing and organising interviews, filming stories on location, and filming nights fueled by mini chocolate bars and microwaved falafels (thanks to the catering team!).

Each episode featured two live studio interviews and two field stories – guests were asked a few generic questions and some common ones, to ensure consistent advice. These included “What is involved in your environmental job? What sort of person would be suited to the position? How did you get your job?” and “Do you have any advice for those looking for jobs in the environmental sector?” These questions provided the viewer with real life career pathways and advice. Each show also had a Career Advice segment and an EnviroGadget section, highlighting new and innovative environmentally friendly products.

The studio nights were great fun, and a lot of work went into making sure we could do it “live to tape” – ie. in one take to cut down on edit time. The studio intros, outros, interviews, career advice and gadget sections were all considered live…so hearing “Quiet on set, cameras rolling, and.. action!” gave us just one take to get it right! We discovered that although lacking professional training we were actually quite good at it! Particularly the main hosts – Alexi Lynch and Verity McLucas.

The hosts of the other live segments, Charley May and myself (Career Advice) and Duncan McGregor and Gayle Seddon (enviroGadget) I feel also put in a good showing. Other important elements contributed, including the set design (care of Wendy Stegman), the camera work of Andrew Thornhill, Leo Ribon and Tom Schindl, and make-up provided by Kellie Fernando Bird.

Throughout the show we covered important and interesting topics, such as volunteer work, studying and working overseas, environmental consulting and engineering, natural resource management, marine biology, environmental education, courses and universities. The show boasted guests from Australia’s biggest environmental employers, and recognised leading environmental organisations.

Guests included organisations and individuals from the Department of Sustainability and Environment Victoria, Environment Protection Authority Victoria, Sustainable Energy Authority Victoria, Toyota, City of Melbourne, GHD, RMIT University, Parks Victoria, Going Solar, Australian Conservation Foundation, Environment Victoria, Monash University, The Age, Earth Systems, Greening Australia, SARDI Aquatic Sciences, Earthwatch, Citywide, Whitehorse Council, Latrobe University, Vox Bandicoot, Melbourne Zoo, Environmental Jobs Network, ICLEI plus many more.

Now, everyone will have access to this valuable environmental education series with the release of the enviroPLUCK DVD, a repository of quality information which should be really useful for those comtemplating an environmental career.

Well done to everyone involved and thanks to RMITV and Channel 31 for the support; it truly was a great team effort. The enviroPLUCK DVD will be distributed by the GCCA throughout Australia and New Zealand in 2005; contact the gradlink Helpdesk at [email protected] or on (03) 9349 4300 for details of cost and availability.