Past Events

On Thursday 18th September, HuGS hosted the annual Geography Careers Breakfast with the Discipline of Geography and Sustainability. We were lucky to hear from four UOW Geography and Sustainability alumni, connect with peers and faculty, and network. It was wonderful to see so many students interested in learning more about potential career pathways with geography. 

A special thank you to all alumni speakers, including Ashley Blake-Dyke, Jacob Lia, Rachael Jefferson, and Lara Hase, who each spoke about their current employment as ESG consultant for KPMG, Shellharbour City Council town planner, NRAR compliance officer, NSW National Parks and Wildlife ranger, respectively. They each explained their career pathways, from the skills and knowledge gained from their studies of geography and the experiences that helped along the way, such as internships and study abroad programs.

We were thankful to hear from Jenny Atchison about the benefits of participating in an honours research year, and from Anu Stevens from UOW Careers and Employability about their workshops and resources.

A huge thank you to Sonia Graham and HuGS President, Matilda Kaylock for organising the careers breakfast as an overwhelming success. We hope those who attended felt inspired and curious to see what studying geography can bring to their career journeys

Written by Jess Holland, HuGS Editor

On Thursday the 25th of September, HuGS went on a short bushwalk through Puckeys Estate Nature Reserve. The reserve is located in North Wollongong, and is a beautiful combination of rainforest, marshland and dunes. We saw the beautiful coastal flora and fauna (including some wrens and sea birds!), and the interesting archaeological artifacts of the remnants of the Puckeys salt mill and cottage. We also were able to see the in-progress bush regeneration of the site, and noticed the presence of asparagus fern, a thorny invasive species that has a sprawling root system of tubers, making it difficult to remove. 

We had a very thought-provoking conversation on the estate and reserve itself, as one of our members pointed out that the only reason such a reserve exists was due to a wealthy colonist purchasing the land, and refrained from clearing it, and how this is a prominent basis for much of Western conservation efforts. 

Six students took part in this walk, all enjoying having a chat (on every topic from the reality of sustainable cities to the history of memes) and the delicious breakfast wraps made by our Shadow Treasurer, Sean. 

We hope to see more students and more sights on our next walk!

Written by Lexi Chipperfield

On Wednesday 1st October, HuGS hosted a microplastics survey in collaboration with Wollongong City Council of a section of Lake Illawarra foreshore. A team of ten volunteers, under the guidance of Trudy Costa, a Coastal Environment Officer with Wollongong City Council, worked to mark out a transect line on the Kanahooka Lakeside Reserve foreshore. With the use of quadrats, volunteers collected samples on a randomised section of the transect line. The samples were filtered through two sieves, capturing microplastics measured between 1mm - 5mm. What was captued in the sieves was deposited into clear water and identifiable microplastics were extracted with tweezers. The different types of plastic were recorded, such as hard and soft fragments, films, foam, fibres, and pellets. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who came, especially Trudy Costa and Elyse Stanes, who helped to organise this amazing event. It was a great way to get outside, learn practical skills, and apply them in the field.

Surveys are of growing importance. We are in a world where plastics have become a material of everyday life and, as some studies have proven, are also inside of us. Studies have found that microplastics are turning up in every part of the body such as blood, lungs, brains, reproductive organs, and more recently in female placenta (Greenpeace 2024). This is definitely a case where environmental problems also produce overarching social issues.

The benefit of site sample surveys convey to us where microplastics are found, where they accumulate, and inform better and effective policies around waste management, housing and industrial developments, and contribute to the protection of natural habitats. I am very glad that this survey was able to be experienced by a bright group of people willing to learn more and understand the importance of this, not just to local communities, but to wider populations. Microplastics may seem like an issue that can’t be solved, but there are ways to manage it and prevent further microplastics entering our waterways and environments.

Written by Alex Aicken, HuGS Interim President