Melanie - Environmental Officer
Growing up on a farm Melanie developed an interest in the environment. Working as an environmental officer Melanie has worked on a huge range of projects.
Melanie has always enjoyed being outdoors and along the way developed an interest in plants and wildlife. After leaving school Melanie completed a Cert. III in Horticulture at TAFE.
After five years working in horticulture, Melanie decided to progress her career and interests and began a Bachelor of Environmental Science in Wellington New Zealand before transferring to the University of Queensland and graduating in 2007 with a Bachelor of Environmental Management. While studying, Melanie worked with an environmental consulting firm before coming to work at the Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd in 2008.
What drew me to working in environmental management
“Growing up on a farm meant I became aware of environmental issues at an early age. I also developed a real interest in plants which led to me studying horticulture at TAFE. I enjoyed working with plants, but my interest in environmental management grew. So I returned to study.”
Career highlights
“I’ve been lucky enough to work on a number of projects over the short time I’ve been working at the port. These include:
- installing hollow logs to improve the habitat in the buffer zone between the port and the local residential area
- assisting with construction site inspections to control sediment or oil leaks from machines or containers that might enter and pollute the ground water, and control waste, particularly cigarette butts
- helping the environmental planning team to work with construction teams to make sure that their work on port land remains within the port’s environmental guidelines
- surveying the corridors in and out of the port for imported weeds
- surveying turbidity levels in our boat harbours, which involves working from a boat.”