Sam Daykin

Honestly, it was kind of a shot in the dark deciding to jump on board with the team at OzGREEN. 

I’d previously spent the last two years working a hospitality job after dropping out of school and did not think I had what it took to take on an ‘adult’ job but hey.. here I am!!

One evening I was just doom-scrolling Instagram when I saw this ad from an environmental charity who was looking for a young person in Bellingen to join their team… I’d never really heard of OzGREEN before, other than the fact that their office is behind my back fence and they ran a youth program in my home town that my mum sent me a facebook post about.. It seemed like a great opportunity, they were doing great work so I took a leap of faith and applied.

As a young person, navigating the complexities of today's rapidly changing world can be overwhelming… especially with the looming threat of inheriting a planet dealing with the effects of climate change. Honestly, often it feels too hard or too scary to make a difference.

I’ve often found myself grappling with the thought that I could be doing better to minimise my impact on the planet. While picking apples at the supermarket that aren’t in plastic bags and trying to shorten my showers play a part, I felt that to make a real change I had to make some big commitment… you know, pull a Greta Thunberg or something… However, in reality, such monumental efforts don’t seem feasible, especially when faced with the financial burdens of paying rent and affording groceries in a cost-of-living crisis.  

Fast forward over two years and here I am - totally in a position I never thought I'd be in! I literally get paid to learn new things and play my part in making the world a better place. Plus I have a whole team supporting me on my (sometimes crazy) endeavors! It’s so impactful to have such a supportive team around me, sometimes it feels like having a group of cheerleaders by my side in the office, except instead of pom-poms they’ve got keep-cups and laptops to write grant applications for exciting projects. 

There are so many things I value about my job and it’s super hard to narrow it down, but I think one thing I really value is being able to work creatively to provide opportunities for other young people to build the skills to understand how they can see themselves in this world too!

I’m currently working as an Events Coordinator with OzGREEN, which means I get to design and deliver events that are not only fun, but also give young people access to opportunities they may not have had before… Like spending all day nerding out to waterbugs!

With a big focus on bringing the needs and ideas from young people into all of OzGREEN's programs, I work hard to ensure that we're delivering impactful activities that resonate with local young people... It’s a challenging but incredibly rewarding role, and I’m grateful for the chance to make a difference every day.

I’m so excited to see where my journey with OzGREEN takes me in the future…. who knows maybe one day I’ll be the Young Citizen of the Year in the Bellingen Shire…. Oh wait… lol!