Meet Our New Sustainability Coordinator!
Hi all!
I wanted to introduce myself as the new Sustainability Coordinator for 2022-2023! My name is Courtney Duncan and I have just graduated with an MA in Geography from St Andrews. My dissertation project focused on acculturation at university in Third Culture Kids and UK domiciled students, and therefore I aim to focus on cultural sustainability while working in this role! More specifically, I want to make sustainable initiatives, objectives and action accessible to everyone, no matter your cultural background – as well as create a safe sustainability culture – meeting any eco-anxious feelings!
These goals are personal to me because when I first moved to the UK, after living in the tropics all my life, I had never seen or knew how to work a radiator before! While it was easy to pick up on, I had questions about how far I should turn the radiators down or up, lest the building freeze or explode, and where to recycle glass (in Singapore recycling is all automated/segregated for you). It was funny trying to explain these things to my friends, but also a little embarrassing. Therefore, I want to spark a discussion on the cultural differences within sustainability and address these variations in knowledge! I think it will be interesting to hear about our cultural diversity, but also help those that had questions like mine 🙂
Integrated within this aim, I think it is important to discuss our eco-anxiety, especially on the tail-end of COP26, the Ukraine-Russia conflict and other global crises. It is a turbulent and overwhelming time, but it often helps to acknowledge this chaos! Sustainability and the stewardship of the planet and its resources is challenging, and that is okay. While there is not a one-fits-all solution, any and very little thing can make a difference and that’s where we come in!
If there is interest in these types of topics and debates, please let me know and I would be happy to set up an informal weekly/monthly Teams discussion room for us to share our worries, ideas and perspectives over a cup of tea or coffee!
Overall, I look forward to seeing what takes place this year and being a part of the Sustainability Coordinator legacy! If you see me around town or want to drop me a Teams message/email (@cnd6), please say hi 🙂
Leaving things on a positive note, here are some photos I have taken of some of my interests, hobbies and travels!
(Top Left: Me at graduation this year!; Top Right: Views near Aberdeen; Middle left: Me in Orkney, next to the Standing Stones of Stenness; Middle Right: At the Kirkcaldy Falconry site!; Bottom: One of my weaving projects)
