Colleen stepped into the environmental activism space in 2017 on discovering cotton buds littering a local beach. She started the Better Buds Campaign, a successful campaign in reducing cotton bud marine pollution. Between 2017-2019, she led an effective community crusade to clean-up a spill of millions of Nurdles along the coastline. She formed the Facebook page Good Will Nurdle Hunting in 2017 to educate the public about Nurdles and marine debris. Colleen leads the local Beach Patrol group and Pick Up Sticks group. Both groups participate in weekly beach litter clean-ups and contribute data to Beach Patrol Australia’s Litter Stopper database. She is a strong advocate for citizen science and stopping marine debris at source. She regularly presents marine education talks and activities to schools and community groups. She involves local businesses, organisations and government agencies in marine debris events and actions. Colleen is a frequent spokesperson on marine debris related issues in the media. Since 2017 she has appeared in 67 radio, TV and newspaper articles including National ABC News, The Age & Sydney Morning Herald and regional news and newspapers. She has a strong interest in community action, behavioural change and looking after our ocean.
Environmental Activism Acknowledgements:
- Citizen of the Year for Warrnambool 2022.
- Winner Tidy Towns Award for ‘Litter prevention’ 2021
- Victorian marine and Coastal Council, ‘Winner – Inspiring community engagement and education’ 2020
- Finalist in the Premier’s sustainability Awards 2019
- Finalist in Parks Victoria environmental sustainability Award (Regional Achievement and Community Awards 2019)
- Tidy Towns Finalist 2019
- Tidy Towns Fund Prize Award 2019
- GHCMA Environmental Achievers Awards Highly Commended (2019)
- Australia Day Local Achievers Award (2019)
- Rotary Community Peace Award (2019)
- (Subject of the) Warnibald Art Prize (2018)
- Acknowledgement letter from the EPA CEO in relation to the Nurdle spill (2018).
- Women of Warrnambool (WOW) Nomination (2018)
Profiles in the Media
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Environmentalist cleans about 100km of shipwreck Coast, ABC Everyday Stories
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Video Profile on the Great Southern Reef website
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Profiled on 2020 Clean Up Australia Day: ABC LIfe.
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Profiled in NETWORK CONNECT, VICTORIAN RURAL WOMEN’S NETWORK MAGAZINE / 2019, ISSUE 2
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Local eco group finalists in three Victorian Awards, Sept 18th, 2019
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‘Ending the Age of Plastic’ by Michael Lucy, 18 September, 2018. Feature article in COSMOS Science Magazine. This article appeared in Cosmos 80 – Spring 2018 under the headline “Plastic planet”
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‘How a wave of nurdles woke up the people of Warrnambool’ by Jewel Topsfield. 29th September, 2018. The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.
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‘Care spills beyond beach: How the nurdle crisis sparked community action’ by Sian Johnson. The Standard Newspaper. Feb 23, 2018.
Social media content creation & management
Colleen runs several Facebook pages & groups
- Better Buds: 1,338 followers
- Good Will Nurdle Hunting: 2,195 followers.
- Beach Patrol 3280-3284 Group: 705 members
- Pick Up Sticks Group: 200 members
- 130 marine debris awareness videos created and loaded onto Facebook
- Events, competitions, quizzes and actions to engage and educate the public
School and Community Talks
- Colleen has run 64 marine debris education sessions with 23 school groups inc. beach cleanups, sorting/counting & uploading data, campaigning & marine debris art (2017-2021)
- Presentation at Coastcare Victoria Volunteer Forum (2022)
- Marine Debris presentation at DELWP Online Biodiversity Forum (2021)
- Marine Debris presentation at Deakin Uni DELWP Biodiversity Forum (2019)
- Marine Debris presentation at Ramsar Celebration/speaker forum (2019)
- Marine Debris Talk at Warrnambool Library (2021)