Name: Libby 
Role Title: Catchment and Agricultural Services Officer
Location: DNRE Tatura

Description of work undertaken:  Libby facilitates six community drainage groups. She works with the landholders and designers, helps to run meetings, resolves issues, keeps the project moving, organises budgets, and strives to remain impartial. Libby also does whole farm planning with landholders. Libby describes getting a drain in the ground as a long process taking up to 5 or 6 years, so she needs to celebrate the small achievements such as a planning permit being approved.

Libby facilitates six community drainage groups

Team and / or individual role / responsibilities:
In addition to her work role Libby mentors two newer staff members. The Project  Officers work as a team, Libby says that it is great to be a part a good team, to be able to swap ideas, have meetings regularly to discuss things, and help each other to find solutions to problems.

Future? 
At the moment Libby is happy where she is, but would eventually like to get into Environmental Management, eg. in  forestry.

BACKGROUND: Grew up where?  Libby grew up in Geelong and Croydon, Melbourne. Her father was the superintendent of Geelong Botanical Gardens and this is where she developed an interest for the outdoors and trees. She completed a three month gardening course at the gardens, then was offered a place in her Uni course.

Course(s) studied: 
Tertiary /post secondary:
Associate Diploma in AgriBusiness and a Bachelor of Applied Science (Agriculture). 

Secondary: 
Libby says that virtually all of her subjects were good. She did Accounting, Biology and Chemistry, and they really helped with her first course.

Work experience: 
Libby worked in the Geelong Botanic Gardens in Year 11. While at Uni she worked in two wholesale nurseries and at DNRE in Environmental Management during the last year of university. 

OPPORTUNITIES: 
Further study: 
Libby has no plans for more studying at the moment, but may do further study in forestry in the future.

Learning on job, new skills, etc. 
Libby does a lot of training learning negotiation and facilitating skills, and has developed general computer skills. Libby says working at DNRE gives you the opportunity to do a lot of training.

Travel, etc.
Libby and her team do a lot of travelling locally but do not travel very far outside the Shepparton area. 

ADVICE TO STUDENTS NOW: 
Libby didn't decide what she wanted to do until after Year 11. Her work experience really helped her to find out what she wanted.
She believes you should try to get the most out of your work experience. While in Uni it's good to do some career related voluntary work to make yourself known and to get experience. Use your contacts as much as you can. Unpaid work sometimes leads to paid part-time work that can lead to full-time work in the area you want. You sometimes have to put up with the bad jobs to get the good ones later on. You often have to start at the bottom and work your way up from there.