Grant Fenton

Executive Officer at Environment Education Victoria

What inspires you?

I love a great story. Especially one where people triumph over adversity or where success is achieved when it’s not expected - such as Stephen Bradbury winning the Olympic Speed Skating Gold Medal. People say it was pure luck and chance that allowed him to win, however they neglect to consider the years of training and hard work he put in to qualify. The key message is; don't give up. Keep working and trying and make sure you are at least in the race. Then anything is possible.

In terms of people who inspire me, my list is very long but; the bravery and commitment of Malala Yousafzai, the passion of Greta Thurnberg, the genius of Robin Williams and the empathy and human spirit of Sir Weary Dunlop just to name a few.

What brought you to the area of environmental education & sustainability? Tell us some of your story.

I'd been living back in Melbourne after 9 years in Darwin where my most substantive role had been the CEO of the Northern Territory Farmers Association (NT FARMERS). While I was born and raised on a farm in central Victoria, my father would have been spinning in his grave if he'd thought I'd end up working in agriculture. To be truthful, I didn't know one end of a mango from another. However it wasn't a farming background that the organisation needed. They wanted someone with the ability to build an organisation from the ground up and create a strong brand for an emerging sector. I think the same is true of EEV. The Committee of Management wasn't necessarily after someone with an environmental or educational background. EEV wanted someone who could work with a great team of people and take the organisation on a journey of growth, increasing membership, improving EEV's potential as an influencer in educational policy setting and broadening EEV’s horizons to build connections with business and industry. 

What's an achievement or contribution you're most proud of?  Why?

A couple of months after I arrived at NT Farmers in the Northern Territory, the then Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced that he wanted to develop a White Paper on Northern Development and as part of that; a White Paper on Northern Development for Agriculture. I convinced the NT Farmers Council that this was the one thing we needed to attach ourselves to. If the Federal Government was going to be talking about the development of agriculture in Northern Australia, then we needed to be a leading voice. This in turn lead us to developing a major event, The Northern Australia Food Futures Conference. We made our story about Northern Australia which in turn nationalized our story. Our profile increased ten-fold and we achieved major funding for the event from the NT Government along with funding support from the Queensland and Western Australian Governments. That's right: funding for a conference held in Darwin from WA and Qld.

When I arrived the organisation consisted of members from across a variety of commodities, growers of mangoes, melons, Asian vegetables, citrus and others - we had no Traditional Land Owners connected to our organisation. One of my proudest moments was when NT Farmers created two seats on their Council for representatives of the Central and Northern Land Councils. This meant that for the first time in its 30 year history, the peak body of the Plant Industry had seats on its Council representing Traditional Owners. 

Where did you grow up and how did that shape you?

I was born and raised on a wheat farm in Northern Victoria near a little town called Kerang. My father was born there and his before him so our family name was etched into the landscape. Growing up in the country has instilled in me a strong sense of community; of living in a village setting. We had a constant stream of visitors and neighbours at our house and that came from my parents who were very kind and personable people. I believe my parents gave me my greatest characteristics - empathy and a smile to anyone. 

In later years, knowing that my ancestors settled and cleared that land has had a profound impact on me. Burke and Wills camped at a siding near Kerang owned by one of my ancestors. Knowing the history of how Aboriginal people were treated during a time when my family were settling and clearing land has filled me with an obligation to enter into my own journey of reconciliation. I can't be certain that members of my family played a leading role in atrocities, but certainly their acquisition of land in the Kerang and Pyramid Hill region would have displaced Aboriginal people and negatively impacted their culture.  One of my goals in life is to find some small way to support emerging Elders born into a culture which has suffered profound loss.

What do you enjoy doing when you're not working?

Outside of work I am my daughter's butler. My six year old daughter Poppy and my wife Ghiran and I spend most weekends enjoying Melbourne. We brought Poppy home to Victoria from the NT to make sure she would be with her family, so weekends are spent catching up with lots of family and friends. However, when I get a bit of Me-Time I like to play the guitar or piano, write and if time and energy permit, I love reading. 

Is there a book/person/film/holiday that has provided a defining moment in your life?

The defining moment in my life was becoming a father. There is, in my mind, no greater achievement than bringing a little person into the world. 

On another level however the writing of American poet Maya Angelou was a pivotal moment in my life. Her themes of freedom, human rights, integrity and love have been an inspiration to me. Her personal story is quite amazing.

What are you listening to, watching and reading at the moment?

I'm 20+ days into the role so I'm reading lots and lots of articles about sustainability, environment and education. Poppy and I are reading some Roald Dahl and sitting gathering dust is my current book "Victorian England". 

How do you believe we can inspire positive behavioural change in people who don't 'believe' in climate change?

A change in law meant that back in the 1970s in Victoria, one had to start wearing a seatbelt. However, it took a long time for people to accept that law and a lot of fines were handed out to those unwilling to comply. It has taken a long time with automobile manufacturers having to meet levels of safety compliance and powerful educational campaigns to ensure that putting a seat-belt on is second nature. The message in this is that writing something into a single piece of law or policy is not enough. Law and policy, while vital platforms, do not embed something into culture. Broad acceptance of climate change will occur through a constant growth in education of the science behind it. 

Tell us one thing you'd like to achieve this year - big or small!

My focus at EEV this year is to ensure we experience growth in our membership. This means we will have evolved the membership so that it is more contemporary and responds to the needs of the members themselves. I'm proud to say that within the first ten days of my role, the team embraced the concept of providing free membership to all VCE students who purchase our VCE textbooks. This means that every student who studies VCE Environment Science will be supported by EEV with a range of tools at their disposal. 

A key goal for me is to connect more with Tertiary Students as they prepare to embark on a career in environmental science and sustainability. These practitioners will be great influencers in the industries they work in and also great advocates for environment and sustainability education. Their support of EEV will be vital to our success.