Celebrating Women in Climate

Event Details

Join us for Geelong Sustainability’s March event ‘Celebrating Women In Climate’, in honour of International Women’s Day which lands within the same month. This event will highlight the amazing work being undertaken by local women in the climate and sustainability space.

We will have a panel of three amazing and diverse women including Ula Majewski, Dr Prue Francis and Belinda Baggs. The evening will be an opportunity to hear more from innovative change makers, and be inspired by their projects and experience in the climate space. This event is here to expand your understanding of what climate action is and empower you to make your unique change and impact in your own life. 

Our first Green Drinks event for the year sold out; so we suggest getting in quickly and booking today. We would love to see you there and celebrate together the inspiring work women in the region are doing in the climate movement. 

5.30pm-6.00pm: Networking
6.00pm-6.45pm: Panel speakers and question time
6.45pm-7.00pm: Networking opportunity 

Please note this is an alcohol free event. Tea and coffee will be provided.

Read more about the inspiring panel below.

Ula Majewski 

Ula is a storyteller, surfer and advocate for environmental and social change. She has over 15 years of experience in delivering and supporting powerful change-making campaigns — working in Australia, Vanuatu, Timor-Leste, Indonesia and across the Asia and Pacific region. She’s advocated for climate justice, women’s rights, forest and ocean protection, disaster readiness and land rights, and trained hundreds of change-makers across the region.

Ula started her campaigning journey in the ancient southern forests of Lutruwita/Tasmania. She’s worked with the Red Cross / Red Crescent Climate Centre on the Pacific Climate Animation Project, as Oxfam Australia’s Senior Campaigner on Climate Justice and Influencing, Advocacy and Campaigns Advisor and as an Associate at OrganiseUs, a creative studio for social good. She has recently started as Environmental Campaign Lead at Patagonia Australia.

Ula has a Masters in Environmental Management from the University of Tasmania and a Bachelor of Arts with Honours from the University of Melbourne. In 2009, she was named as one of Australia’s 10 Emerging Leaders in the ‘Earth’ category in the Australian Magazine and Microsoft’s ‘Next 100 Emerging Leaders’ awards and is a Founding Member of Surfers For Climate. In her spare time, she writes and photographs for surf magazines White Horses and Surfing World, and cleans up thousands of pieces of polluting plastic rubbish from Lutruwita/Tasmania’s most remote World Heritage beaches. She lives on Wadawurrung Country.

Belinda Baggs

Surfer, Patagonia Global Sports Activist and co-founder of Surfers for Climate 

A seeker of wild places and clear blue water, Belinda’s heart has always been in the ocean. Belinda believes that living an examined everyday life is one easily attainable way forward to positive change in the current environmental crisis. Born in Newcastle and now residing on Victoria’s Surf Coast, Belinda’s career highlights as a surfer include becoming the Australian Professional Longboard Circuit Champion in 2000, and placing third in the Women’s World Longboard Championship in Costa Rica that same year. She was the first female surfer to grace the cover of ‘Surfers Journal’ and has featured in a number of surf films, including ‘Sprout’ (2003), ‘Dear and Yonder’ (2012), ‘Come Hell or High Water’ (2016), and ‘Never Town’ (2018). She has both produced and featured in environmental documentaries ‘South Fish’ (2019) and ‘The Reef Beneath’ (2018).

A Patagonia Global Sports Activist and former Social Media Lead at the global apparel company, she is also an ambassador for Take 3 for the Sea, In 2019, Bindy visited the Heron Island Research Station on the Great Barrier Reef as a guest of The Climate Council. Following this formative trip, she co-founded the not-for-profit group Surfers for Climate – a sea-roots movement dedicated to positive climate action.

Dr Prue Francis

Prue is a marine scientist at Deakin University where she has over 15 years’ experience in marine science and education. Her research focuses on the extent to which ocean literacy is being taught in schools across Australia and exploring innovative methods to promote ocean literacy through research, education and engagement. An active ocean literacy advocate, Prue has regular appearances on radio and media outlets and has recently co-authored a children’s book called The Great Southern Reef (by Paul Venzo, Prue Francis; illustrated by Cate James). Prue is passionate about raising awareness of this Reef and is currently involved in a research project where her team are exploring techniques to restore the foundation seaweed species of the Great Southern Reef – the golden kelp.