Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 Hello and welcome. I'm here to provide acknowledgement of country. For those who don't know me, I'm kj Karen Jackson, director of Moon Balletic. My genealogy tracks back to Moira Lakes in Barma Forest and Mount Hope in Pyramid Hill. Giving me my connections to Yorta, Yorta, and Barra language group. There's a couple of things I'd like you to take away from my acknowledgement. The first is to remember the hidden history of Aboriginal people since invasion, our loss of language removal from country, and our new extinction from massacres and pandemics. The second is our strong and inherent connection to community. And these connections have given us the resilience and courage to rebuild our languages, gain access to country, regenerate our cultural practices in acknowledging the traditional owners of the country on which you are now on. I'd like to sincerely thank them for their generosity and kindness in welcoming people onto their lands, never seated, and lands that run deep into their being and spirit. I wish to pay my deep respect to the ancestors, elders, communities, and families of the Ang Wri on whose land I stand and who create connection and share knowledge with all of us. Thank you.
Speaker 2 00:01:19 Hello colleagues, and welcome to the People of Vu podcast. I want to thank kj, first of all, for their amazing acknowledgement of country. It's so important to us, obviously so important to her and so important to the future of this nation. And we really are grateful to you for doing so at the beginning of every episode, episode. And I also acknowledge my deepest respects to ancestors, elders, and families of the traditional owners wherever our campuses may be, including in Sydney and in Brisbane, and of course in Victoria. It's a real pleasure listeners. Every time we have a people of View podcast, we speak with someone special. And today we're joined by Will Ed Goose, who's a recent graduate, 2025 graduate of this university in ba. And he had is a Bachelor of Outdoor Education and Environmental Science. What a wonderful combination of two areas of disciplines will welcome to the podcast. Thank you
Speaker 3 00:02:10 For having me.
Speaker 2 00:02:10 Fantastic to have you here. Now, will I understand that you're a person who's a, we, we talked a bit about this, but in getting ready for this podcast, you're a bit of a saltwater person. I am. And you grew up surfing. How old were you when you first, can you remember when you first went in the water?
Speaker 3 00:02:25 I was, oh, in the water? I don't know, but I, I know I first started surfing at seven years old.
Speaker 2 00:02:30 Okay. That's not, that's not that, that not that old. Did you have a particular small size of board? What did you use?
Speaker 3 00:02:36 Yeah, I had a, well, I started off with a big board. It was like eight foot big foam board trying to learn how to paddle up on onto waves. And then, and then I slowly progressed and got smaller and smaller boards and now I'm on a, a five 10 short board. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:02:51 So it's one of those things listeners where you start off big and you get smaller as you get better. Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:02:55 Okay. Yeah. You can carve the, your balance gets a bit better on the, on the smaller boards.
Speaker 2 00:02:59 Amazing. Now, who was teaching you first?
Speaker 3 00:03:02 Originally I just started just paddling out and just going by myself. And I would always go down to, we'd go on family trips to Pamula up in New South Wales. So I'd, I'd have the family on the beach watching me and, and all of that. And then I was lucky enough with a, with my close group of friends, one of my mate's dads and also my parents would take us every weekend down the coast. So you just keep, keep surfing, keep progressing. And
Speaker 2 00:03:31 That's one of the things. Did you grow up with it? Did you, did someone suggested to you? You just always wanted to?
Speaker 3 00:03:36 Yeah, I, I, I don't know how it started because no, no one in my family surfs or, or anything like that. It's, it's really just my friend group and people that surround me that I guess I got influenced by.
Speaker 2 00:03:47 Well they say the smell of salt air is something which you never forget, you know, and you can probably tell the type of wind and the type of waves even before you see them. Exactly. From the aroma. Is that the case?
Speaker 3 00:03:56 Oh, definitely. Yeah. It's every time. Yeah. 'cause I live around the city, so every time you drive down the coast and get to that, that coastal breeze, it's, yeah, it's pretty special.
Speaker 2 00:04:08 It's a really special thing. I was saying before that I'm a freshwater person. Yeah. A lake person and a river person. Not that we had much surfing, I can tell you, but we had a lot of wind surfing. Yeah. And canoeing and kayaking and all those kinds of things. So we went a lot slower mostly. But also it's a different sort of feeling the water. 'cause it's always bounded, you can see pretty much the edge. Yeah. You know, whereas the ocean, you don't see the edge, you know, it's like you're just out there in it. So how young were you when you started being confident enough to go beyond the breakers?
Speaker 3 00:04:40 Yeah. Well growing up I did lifesaving nippers as a kid. So that was one of the big things that, that definitely grew my confidence out in the water. Like there'd be a big, big group of us and you'd learn how to paddle in the waves and, but yeah, just sitting out in the, in the ocean and learning how to navigate your way is you grow your confidence through that.
Speaker 2 00:05:02 And what about calmness? Can you be calm in the ocean?
Speaker 3 00:05:05 The most calm.
Speaker 2 00:05:06 The most calm, yeah. Of anywhere.
Speaker 3 00:05:08 Of anywhere.
Speaker 2 00:05:09 That's really
Speaker 3 00:05:09 Interesting. Surfing is a probably, in my opinion, the best form of meditation. It's, it's really beautiful just to sit out there and, and not worry about anything.
Speaker 2 00:05:20 Well there was a famous film which was made way before you were born and about the same time that I was a bit later and it was called The Endless Summer. Okay. And it's a famous surfing film and it was taken, it was done by Australs all over the world in sort of major sites, you know, and they just never stopped surfing really. Kind of like the endless, really the word. It was endless. Mm. And it's kind of famous. There's a whole pantheon of surfing films. Have you seen a few? Yeah,
Speaker 3 00:05:45 Yeah, definitely. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:05:46 Yeah. So, and and equally with every sport, I suppose it's the same, but you know, it's one of the ones which is really well known. Mm. So tell me, sports is there and you've done a lot of that. Are they always aquatic sports or did you do other things as well?
Speaker 3 00:05:59 No, no. I grew up trying all different sports from, from tennis to a FL was another big one. But yeah. And now I've got recently got into hiking and exploring the, the wilderness, so. Hmm.
Speaker 2 00:06:13 And what came first the environmental science degree or the hiking?
Speaker 3 00:06:18 The hiking definitely.
Speaker 2 00:06:19 Interesting. Yeah. So did you choose the degree in part because of your interest in, in the back
Speaker 3 00:06:23 Country? Definitely. Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2 00:06:24 So that's great. That's great. And how did it work for you, you know, in the block model? Did you have enough time to do all of that work?
Speaker 3 00:06:31 Yeah, yeah, definitely. And the course really supported going out and and exploring the wilderness as well. There's a lot of field practicals and with the outdoor education side, you'd go on extended journeys for 10 days or so, just hiking through the, through Australian back country. And it's pretty beautiful to, to learn about the landscape as well as be immersed in it.
Speaker 2 00:06:54 So we've gone from the coast to the backcountry. Tell just for the listener's sake, what was one of the most impressive hikes you've done?
Speaker 3 00:07:02 I did a, the Western Arthurs Traverse in Southwest Tassie, which is pretty rural. It's as like remote as a gets and that was a six day hike carrying everything, all your food and tents and everything and yeah, pretty extreme.
Speaker 2 00:07:18 So you carry everything with you. Everything with you take everything out. Yeah. Only the photographs that are new.
Speaker 3 00:07:23 Exactly, yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:07:24 That kind of thing. Yeah. And did you do that in relation to studies or just on your own?
Speaker 3 00:07:29 I did it with a few friends, but definitely inspired by studies. Interesting. And the trips we've been on. Yeah. Oh
Speaker 2 00:07:34 That's great. It's great that, you know, VU has been able to kind of give you that source as well. Yeah. It's been amazing. Now at the same time, you know, as a, as a person growing up you did a lot of different things, volunteering, different types of work. Can you remember just a few, give us a few examples even when you're in, you know, secondary school for example. What kinds of things were you doing in your spare time?
Speaker 3 00:07:54 Yeah, well it, interestingly I was, I was making a lot of things with, I was really interested in design and it was kind of my meditation away from nature. I made a lot of surfboards in my, my spare time. Interesting. Yeah. And that was another kind of hobby that that definitely led into where I am today.
Speaker 2 00:08:15 So would you say you're a very manual person? Like in the terms of the design? Yeah. Like you like to feel it? Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:08:20 Touch it. Definitely. And I like to like be able to observe and understand how, how systems work.
Speaker 2 00:08:26 That's great. 'cause all those things you described are very sensory, you know, the ocean, the mountains, the making. Definitely. And I think even fine art handling is one of the things you've done. So for those who dunno what is fine art handling, can you describe it?
Speaker 3 00:08:39 It's a bit of a niche, niche industry. Yeah. I just got into that randomly fruit through a few people I know. But yeah. So you'd go and install people's artworks for them and transport them overseas and Yeah. So it was a really delicate process and you had to be very careful but you also got to learn a lot about people and the art industry as well. So That's great. That was a great learning experience.
Speaker 2 00:09:03 What was one of the most difficult ones you've ever done?
Speaker 3 00:09:06 We did some, we've done some pretty heavy pieces. There was this pretty, pretty cool 400 kilo statue of the death star and it was all stone and it had these little like ribs in it. Yeah. And so we had to lift it up without breaking all of the, the ribs. Wow.
Speaker 2 00:09:22 Where was that going?
Speaker 3 00:09:23 It was going to a, an IT office I think. Really?
Speaker 2 00:09:26 Yeah. Gosh, it's amazing what kind of art people collect.
Speaker 3 00:09:30 Oh it was, it was a pretty amazing piece. But yeah and other bit like we got to move Ned Kelly's armor, which was, I didn't get to see it. We had some police escorts and whatnot, but it was pretty amazing. Yeah, it's
Speaker 2 00:09:42 Kind of ironic when you think of what he was arrested for. There were police escorts for the armor. I know
Speaker 3 00:09:47 Know it is
Speaker 2 00:09:47 When you sort of go back in
Speaker 3 00:09:48 The stream and now it's all protected. Yeah,
Speaker 2 00:09:50 It's
Speaker 3 00:09:50 Protected isn't it? Gone into the, the police museum. Exactly. Right. It's pretty, pretty amazing. Well
Speaker 2 00:09:55 Look, that's great stuff. So sports volunteering, wilderness, we talked about those three. You've taken off also leadership roles for example in say surf lifesaving. Tell us a bit more about that. When you started to graduate into not just being a nipper, but what you were doing. Yeah,
Speaker 3 00:10:09 Yeah. So I started nippers and then once you turn 15 you can get your surf rescue certificate and you through that you get your bronze medallion and you learn all the first aid. You also start to learn the, the natural processes to be able to navigate and save people. So, so once I got those certificates, then I was able to, yeah. Volunteer and patrol the beach. And in hindsight I was probably too young to appreciate the, the experience. But yeah, it was, it's pretty amazing just to, to do that thing with the community and build relationships and Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:10:44 But how old were you when you were doing that? What, 15 or
Speaker 3 00:10:46 Something? Yeah, 15, 16. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:10:48 Yeah. Because I mean, look, the thing that's interesting here in Australia, they have crossing guards at schools who generally are adults. Yeah. You know, sometimes even people who are retired in Canada, when I was a kid it was the students really I was one. Wow. I wore the kind of crossing thing and you know, we were very serious about it. Right. But it's interesting to me that they took the risk of having someone the same age as the children being so-called protected, being a guard. And actually I remember it, it caused a certain amount of jealousy 'cause everybody wanted to be one really until they were one. And I still remember wearing the orange thing. I'm not sure if that would work here.
Speaker 3 00:11:24 Yeah. No, I don't know.
Speaker 2 00:11:25 It was very egalitarian but also a bit odd when I think about it. Mm. You know,
Speaker 3 00:11:28 Well it's an interesting thing like leadership with your peers. It's a, people have to really navigate how to lead their peers. And I guess by, I've been a traffic controller with all your mates come and buy, it'd be, it'd be hard work to stay on the job. Well
Speaker 2 00:11:45 You had to really focus. I can tell you you got a bit of ribbing, you know, people saying, oh look at you. And then you had shifting back into class as a student with them. Mm. When I think about it, it was a bit of an experiment. Yeah. You know, this kind of thing. But then again you've done other things, for example in a FL. Yeah. So tell us a bit about that.
Speaker 3 00:12:01 Yeah. I played footy or a FL through my whole childhood. Loved the sport and yeah, I was lucky enough to become captain of the under fourteens footy team, which is still young. But you kind of still learn those, those leadership skills and with all your peers you gotta kind of control a bunch of 14-year-old boys, which is always hard.
Speaker 2 00:12:25 And just for the sake of those who are in the, not in the room, it's almost like air quotes about control, the word control. Because at that age of 13 it's pretty difficult. But you can inspire. Yes, yes. And you can sort of lead to that extent of, you know, first amongst equals. But what is, what's the role of the coach in relation to the captain at that age?
Speaker 3 00:12:42 Yeah. Well it's interesting 'cause you have to, the coach will give you directions and instruct you to get the group to go do a certain activity. And, and you've gotta then figure out how to round up this, this group and, and influence everyone to come, come over and do this activity. So it's a, it's a great learning experience of inter like relationships and inter and intrapersonal skills.
Speaker 2 00:13:06 I think it's fantastic 'cause all the things you described have a certain flow to them. You know, if you watch Woody, it's got a flow. Mm. Surfing has a flow. Yeah. You know, a lot of things flow in the mountains too when you're looking at water and so on. Definitely. It sounds like you're interested in that natural rhythm. Yeah, definitely. Anytime it's a big, it's a big fight feature for you. And then, then we come to study now, as I mentioned at the outset, studying outdoor education and environmental science. Fantastic combination. Outdoor ed as it's often called, is uniquely strong at vu. I've met people from all over the world who've done it. Yeah. So were there any other courses you considered or was that just the one?
Speaker 3 00:13:39 No, it was just, just this course.
Speaker 2 00:13:40 Interesting. And how about the block model of learning it? Did that suit you?
Speaker 3 00:13:45 It, it worked perfectly for me. I was, I was, I never loved the, the system of studying six different subjects at the same time through high school. So it never really worked for me. So being able to like focus on the one subject and subject matter for a period of time, was it, it worked really well.
Speaker 2 00:14:05 So let's talk about immersion. That's a word that sometimes used like, bit bit like when you go in, you know, fresh water. Yeah, yeah. You know. Exactly. Immersion or or the, or the surf. Yeah. It's a bit like immersion for four weeks. Mm. You know, so it's got that sense of full on, full in total concentration. Did you find that the assessment as you went was better than waiting, for example, for 12 weeks at the end? Something like that?
Speaker 3 00:14:27 Yeah, it was, it was really amazing. 'cause you could just, you were so focused in and you knew everything because you'd done it so recently and that's all you'd been concentrating on that the assessments kind of just yeah. Flowed along. Like you could really just, things would work and, and work well.
Speaker 2 00:14:49 And it's great that you did it with paired with environmental science that's become more and more of a passion as you've gone. Definitely.
Speaker 3 00:14:55 Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:14:56 So would you say that as one has come and the other's increased even more so awareness of the natural world even more so?
Speaker 3 00:15:01 Yeah, it's, it's an interesting thing. 'cause previous to the course I saw nature as like a recreational thing. And I, I think a lot of people do where they'll go out and they'll surf and then they come back to life or they'll go out and ride a mountain bike. But studying at outdoor education, you really get that awareness of the environment and the ecosystem and also the threats that they're facing at the, at the, at the moment. So yeah, it's pretty, I think it's very important the educational and awareness side combined with the, the activity
Speaker 2 00:15:38 And the fragility of it too, in terms of climate alteration and change. Definitely. And I remember some years ago I was skiing, I think it was in Costco around there and it was, you know, winter, full on winter such as it is in this nation, which by the way is very different from the winter I grew up with. Yeah. And on my ski I looked down and there was a butterfly. Yeah. That had come from somewhere long way, way born up by the winds and landed on my ski. I'd never seen that anywhere else in the world. Wow. You know, this kind of combination of things. Yeah. So did you have any unusual experiences when you've been doing your work in the mountains or anywhere else? Anything you'd like to tell us?
Speaker 3 00:16:13 Oh, there's, there's countless unusual experiences, but yeah. Really just the, the way everything's interconnected. Yeah. Like the processes of the animals enjoy the same areas that we enjoy because of the nutrition and the, the just the environment that surrounds them. So yeah, it's, it's pretty amazing to see animals interact with their, with their ecosystems Yeah. Out there.
Speaker 2 00:16:45 And did you see much under the water when you were surfing, for example, did you look and see much of the marine life?
Speaker 3 00:16:51 Yeah. And felt a bit too much and felt it as well? Yeah. It got cut off a few times but, but yeah, there's, at one of our local surf breaks point at us, there's this local seal that will always come up and, and say hi and swim around and dance around a bit. And it's, it always just reminds you of, of how beautiful nature is and kind of how we need to protect it and protect these seals and, and it's
Speaker 2 00:17:15 A regular Yeah. Wow. Isn't that something? Yeah. That you get to know it in that in that way. So then we talked about marine ecosystems as a big thing for you. And of course there's a lot of field work in it. Did you do any diving at all?
Speaker 3 00:17:29 I actually was about to get my diving certificate, but then this was in COVID and I got COVID so I couldn't get my diving. But it's something I am about to do.
Speaker 2 00:17:39 It's something you're planning on? Definitely. Yep.
Speaker 3 00:17:40 Yeah,
Speaker 2 00:17:40 Because I remember when I used to work at Southern Cross University, there was a national marine science center. Yeah. There and it was literally right on the edge of the coast. Okay. And people could do any number of things in terms of aquatic prevention and work, you know, to do with fish conservation and so on. But they all had to get scientific diving certificates as well. Yeah. So that's probably something in your future. Definitely,
Speaker 3 00:18:03 Yeah. It's, you
Speaker 2 00:18:03 Know, I would imagine. Yeah. So let's talk about this future. You're thinking of taking your love of marine science, your love of ecosystems and your love of what might be for the environment somewhere else. Where are you thinking of going?
Speaker 3 00:18:14 Yeah, I'm currently in the process of applying to UBC in Vancouver. Yep. And for a master's in Science of oceanography.
Speaker 2 00:18:23 Wow. That seems to bring it all together. Yeah,
Speaker 3 00:18:25 I think. I think so.
Speaker 2 00:18:26 Did you look all over the world and then choose that particular program?
Speaker 3 00:18:29 Yeah, I looked at a bunch of different international universities. 'cause international study is something I really wanna explore at the, at this moment. So yeah. And also local universities like Southern Cross and University of Tasmania. But yeah, I, I chose this, this course 'cause the, the landscape is pretty beautiful and, and there's all those islands up near Vancouver Island that have a lot of kelp, which I'm very interested in and yeah. Different diverse ecosystems. Have
Speaker 2 00:19:00 You looked at the nutritional value of kelp too? It's like incredible.
Speaker 3 00:19:03 Incredible. Yeah. You know, yeah. Not, not kelp, but Right red algae Yes. Is the, the norrie that they, red algae creates norrie that we eat, which is pretty, pretty fascinating.
Speaker 2 00:19:16 Pretty amazing stuff. So when you go and, I mean, I'm fortunate enough to have been spent quite a bit of time in British Columbia to me, we talked before about aromas and the ocean and it's got this unusual blend of sea smell, salt, air, coniferous trees, sometimes fisheries all in one. And I literally think it's, from the time you get off the plane, it just feels, and Sensorially is different. Yeah. Right. You know, it's amazing to compare. You just know it's a special place in the world. And also the rainfall that happens because of the mountains is quite constant. Yeah. There's a lot of rain. Yeah. And a lot of snow. Yeah. And therefore that adds to the mix as well. So I don't think you'd mind that whatsoever. No,
Speaker 3 00:19:54 No. I'm used to it down here in Melbourne, you
Speaker 2 00:19:56 Know, so the mountains and the sea are quite close together. Right. And there's amazing na national and natural parks like Stanley Park right on the sea wall. Mm. So people, you know, every weekend it's just full of those who are involved in the borderline between the sea and the land. It's amazing to see.
Speaker 3 00:20:11 I, I can't
Speaker 2 00:20:11 Wait now. UBC it's a pretty fantastic place. It's very well renowned, really strong in the area that you're thinking of. Also very strong in archeology, anthropology, many other fields. Is there anything special that you want to pick when you go there? Like is there a topic or are you just gonna go openly?
Speaker 3 00:20:27 Yeah, well, with oceanography in the master's course oceanography focuses on like four main disciplines, which is biological, chemical, physical, and geological. So within those, I got really interested while I was studying at vu in kelp and kelp forests and their potential for, for helping out this climate crisis that we're, that we're in.
Speaker 2 00:20:54 Yeah. And you know, there's so much under the water that reflects what's above the water, sometimes even deeper. Yeah. Evil forget definitely, you know, they think forests are like huge. There's those as well. But I remember at one stage there were a lot of people who were looking at sunken logs in the Great Lakes. They were way back when, you know, trees that had just fallen there like two or three or four or 500 years ago. And when brought up they could be reused for amazing dwellings and other things. They were just sitting Wow. At the bottom of lakes. Yeah. But there's all sorts of resources without necessarily damaging the environment. Exactly. Yeah. Everyone could reuse in different ways.
Speaker 3 00:21:27 A hundred percent. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:21:28 It's just a wonderful thing. So, so kelp forest, just describe what those look like.
Speaker 3 00:21:33 Yeah, so kelp forest, they're referred to as the like terrestrial forests, but in the aquatic ecosystems. So they can be, if it's a a giant kelp species, they can be hundreds of meters tall and yeah, they support hugely diverse ecosystems and food webs. So they're, they're pretty important for our, for our ecosystems
Speaker 2 00:21:59 And for the future of the planet. I, I can sense that you're gonna be onto something which could be translated from the northern hemisphere back to the southern hemisphere and maybe back again. You know what I mean? Because definitely it kelps everywhere,
Speaker 3 00:22:09 Right? It is, yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:22:10 Fantastic. That's so important. And what about ocean currents? Do they respond a lot to different temperatures as well?
Speaker 3 00:22:16 Yeah. Yeah. So ocean currents and upwelling, their hugely reliant on those to bring cold water and nutrient rich water up from the deep ocean to these coastal ecosystems. And, and that's what they thrive on.
Speaker 2 00:22:31 Well I, I remember very well in one of the natural national and natural history museums there in Bridge Columbia, that they even have the aromas of salmon and the aromas of water in the museum itself. Wow. You know, so people are really aware of the total picture. And actually Victoria, which is the capital on Vancouver Island, is one of those sites where amazing Sia exist as well. So University of British Columbia though is not only like a provincial place, it's a world place and it's a site of significance for First Nations people or many things that you'll be experiencing. And of course their traditional practices of caring for water and land will be part of that mix as well. Definitely. I think it's gonna be amazing. Will be. Well look, we're talking to you just on the verge of things. Hundred 10th anniversary of Vu. Your how many what? Four years approximately? You've been here?
Speaker 3 00:23:17 Yeah, just over three years. Yeah, just
Speaker 2 00:23:19 Over three. So look what you've done in three, what you're gonna do in the next two. We can't wait to hear what happens in in VC back again. And we'll have to do another podcast later when we hear you. That would be after
Speaker 3 00:23:30 That time. That would be amazing. That would be great.
Speaker 2 00:23:31 Thank you so much Will. It's been fantastic. Thank you
Speaker 3 00:23:33 For having me.
