Sherborne Schools are delighted to announce the appointment of Alana Thorburn as their first ever Ecology, Conservation and Sustainability Ambassador in Residence. Alana hopes to use her role to create greater understanding of our impact on the natural world and how we can change our behaviour for the better.
“This is a unique opportunity to work within conservation and sustainability and within a school setting. I am inspired to be working with the next generation who will shape our future and am not aware of any other school which has adopted this approach,” explains Alana who has always wanted to work in conservation.
As part of her new role at Sherborne Girls, Alana will continue the collaboration with Sherborne School and The Gryphon School in taking forward the Operation Future Hope programme, a national rewilding and ecological initiative that involves young people in the restoration of nature. The first school to sign up to Operation Future Hope over two years’ ago, Sherborne Girls, together with Sherborne School and The Gryphon, has already completed the successful re-wilding of large areas within school grounds.
As well as working with the Sherborne Girls Eco Council to drive forward the School’s plans to be carbon-neutral by 2030 (Let’s Go Zero), Alana will begin rolling out the educational elements of the Operation Future Hope programme across all three Schools. Pupils will learn about vital conservation issues and acquire the knowledge needed to engage with and care for the natural world.
“Data suggest that sustainability is often seen as a female movement,” Alana reveals. “There is the perception that girls think more about their environmental impact, so it is great to be working with Sherborne School and The Gryphon to ensure that both message and practice are spread to as many pupils as possible.”
Alana has already met with Eco Prefects at Sherborne Girls and the Environmental Action Group at Sherborne School who have impressed her with their knowledge and enthusiasm. She is looking forward to working with these groups as well as The Gryphon Eco-Council, helping to implement some of their ideas and to focusing on key issues including fashion consumption, food waste, plastic use and recycling and other initiatives incorporating broader sustainability matters.
“I will be encouraging the pupils to reflect on how much clothing they really need, to wear what is in their wardrobe or buy second hand and choose items that will last. The Eco Prefects have come up with some great solutions to this huge environmental problem, including clothing swaps, jumble sales and sharing clothing.”
Alana’s approach to sustainability is distinctively pragmatic, influenced by her father’s work as a Civil Engineer. She learned early on that it is very hard to build essential without environmental impact: “We will always need roads and bridges so we have to accept that there will always be some level of damage, but we should commit to minimising any negative impact, consider the longevity, calculate the true environmental cost benefit analysis and sustainability of all projects moving forwards.”
Since there are no “quick wins” when it comes to sustainability, Alana highlights the need to make the most of immediate opportunities to gain ground such as food waste, energy efficiency and transport. The real battleground, she argues, is culture change:
“Changing behaviour is more challenging because there needs to be significant compromise when thinking about our own, as well as our collective, impact. There is greater impact from many people making small changes than from one person making significant change.”
Alana is not shy of practicing what she preaches. At home, she strives to be an environmental role model and to educate her family, empowering them to step up to the challenge and make changes wherever they can: “I try and live by example and have educated my family on how to recycle properly, and we have all reduced our meat consumption.”
Inspired by David Attenborough, Alana believes that being positive rather than punitive is critical to achieving and sustaining real change: “I want to tackle sustainability in a similar way, making the case softly, persuading people rather than alienating them.”
Alana was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Singapore, later returning to the UK to attend Exeter University where she read law, before studying Global Environmental Law and Governance at Strathclyde University. She points to the fully sustainable campus at United World College in Singapore as an example of what can be achieved. She acknowledges, however, that it is much harder to make old or listed buildings sustainable than those built from scratch, but equally understands the significant carbon and architectural impact replacing old with new often has.
Historic buildings notwithstanding, Alana says she is very excited about starting her career in Sherborne. “I am looking forward to getting to know the girls and the wider Sherborne community. It feels like a strong community where everyone looks out for one another.”
