Elizabeth CouseIARD4960International Experience Reflection PaperNovember 1, 2018

My experience studying abroad in Byron Bay, Australia has been an integral part of my

undergraduate experience and immensely enhanced my understanding of food systems,

sustainability, and community building. Before completing my semester in Byron, I was feeling

pretty lost and overwhelmed with the direction of my career and how I wanted to turn my

passions into action. My view of the world was pessimistic and tainted by all of the doom filled

news surrounding me. In Byron Bay, I found hope and I found a community of passionate

dedicated people who are changing the world through their local action and specifically through

their food.

In Australia, I was able to craft my personal environmental philosophy and ethics through

the various workshops that we completed throughout the semester and now I feel like I have a

solid understanding of the type of world that I want to be a part of. I had a lot of deep radical

beliefs before completing the program but never felt confident about them or even really knew

how to articulate them. During the semester, I gained a sense of empowerment and confidence

and now I’m not afraid to live and speak unapologetically after seeing and witnessing people live

alternative lifestyles and being immersed into a group of peers who share my same values and

beliefs. Also, before completing the program, I didn’t have any names or distinctions for my

ideas and philosophies about the world, where now, I have concrete philosophies and movements

that represent my views and resonate with me deeply. If anything, I find mainstream

sustainability and food movements to be way too conservative and conventional and am now

motivated to make the meaningful radical change that we need. I have gained a deep appreciation

for the value of group learning settings and the importance of having a strong community and

support system. Our classes and the SIT program facilitated out learning experiences but the

majority of the growth and change for me happened from my peers.

I felt like I was able to apply all that I have learned at Cornell through the IARD major

and all of my classes to the material that we covered and experiences in Byron. As part of my

program’s curriculum, every student completed a 5-week independent study project, or ISP. For

my ISP, I made a short film on local food and community building featuring many farmers and

food producers in the Byron Shire. This was my favorite part about my time in Australia and was

able to immerse myself in the food system and local community there. I had the great

opportunity to learn from Helena Norberg-Hodge who produced the film The Economics of

Happiness and is one of the pioneers of the localization movement. In a lot of ways, the food

system and food community in Byron reminded me a lot of Ithaca. One important factor that

both communities share is that they have the audience who care about and are able to choose

local sustainably grown food. I feel very proud of my final film and the feedback that I have

received and I am actually working with one of the marketing coordinators at the Ithaca Farmer’s

Market now to do something similar here.

I think my ISP project is something that greatly contributed to my new found confidence

as an environmentalist and has prepared me most to make change and take action now that I am

home. Up until the ISP, it was inspiring learning about different change making routes but

actually getting into the Byron community and engaging with local agents of change and getting

their advice was incredibly rewarding. It was so inspiring seeing the passion and spirit that exists

in the Byron community and it has just showed me how open most people are to having

conversation

One experience from the semester that stands out to me most was the ecopsychology

workshop where we identified the different dominant and radical world views that exist today.

My current environmental philosophy most closely aligns with deep ecology, traditional

indigenous, and ecofeminism. Living in Byron in such close proximity to the beach and having

weather where we can be outside and run around barefoot has deepened my connection the

environment significantly. And the more conversations I have had with my peers discussing

different environmental issues, I have realized how strong I believe in the inherent value of the

environment. In out sustainability workshop, one of my professors said that after living in a

shack in nature for so long he began to walk around cautiously watching out for every little bug

or creature that he may step on. I find myself doing similar things now and have just gained such

a deep appreciation for all life. I think the world has become too compartmentalized and

distanced which is why I think talking about the intersectionality of issues is so important and

why ecofeminism resonates with me. I think that we abuse and degrade the environment in the

same way that we abuse and degrade women. And throughout history, women have held such a

close and intimate tie to the environment and the natural world. I don’t think you can empower

women without ending the degradation to the environment and vice versa. They are so

inextricably intertwined. The aboriginal field trip also heavily impacted my current

environmental philosophy and world view. I had already had a small grasp on the importance of

indigenous world views from my favorite book Ishmael by Daniel Quinn which touches on the

idea but spending time at the aboriginal camp made it so much more clear to me. We have lost

our connection to our environments and being detached and disconnected from so many

numbing distractions in the world today was refreshing. We had so much fun and it made me

realize how little we really need. It was also inspiring and humbling witnessing the aboriginal

elders’ knowledge of the land and ideals.

I think one of the biggest personal challenges that I have overcome during this semester

has been my attachment to consumerism and valuing wealth. I went to boarding school for high

school and was surrounded by a lot of very affluent people who deeply valued money. It had a

big effect on me and it has been hard for me to let that go but I really did while in Australia.

Learning about voluntary simplicity as well as a reading we did that described an ideal

sustainable future helped me overcome my attachment to material wealth. It said that in a

sustainable world we would value people based on their contributions to society and how much

they give to their community rather than on their wealth. I love that idea and I really hope to

bring that with me in the future. In the past, I would just buy things all the time, especially

clothes and I am very guilty of using Amazon prime. Now, I am so hesitant to buy anything and

with each purchase that I do make now, I put a lot of thought and effort behind it- where it came

from, how it was made, and what the costs truly were. I have realized how much U.S. culture

relies on material wealth and how unhealthy and unproductive that is.

Before this program, I was just viewing sustainability and the world in general in such a

narrow box. Now I know that the possibilities are endless, and we need radical change to move

towards a sustainable happy future. I feel so much more equipped to be an effective change

maker and empowered and confident in my beliefs. I’m overwhelmed by the future but also so

excited. I feel excited that I have tools and experience in community building, sustainable living,

and social change, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds. I can’t imagine the world now,

without knowing the things that I do now and I will never look at it the same way. I’m so happy

that I chose to do this program and know that I will continue to refer back to what I learned in

this semester for the rest of my life.

The famous Byron Bay Lighthouse

We were asked to describe our group as part of the Social Change Workshop

Change makers

Ideas for a sustainable future during the Sustainability Workshop

Visiting an organic permaculture farm

Cover to my short film For the Love of Food (link here)

Day spent interviewing Craig Evans the “Byron Bay Banana Man”

Beach Cleanup

Spotted around Byron

Visiting local farms for my short film

Farmer’s market haul (all local, vegan, plastic free)

Friends wearing our matching “I buy from local farmer’s market” t shirt

Boomerangs carved and painted during the Aboriginal Camping Trip

Byron Bay