“Eco-Social Work in Australia” (ESWA) Podcast series

Social work practice in Australia offers an example of such a professional transition, as physical environmental concerns over climate disruption and environmental justice start to be incorporated into work with clients in an approach being termed ‘eco-social work.’ A new found physical environmental focus is also growing within the allied psychology and health care professions.

One of HOPE Australia’s members, Andrew Nicholson, a retired social worker, has produced a podcast series for HOPE Australia entitled Eco Social Work in Australia. The launch of this new series follows hard on the heels of a previous podcast series kindly auspiced by HOPE: After the Virus in S.E. Queensland which has received over 300 downloads since launch in late 2020.

The Eco Social Work in Australia series contains interviews with a range of Australian social work practitioners who give their personal perspectives on topics such as: training institution approaches to supporting eco-social work practice, and social work student experience of eco-social work-oriented placement. There is also discussion of how ecological economics and circular economy ideas might inform future social work practice, and the concept of grief response as a social work framing, to help understand and work with climate change denial and resistance.

The Eco Social Work in Australia series is available now on: SPOTIFYPODBEAN,  and GOOGLE PODCASTS .

After the Virus in SE Qld.

Many Australians have been astonished at the contrast between the federal government’s responses to the pandemic and to the climate threat . . . Overall, Australia has mounted one of the most effective responses to the virus of any country. Yet on climate change it remains unalarmed and unmotivated.

This series is produced by HOPE in the form of interviews of between 30 to 45-minute duration. Invited guests talk about a range of ways in which our region could become more sustainable as we move to control and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Each podcast episode contains an overarching vision, reflective of the particular interests of our guests; a vision for what a green ‘built forward better’ stimulus and recovery from COVID-19 in this part of Queensland might look like. Guests also describe some of the immediate steps which could be taken to start to realise that vision.