Women in Circular Economy Leadership Award 2019 Grace Barilla

Grace Barila, Manager Environment Services, KESAB environmental solutions will examine school waste education by investigating how to measure the impact of programs in terms of the transfer of knowledge from school to home. 

Ms Barilla will examine selected national and international educational programs. The scope of her research will include the 8-12 year old cohort and teenagers. Specific research questions Ms Barila will examine include:

• Is the waste management message being relayed back into the family home having an impact on waste diversion following delivery of current education programs to school groups?
• Do outcomes demonstrate less contamination and increased diversion of waste?
  

The project will involve undertaking research through surveys, interviews and interface embracing education projects to better understand:

• How education is being delivered in school and education centres
• Why organisations do not engage students as the target audience to impact on best behaviour practices
• Survey and interview schools, students, families and facilitators to research how and if the message is successfully being translated 
• Undertake interviews and surveys of other programs across the country and globally.

“With 14 years’ experience designing and delivering education initiatives for the community, including remote aboriginal communities, I’m extremely keen to improve the measurement of educational program outcomes through research,” says Ms Barila.

“This will provide an opportunity to improve education in waste and the circular economy and in response to increasing community expectations that we ‘waste less’ and ‘value more of our resources’.”