First a Banksia award, now the United Nations

Alex de Vos
Torquay’s Larissa Brown has been awarded one of Australia’s highest environmental honours.
Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett announced Ms Brown as the national Banskia Awards’ inaugural Young Environmentalist of the Year at a ceremony in Melbourne.
Ms Brown won the award after founding Centre for Sustainability Leadership at the age of 24.
She travelled to Canberra earlier this year to attend Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s 2020 summit.
Mr Garrett said Ms Brown had set a “wonderful example for her peers” with the centre.
The 27-year-old was “thrilled” to win the award.
“It’s wonderful to be recognised for the work we (the centre) have being doing in developing Australia’s future sustainability leaders,” she said.
Ms Brown established the centre to help people improve their communities’ environmental performances through training and mentoring programs.
Ms Brown said the centre’s flagship program, Future Sustainability Leaders, brought young environmentalists together with “leading thinkers”.
The program aimed to create the “next generation of environmentally responsible leaders”, she said.
“At SCL, we firmly believe the old ways of seeking change have failed. Our goal is to be part of the solution, creating real and systemic change through sustainability leadership and innovation.”
Ms Brown said she was preparing to take her environmental messages to United Nations negotiations in Poland later this year.
“I want to ensure the decision makers make the right decision and our views are represented,” she said.