AC Cooper is in their third year of environmental sciences studies at Stirling after transferring from a Canadian university. They are running for Sustainability Officer in the Stirling Students’ Union elections.
They love working with people to get them involved in the environment and wildlife, and value human environmental relationships.
Here’s why AC thinks they’re right for the role.
Q. Why are you running for Sustainability Officer?
A. “It was recommended to me quite last minute on a Sunday. I got a message saying, ‘You should do this’. I was like, ‘Oh, okay’. I looked over the position and what it did and what it meant, and I was like, this is really important. This would actually be a really cool thing. First of all, it looks great on a resume. Secondly, it’s a lot of stuff that I want to do, at least, I want experience doing. Just talking to people and getting involved in terms of environmental stuff and sustainability.
“And I thought, you know, ‘This would be a really cool position’. I’ve got some ideas. I’m already starting stuff for Earth and Environment [society], and I can do those sorts of things on a grander scale with this position. I could work directly with the university in terms of sustainability; I could learn a lot; I could get a lot of experience.
“As I work with the Earth and Environment Society, I know how important it is to get people involved with environmental sciences and outside and outdoors, and I really value that.
“I thought it would be a really good opportunity to get experience and to learn a lot.”
Q. What would be the first thing that you would do in the Union?
A. “Well, I’d love to release a pack of wolves on campus, but I don’t think they’d go for that. I’m kidding. Could you imagine that?
“The main thing I’m working on right now, which is like the first piece I’d really want to push for, is reducing pesticide usage on campus. The pesticide currently, it’s quite toxic. It’s called Roundup. It has been linked to lots of cancers, very heavily linked to cancer in wild animals and wildlife. It’s bad for the environment. It’s, I think it’s cheap, which is why it’s used, but it’s really, really bad, and that’s what Earth and Environment Society has been working on right now because it links to our hedgehog stuff.
“But overall, it would benefit the entire campus and the wildlife and biodiversity on campus. So, that would probably be the first thing, because I’ve already kind of got that started, and I’ve already kind of got that ball rolling.
“I will probably continue with that. It sounds kind of small, changing pesticide usage from one to another doesn’t sound that big, but it could have a really, really big impact and I think that would kind of get me a little bit of a leg up in terms of talking to the top people [about] making changes on campus, if I can show that we got this change done and it’s really important.
Q. What would your long-term goals be?
A. “I’ve talked a little bit with the previous sustainability officers, and I’d like to learn more about what they’ve done and continue some work that they’ve done as well. Jenny, one of the last sustainability officers, she did some really, really cool stuff, and I’d like to learn more about what she did. Honestly, what work that she’s done, I can continue.
“I think my focus is going to be more on biodiversity and species monitoring and habitat monitoring. We can gather data from bird and [now] bat boxes, potentially, if those get set up on campus.
“That data can be gathered and used for future Master’s, PhDs and theses. It gets students more involved in the monitoring, [it] gets them experience monitoring, and we’ll probably be able to get to talk to really cool people about the environmental stuff on campus. I’d like to work on biodiversity specifically and making campus a safer place for biodiversity, but I’d also like to continue the work that previous people have done.”
Q. What has the person currently in this position done well?
A. “I know the current sustainability officer is Erin [Smith]. She’s been working with energy and trying to see what we can do to switch the current energy usage of the university to something more sustainable and environmentally friendly. I know the current energy sources, power, et cetera, that university uses is not sustainable, it’s not good. I think they’ll be talking to Edinburgh University about what they’re doing for sustainable energy sources.
“If that’s something I can do, I think that’d be really important. I think that’d be a really big thing to kind of like put on hold just because I want to do like, animals, you know. So that’s something I’d like to do. I like what Erin’s been doing, and I like the work that she’s started, and I would like to either get involved with that or see what I can do to continue it.
Q. What in the university inspired you to run?
A. “I really like the green and blue space, and I really like the amount of green space we have on campus. It’s phenomenal. Like, I mean, there’s so many trails. They’re really accessible routes. I mean, even just the walk, it’s directly on campus. It’s in the smack centre of campus.
“It’s a fantastic green space that anyone can go to and just go for a stroll. And I really, really value that.
“I really like the stuff on campus, and I want to see what I can do to either protect it or to help it. With the future work that I want to do, if I can do something on campus now, because it’s an academic space, it’s a safe space to do these kinds of things without much repercussion. You can learn all the proper skills, but it’s a training wheel sort of style thing.
“So, all the green space on campus and also the green and blue space and the phenomenal people that I’ve met at the university that are so eager to help make all of this possible and also appreciate the green spaces on campus as much as I do.”
Q. What makes you the right person for this position?
A. “I’m the current president of Earth and Environment, and I’ve really enjoyed being president of Earth and Environment.
“I really like the work I’ve been able to do and the skills I’ve been able to learn: leadership, connecting with people, and learning, ‘What do you want to do? How can I work [on] that? What can I do with that information? What do you value? How can I plan events to include people? How can I make this accessible, how can I make this interesting and get students involved?’
“So being president of Earth and Environment has really helped. I’ve also got a lot of experience. I’ve worked in wildlife rescues. Most of it’s actually been volunteering. I’ve volunteered in a lot of wildlife rescues in Canada, and I even do some falconry here just for fun, and I volunteer here as well.
“I know the value of human environmental relationships, and I know this very, very personally, because this is the third country I’ve lived in. I grew up in the southern United States, and I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest of Canada, and I’ve lived here now.
“I’ve seen so many different attitudes towards the environment, towards human environment, relationships. It’s so important, so key, to sustainability, to restoration. It’s something I really understand, and [something that] I have seen a lot of perspectives on, and I’ve experienced a lot of perspectives on.
“And I was also a swim coach for 10 years, and negotiating with six-year-olds can’t be that different from negotiating with adults, I’ve found. So, I’ve got those skills, which is fantastic. Let me tell you, working with three-year-olds really helps in wildlife hospitals, too, because you’re trying not to get bit by something.
“I’ve got a lot of motivation. I’m quite motivated and I’ve got the experience, and the experience I don’t have is the experience I want to get. Getting new skills never hurts.”
AC’s manifesto can be found here.
Featured Image Credit: Stirling Students’ Union/ AC Cooper
Fourth year student journalist studying Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Journalism Studies.
Words at Brig, The Daily Evergreen, Alloa Advertiser, Discovery Music Scotland, and The Mourning Paper.
