Cody video transcript

[On-screen text: DEECA Science Graduate Program Meet the Grads]

[music plays]

Speaker: Cody

[On-screen text: Cody Fowler (he/him) Graduate Policy Officer]

My name is Cody and I'm a Policy Officer within DEECA's Bushfire and Forest Services group. And I now find myself on rotation with the Barwon South West Forest and Fire Planning team based in Colac.

While my home team works on statewide forest policies, my current team is responsible for the planning of forest and fire management works in the Otway and Far South West districts of Victoria.

[On-screen text: How did you start?]

I began my time as a grad in a city-based role and I've since found myself working across a range of regional offices and field sites.

I regularly spend work days in the forest and I've been involved in bushfire response through my emergency role.

As a grad you're given the responsibility to contribute to work that's genuinely impactful.

[On-screen text: What kind of training do you receive?]

My team supported me to undertake General Firefighter and complex four-wheel drive training and within months I was working day and night alongside firefighting crews to contain bushfires.

I've taken part in policy skills courses to support my work in delivering public policy and I've recently taken an ecology course to deepen my knowledge of Victorian ecosystems.

Senior leaders within my area have also been active in ensuring my graduate experience is fulfilling and welcoming.

I've also been paired with a number of mentors and buddies who have all supported me in different ways, whether that's been helping me settle into a specific work centre or offering subject matter expertise or preparing me for emergency work.

I think if you're a people person you'll have a unique opportunity to tap into a real network of great people across your rotations and across the different cohorts of graduates.

[On-screen text: A regular day in the field]

I'll begin a bushfire response or planned burn deployment by traveling to my Forest Fire Management Victoria depot where I'll meet with the crew and find the vehicle that I'll be using for the day.

We'll then head out to the staging area near the fire or planned burn and there we'll be given a briefing from the commander and allocated tasks.

If you're at a bushfire, tasks might include implementing a controlled back burn, patrolling fire boundaries or supporting machinery operators to establish control lines.

Whatever my task, I'll always be working alongside skilled and passionate firefighting crews and specialists, so I'm constantly gaining secondhand wisdom and advice while I work.

Once we're released from our tasks at the end of a shift, we'll travel back to the staging area for a feed and a debrief before heading back to our depots to pack down our vehicles and head home for some much needed rest.

If you're interested in getting right into the heart of emergency response and preparedness work in Victoria, the DEECA Science Graduate Program can get you there.

[music fades]

[On-screen image: DEECA branded ending transition and logo]