A piece of art adorning a Port Campbell surf lifesaving boat reflects Alysa Hibburt’s affinity with the ocean and the club.
“I have a strong connection with the ocean,” Alysa says. “In Year 12 I studied art and my theme was the ocean and now a part of one of my artworks had been put on one of the new surf boats at the club. That’s really special.”
The boat is named after former club member Jon McLeod who passed away in 2022 and was one of Alysa’s rowing mentors.
Alysa’s close connection with the surf lifesaving club also adds special meaning to her Powell Legacy Fund scholarship funded by DemoDAIRY Foundation, named in honour of Ross and Andy Powell.
The scholarship is supporting Alysa as she changes direction in her career plans. After starting to study outdoor education and environmental science at Victoria University, Alysa has changed to environmental science and wildlife conservation biology at Deakin University in Burwood.
“I really love the outdoors but didn’t necessarily want to be teaching in them, but I’ve always wanted to help out with conservation,” she said.
The course could lead to potential parks or marine careers with a focus on conservation, and ideally Alysa, 19, would love to do some of her placement in coastal regions like Port Campbell or Wilsons Promontory.
This summer she is working as a lifeguard at the Timboon pool and plans to get her beach lifeguard qualifications.
Alysa continues to strengthen her connection with the surf club where she did Nippers for three years, and got her bronze medallion and started surf boat rowing when 15. This year she is age manager for under 14 nippers, training them for their surf rescue certificate, patrol captain, and is on the special events committee and she is also completing her rescue boat crewman and drivers’ courses.
“I like helping people and I really enjoy being in the community,” Alysa said. “It’s a good excuse to be in the ocean and I love being down there.”
The Powell Legacy Fund scholarship has been a great help for Alysa. “My course has been very hands-on and field-based and it has supported me to purchase outdoor equipment for my course as well as supporting my living costs in Melbourne,” she said.
Visit the DemoDAIRY Foundation website https://www.demodairy.com.au or contact DDF secretary Ian Teese on 0427 358987 or itag@bigpond.com for more information on DDF or the Powell Legacy Fund.
Photo: Raelene Wicks