ACLCA Qld Early Career Professionals Subcommittee coordinated a fun and insightful networking event on the 27th August 2026, hosted by member company Onterris.
This event was all about building confidence in public speaking in a supportive, casual environment. ECPs were invited to present to their peers on any topic of their choice, sharing insights, lessons learned, or memorable stories.
Moderator – Tess Watson, Onterris
Presenters:
- “Dirt and wisdom: Navigating an Early Career After a Mid-Life Crisis” Kimberley Nihill, Consultant Environmental Scientist, WSP
- “Changes in Radiative forcing” Nomusa Nzama & Arash Sandhu – Consultant, Environment and Planning, Aurecon
- “QLD Waste Classification -Cut through QLD’s waste classes” DT Ferreira, GHD
- “Collated data on low flow and no purge groundwater sampling across different geologies and analysis suites.” Lauren McDougall Environmental Engineer, WSP
- “Fieldwork: What can go wrong”, Tess Watson, Wade Somerville & Hailey Martin (Onterris Project Environmental Scientists)
- “Hobby as a boost for your career” about me evolving as a consultant and becoming a bit of a multidisciplinary specialist via my passion for UAVs (drones). Aleksei Tatarnikov
Feedback
Big thanks to the Qld ACLCA ECP sub-committee for hosting an excellent event last Thursday afternoon. It was refreshing to attend an evening of networking and knowledge sharing exclusively for early career contaminated land professionals. The night kicked off with beer, pizza and relaxed conversations with other young professionals in the industry, followed by a competitive round of networking bingo. We then moved into presentations covering some of the common challenges faced… and overcome, by contaminated land ECPs. Thanks to everyone who presented. The insights were invaluable, and there were some genuinely enjoyable, and funny, moments along the way. Looking forward to more ACLCA events like this. – Stephen Christophi, Butler Partners
It was a great evening! The presentations were interesting and varied, and I personally learnt a few things I didn’t know before. The atmosphere was friendly and relaxed, and Tess did a great job leading the meeting and making everyone feel comfortable. Overall, it was an awesome event. – Elena Kruglyakova, Environmental Earth Sciences
I really enjoyed presenting at the event. It was a valuable opportunity to share my experience, connect with other ECPs and industry professionals, and learn from the other presenters.
The event was engaging, welcoming and a great way to encourage greater ECP participation. Thank you to Tess for coordinating and moderating such a successful event. Nomusa Nzama, Aurecon
