Equipment and technical requirements

We’ve designed the program to be as environmentally friendly as possible so everything can be easily accessed online. As an e-learning program, you'll need the following before beginning: 

1. A computer (desktop PC/laptop) running a current or updated operating system. Note - a mobile device (tablet or phone) can access Tribal Habits Learning Management system (see below) via its browser. Mobile devices can create an 'app' button to launch Tribal Habits on their device by saving a bookmark of your Tribal Habits portal URL to their home screens.
2. Reliable high-speed internet access. 
3. The program contains lots of videos to support your learning. So your computer should have a speaker and/or be able to insert headphones and a location where audio will not disturb others when listening to the content. 
4. We recommend that your browser settings allow pop-ups while using the Tribal Habits platform. The modules include several resources, links and tools you will need to access while moving through the program. 
   
   

Accessing the program and setting up your clinic's profile in Tribal Habits

The Climate Care Program will be delivered via Tribal Habits - an Australian-owned online learning management system. Now that you've registered and paid for the program, you'll soon be sent two emails from our program dashboard with Tribal Habits ([email protected]):

1. Your invitation to Vets for Climate Action's learning portal. This email will have instructions about accessing the learning portal. You'll need to click on the link in the email to set up your password. Your username should be your clinics or registered business name rather than your one. Please keep your login and password safe and do not provide them to any third party, including your team members. Registration is for one user profile per clinic (location).
2. New pathway enrolment Climate Care program. This email will contain instructions about your enrolment into the Climate Care Program learning pathway - allowing you to access module content. 

*Please allow up to 48 hours from your registration date for these emails to be sent to you. If you have not received them in that timeframe please contact our team (don't forget to check your Spam/Junk folder first)!

Once you've created your user profile and have enrolled in the learning pathway, you'll be taken to your clinic's 'Dashboard' (see image below), where you can view the 'Climate Care Program Learning Pathway'. From here, it’s as easy as clicking the icon and heading titled 'Starting your Climate Care Journey' to begin accessing the program content (see more details about the learning pathway in the section below). 

The Climate Care Program 'Learning Pathway'

The program is designed to be realistic and workable in a busy veterinary clinic. As such, the program will span six core topic areas (known as modules):

1. Water for Life: Where our water comes from and the impacts of climate change on our water supply. Assess your water use and make simple changes to save money and protect our precious water resources.
2. No Time to Waste: What happens to waste and how this contributes to climate change. Learn how to be more efficient at using and disposing of resources to reduce your costs and keep waste out of landfill.
3. Energy Efficiency: How our energy use contributes to climate change and understanding energy use in your practice. Implement simple changes to improve your energy efficiency and save money.
4. The Power of Renewables: The types of renewable energy and how your practice can purchase, produce, store and use energy from renewable sources. Start reducing your carbon footprint so your practice can eventually become carbon neutral!
5. Buying for a Better Future: Introduces the concepts of ethical procurement and the circular economy and explores the buying power of practices and how we can use this to advocate for better products and services.
6. Healthcare without Harm: Using anaesthetic gases, pharmaceuticals, disinfectants, and other chemicals to care for your patients and keep your teams safe while minimising their environmental impact.

Important: In addition to these core modules, you'll see the 'Starting your Climate Journey' introductory module - this is a prerequisite to the core modules and covers the basics of why climate care matters and some of the concepts covered in the program. We also highly recommend you check out the 'Navigating the Climate Care Program’ Guide' located in the learning pathway. While not compulsory, this is a quick overview of how the learning portal works.

Note: The modules are released at intervals in the order above, and you must complete each module before you can move on to the next one. Completion includes the assessment of the compulsory tasks. Upon enrolment in Tribal Habits, you’ll be able to see the first series of learning modules in the program.

Embarking on your self-directed learning journey

You should feel confident that the modules in this program have been created with you in mind. Because the content has been developed by vets and vet nurses, it’s relevant and accessible for the real-world experience of Australian Vets, animal carers and nurses balancing their busy work tasks and life commitments. Information is in an easy-to-understand format with practical tools to enable immediate climate positive and often cost saving actions. The program is self-directed and based on key adult learning principles which means you can choose how best to manage your time and the tasks within each topic. 

Time commitment

The Climate Care Program is a 12-month program with core modules released throughout the year. The course is self-directed but paced out to allow our programs team time to support you as you move through the modules while also providing you with tasks, actions and opportunities to connect with other Climate Champions through our Climate Care Community (see section on 'Your active participation in the Climate Care Community').

Once you're registered and have been enrolled in the Tribal Habits learning platform, you’ll be able to access the first few modules in the Climate Care Program. New modules are released and made accessible to you at the completion and assessment of the previous module. We estimate that completing the introductory module, 'Starting your Climate Care Journey', takes about one hour. It's anticipated that you should allow up to two months to complete the minimum engagement criteria for each topic-based module. You'll have a year to complete the program and assessments.

Note: Access to the Climate Care Program is for 12 months from the date you are enrolled in the program pathway on Tribal Habits.

Creating a system or process unique to your workplace

In preparing to undertake the program, as the Climate Champion consider some ways you can best self manage and direct your own learning, as well as how you might share new information and encourage your colleagues in making positive changes. This could be very practical planning, like how you might best save, store or share the content, activities or tools you'll now have access to within the program. A plan or system unique to your working style and workplace will mean you can meet your team-mates where they are, making behaviour changes easier to adapt to over time. It’ll also ensure easy handover should you - as the Climate Champion - leave the clinic prior to completing the program and have to hand over participation to another colleague. 

Some ideas from current Climate Champions: 

• Set up a Climate Care Program shared folder on your work hard drive. You could create sub-folders for each module where you save any relevant documents downloaded from the program. This could also be a place to save communications sent out to your team and any other collateral that you might create as a result of your participation.
• A regular spot in your team meetings to talk about your progress through the program and activities they can be a part of!
• Use your internal communication tools to share updates (for example Slack, email or WhatsApp).
  
  

Create a 'climate care team’ to support the Climate Champion in your workplace 

Rest assured the program has had extensive design input from a collaborative team of vets, vet nurses, sustainability engineers and specialist tertiary educators dedicated to a continuous improvement culture in a rapidly changing world. We know what it's like to work in a busy veterinary clinic, and the program considers the Climate Champion to be one part of a bigger team or community taking action. To help generate momentum, provide support and help facilitate problem-solving, we encourage Climate Champions to find at least one 'buddy', from within their team. Together they'll build a team around them, so that environmentally sustainable practices become embedded in everyday clinic life.

The resources and time your clinic has invested in this program mean you probably already have some supportive colleagues around you keen to learn and take action. However if you find yourself in the position of being in a smaller work team or flying solo, there's a community of veterinary professionals across Australia ready to welcome and support you through our 'Climate Care Champions Facebook Community' group (see section on 'Your active participation in the Climate Care Community').

Through active participation in the program, we believe you and your team can move from talking about what you’d would like to do, to knowing and you’re equipped to do it!

A note about self-care as the Climate Care Champion

We want this program to offer you hope, but we also recognise it can be challenging to learn about the urgency of the need for climate action. And by inspiring you and your team to take action and implement change - no matter how small - we hope this program will provide a sense of empowerment. However, we know that no change is linear, and we expect you may experience frustration, setbacks and barriers to change from time to time. This is normal and expected. It's reassuring to know there are many people and organisations who - like you - are keen to make a difference and are helping people to work together in practical ways to achieve this common goal.

Taking action is an important part of tackling concerns about climate, and the Climate Care Program is designed to help you do just that. If you're experiencing feelings that are impacting your mental wellbeing or behaviours or psychological safety in the workplace, we recommend taking a look at Psychology for a Safe Climate and Love Your Pet, Love Your Vet for support and further resources.

Climate Care Facebook Learning Community

We’ve set up a Facebook community group for all current and alumni Climate Champions across Australia. Climate Champions are encouraged to interact with other subscribing clinics via our closed group on Facebook. Being a member or active in this group is entirely voluntary, and failure to join the Climate Care Champions Group will not affect access or completion of the program.

Whilst group participation is not compulsory for any Climate Champions, this community will support your learning experience as part of the program and is an opportunity for you to connect with a learning community of veterinary professionals and carers. It’s a great place to share ideas and learn about strategies and techniques for what is working well… and perhaps what isn’t! Like any community, the more you engage, the more you will get out of it. By connecting through this community, we hope you’ll experience the broader impacts of the program. Many changes, no matter how small can have a big impact!

Note:

• This is a FREE closed group, and access will be granted to any recognised Climate Champions or registered clinic owners and managers.
• The nominated Climate Champion for each clinic will find the links and invitation to join the group once they have completed the introductory module 'Starting your Climate Care Journey'. 
  
• Our team will be administrators and moderators of the group, and you’re expected to adhere to the community guidelines when participating. 
  
  

Collecting your feedback and insights throughout the program

We value your experience coming into the program, and through our Climate Care Community, we hope to leverage the existing knowledge of everyone involved in the program to ensure we continue to build on existing knowledge, attitudes, behaviours and beliefs. Our program has been designed and developed to create real-time impact, but that relies on the actions of Climate Care Champions and their colleagues. Feedback from all the Climate Champions throughout the program will help us understand the user experience and any impactful or unintended changes happening in your clinic as a result.

Here are two main ways we aim to collect information from you while participating in the program:  

• Evaluation surveys: At three critical intervals throughout the program pathway, we have included learner surveys to measure the changes occurring due to your involvement in the program, along with gathering your feedback. This data is collected from all clinics and will be de-identified. 
• Feedback Surveys: From time to time, we may send you surveys or request a conversation with you to assist in the development, improvement and refinement of the Program. Providing feedback is entirely optional but is greatly appreciated. Feedback will be sought by:
  • A user survey sent by email; or
  • A request to participate in an interview either online or via telephone.
    

Note: VfCA may also request permission to feature your clinic's case studies or your stories on a case-by-case basis. Your data will not be shared publicly without your informed consent.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Certification

As a professional, there is an ongoing commitment to maintain and enhance professional skills and knowledge. CPD is expected of registered veterinarians in all States and Territories in Australia. All jurisdictions have agreed, through the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council (AVBC) and the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA), that the minimum is 60 points over a rolling three-year cycle. 

The Climate Care Program is a recognised professional development course with the relevant materials to make a credentialed course eligible for CPD*. By taking the course, you're working towards earning CPD points. Our team is happy to discuss this in more detail with you. Please reach out to us via email. We also recommend contacting the relevant Veterinary Practitioners Board in your state to find out more information about what points you are entitled to and how to receive them. Read more.

*As at March 2023, we are still awaiting confirmation from the Veterinary Practice Board of WA.

Need help? Here's how you can contact our team

Email - [email protected]. This email is monitored between 9.00am - 5.00pm (Sydney time), Monday - Friday. A member of our team will respond to you as soon as possible. 

Cancellation of your participation

We understand that various reasons may inhibit you from continuing as a Climate Champion and your clinic from participating in the program. Please refer to the terms and conditions below for instructions. 

Terms & Conditions

All the details regarding the terms and conditions for participation in the Climate Care Program can be viewed on our website.