“If you care about this, get your hands dirty.”

Sophie TAYLOR-PRICE

When we’re little, our grandfathers loom like giants in our lives. The strong, silver-haired men who lift us onto their knees and tell us about the world seem more powerful than Zeus. This is truer for Sophie Taylor-Price than most. When she was born, her grandfather, Bob Hawke, was implementing economic and social reform that helped shape the nation, with his then wife, Hazel, by his side. To Sophie, he was just “Pop”. But as she grew up and pursued a career in sustainability, she developed a greater understanding of his influence on her, and the world.

“When I was younger I didn’t think my family had influenced my decision to go into environment and sustainability,” she says, “and then I reflected on all the values I grew up with and of course this is where I landed, because I grew up around values that emphasised equality and the need to care about all people.”

One of her earliest memories is “doing something special with Pop”. Back in 1989, the PM and his granddaughter filmed a special announcement for a World Environment Day episode of the television program, Beyond 2000. Sitting by Bob’s side while he told Australia that “this generation must remember we don’t inherit the earth, we merely borrow it” was four-year-old Sophie in a candy-striped dress. In that same year, Bob Hawke launched Landcare, bringing together farmers, environmentalists and Australians from all walks of life to take care of their local environments. When Sophie meets with The Weekly she has just become a Landcare ambassador.

Though his Prime Ministership is remembered for reshaping the economic landscape, Sophie says conservation was a natural fit for her grandfather, and it’s this legacy that she hopes to carry on. “Young people today are more interested, passionate and frustrated about the environment,” she says. “Landcare is a really good way to mobilise them. There’s a little bit of a challenge to say to kids: if you care about this … get your hands dirty.”

Another passion she shares with her grandfather is the pristine wilderness of the Antarctic, which she visited in 2012. “I hadn’t heard about my grandfather’s role in protecting Antarctica until I told him I was going and he said, ‘I saved Antarctica,’” she remembers, laughing. In the late 1980s, at his instigation, Australia played a pivotal role in ensuring Antarctica became a protected reserve, dedicated to nature and science. Sophie describes it as one of the most powerful stories of environmental leadership she knows of. “To have him talk me through that story and what he did and how he influenced people just fundamentally enshrined for me the power of leadership.”

Both her grandparents, she says, taught her about leadership. Hazel’s courage in speaking publicly about her battle with Alzheimer’s, at a time when the disease was still steeped in stigma, is another example. “She was quite adamant that she share her story if it meant it would make other people’s experiences easier,” Sophie says. “It was selfless and courageous and I’m so proud that I’ve got people in my life who take that kind of action.”

Sophie recently joined the Australian Labor Party, and has been fielding the question of whether she will go into politics. She won’t rule it out, she says, but for the immediate future, her goals are to continue her work in sustainability and caring for the land, and motherhood. “I care about engaging this generation and the next,” she says. Genevieve Gannon

Sophie Taylor-Price is the ambassador for 30 Years of Landcare. Go to landcareaustralia.com.au