Environment Internships and Vacation Programs

With the rapid change of the world and a large number of environmental issues including pollution, climate changes, and natural resource depletion, the roles of an environmentalist has increasing importance to being eco conscious and proactive to conserve the environment.

Internships are a great opportunity for undergraduates to experience a professional environment without having to have prior experience in the field whether it be part-time, full-time, paid or a volunteer work internship. When undergoing an internship, undergraduates are already working in their chosen field and everything that you’ve learnt during that time can be used for your future environmentalist career and by the end of the internship may be offered a permanent position.

Through internships you are able to get to know people that are in the same field and build a network, get hands-on experience in a real life working environment, and improve and develop your skills all with the help of a professional in the field to mentor you.

Requirements

Environmental internships require students to be majoring in a degree related to the environment, including environmental science, policy/management or environmental studies majors or majors in business, health, science, engineering and agriculture are also accepted. A few general skills required may include:

• Strong technical and data collection skills
• Excellent report writing skills
• Good communication and presentation skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Problem solving skills
• Thorough knowledge of environmental and other sciences
• Research and analytic skills

What to Expect

One of Australia’s top industries include environmental science research due to Australia being known for its unique variety of wildlife and ecosystems, becoming a great place for those who are interested in zoology, microbiology and ecology. There are a variety of environmentalist internships you can choose from including energy, marine, and forestry. There are also tasks that you can choose to focus on including water treatment, recycling or air pollution. A few general activities that you can expect in an environmental internship may includes¹:

• Project management
• Identifying the dangers threatening the earth
• Finding appropriate solutions for such hazards
• Writing reports

Energy – the world has adopted ways to increase energy efficiency and supply of renewable energy as the production of energy affects the environment. An internship in the energy sector allows students to understand how technology can make a different in energy security and limiting climate change. Tasks and responsibilities that can be expected can include:

• Implementing clean energy technologies
• Conduction research
• Preserving natural resources

Marine – Overfishing, damaging fishing practices and water pollution have threatened marine life and with an internships in marine and freshwater research, you can expect tasks and responsibilities such as²:

• Conducting underwater research (aquaculture, oceanography, and catchment ecology)
• Collecting data
• Monitoring coral reefs and marine life

Forestry – Forests are considered highly important and have a large global influence on the environment, however many of them are being cut down and disappearing rates that continually increase each year. At a forest conservation internship, you are responsible to ensure development, maintenance, and protection of forests and may include tasks that include:

• Planting seedlings
• Preventing forest fires
• Controlling weeds or insects

¹ Career Development & Consulting, Environmental Engineering Internships, 2015
² Go Overseas, Environmental Internships Abroad, 2015