I am a Geography, Urban Studies, and Environment undergraduate student entering my final year in the fall. I am particularly interested in sustainability and how it intersects with human geography and how it affects communities. I am interested in pursuing a career that will contribute to the fight against climate change and that will have a positive impact on communities. Therefore, I was drawn to the internship opportunity at Climate Reality Canada. I knew the Youth Engagement Intern position at an environmental NGO would allow me to develop important skills. I wanted to learn more about how engagement and outreach works in an environmental non-profit sector. I am also very interested in how youth can be empowered to make change, so I also wanted to learn how to reach youth and develop tools to empower them.
The Climate Reality Project Canada (CRPC) is a branch of the Climate Reality Project that was founded by vice-president Al Gore. Its mission is to catalyze change to solve the climate crisis through empowering citizens to act. The CRPC has programs to achieve this goal such as the Climate Reality Leadership Corps, Climate Community Hubs and the Campus Corps program for students. It also develops tools and presentation.
My position was Youth Engagement Intern working under the Youth Engagement Coordinator. I was involved in the CRPC youth projects such as the Campus Corps program and the Campus Climate Action Summit and the Campus Corps Climate League (3CL). My duties included assisting the coordinator for the summit (a series of workshops bringing together and empowering students from across Canada) with task such as emailing potential speakers, developing content and guides, making a social media plan, and assisting in the sessions. I was also responsible for developing a guide for Campus Corps chapters to complete the 3CL campaign which aims at keeping track of and comparing sustainability practices to advocate for sustainability on campus. I learned how to write a clear guide and make a professional document using graphic design. I also then developed a presentation for it. Additionally, I researched post-secondary institutions in Canada to create a strategy for the implementation of the Campus Corps Program. I also had the opportunity to create and give presentations to students.
I had the opportunity to speak at the Campus Climate Action Summit to a group of post-secondary students on the climate crisis and its solutions. I gave the Truth in Ten presentation which was developed by Al Gore and is used by Climate Reality Leaders all around the world. Another highlight of my internship was when I finished working on the manual for the Campus Corps Climate League (3CL). I worked very hard on it and I am proud of the finished product and I got to practice my graphic design and writing skills.
The main challenge that I had was working remotely. This made it much more difficult to concentrate and stay motivated. To make things easier, I would get up frequently and take breaks. To be more concentrated I tried to time block periods where I would make sure to complete a task. I also tried to spread out my hours over the week so I would have more energy when I would sit down to work. Remote work also brought the challenge of communicating with the rest of the team and my supervisor. I made sure to keep regular contact and have meetings to keep them updated and receive feedbacks and other tasks.
Although I am not receiving credit for this internship, it will definitely contribute to my university experience. I got to learn a lot about how an organization works and what skills are needed on the job market. This is going to complement the more knowledge based and theoretical content I am learning in class. I also got to meet and network with a lot of people with similar interests, and they have taught me a great deal about the environmental sector. It has also improved my writing and communication skills such as writing guides and presentations that will be useful in class.
Finally, I would like to thank the Keith Bergner and Angela Stadel Internship Award, and Mr. Keith Bergner and Ms. Angela Stadel for their generous donation and award. This award has allowed me to do this internship, without it I would not have been able to work at the Climate Reality Project. This award has allowed me to gain valuable work experience in my field without having to work at another job to supplement my income.
