My name’s Violet and I’ve just finished my degree in chemistry. I’ve enjoyed my degree but I am looking to take a slightly different direction, by applying for masters degrees in environmental science. I was very excited to accept a place on the virtual internship scheme run by the charity Think Pacific, who are based in the UK and in Fiji.
The flexibility of being able to choose between doing a 4 week internship or spreading the work over an 8 week period, was brilliant. I really recommend the 8 week internship, as it gave me plenty of thinking time for my project and the time to balance the internship with other commitments. On reflection, I’ve become more aware of the importance of taking time to immerse myself in the Fijian culture (well as much as I could virtually), so that the work I did was genuinely helpful to the Fijian organisations that it could impact.
The flights that volunteers make to Fiji, from all over the world, are the largest source of carbon emissions for Think Pacific. As it is not currently possible to significantly reduce carbon emissions, a good compromise is to invest in accredited carbon offsetting projects, whose activities lead to the absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or developing renewable technology such as solar systems, to reduce Fiji’s reliance on fossil fuels.
I was well supported by my mentor, Cam, from Think Pacific but I also really enjoyed the autonomy that I had over my project. I took my project in the direction of evaluating the best carbon offsetting projects that are established on Fiji, that Think Pacific could invest in on behalf of its volunteers. The most challenging decision that I made throughout my internship was how to present my research, so that it was useful to Think Pacific and prospective volunteers, whilst also portraying the unique challenges that Fiji faces as a result of global warming. As it wasn’t possible to meet up with other interns, it was really helpful to be able to talk things through and ask each other questions, using our group chat. It also helped me to keep really motivated, whilst working on the project at home and we helped each other through recording our presentations on Zoom, which is something that most of us hadn’t experienced before!
Before this internship, I knew very little about Fijian culture but over the 8 weeks, I’ve learnt so much about the unique environmental challenges that Fiji faces. One day, perhaps when long distance plane travel becomes significantly more environmentally friendly, I would love to visit Fiji, to experience what I’ve learnt 1st hand and visit some of the carbon offsetting projects that I’ve recommended. Overall, I would definitely recommend this internship experience!