INTEGRATED CONSERVATION INTERNSHIP
A HOLISTIC INTERNSHIP TO DEVELOP TOOLS FOR CONSERVATION PRACTICE
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The Integrated Conservation Internship at Terra Conscious is designed to provide exposure to students in the conservation space, while highlighting the need for community participation and leadership in any such conservation initiatives. Through the internship, participants will engage with community boat partners in Goa, and will also be involved in all the projects of the organisation, such as the Livelihoods Project, the Stranding Response Network, the Responsible Tourism Collective as well as the Education and Outreach project.
In addition to these programmes, interns will also get the opportunity to participate in skill-building sessions. These sessions have been designed to increase the exposure of participants in various spaces, providing them with access to the vast network of the organisation to nurture the participant’s personal interest within the environmental space in Goa.
The objective of this internship is educate participants and incorporate them into the conservation space as effective practitioners who will be more capable of making significant differences in the world of environmental conservation.
ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
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Interns will be expected to support our work across all verticals, such as wildlife trips, awareness campaigns, community capacity building programmes and policy review. They should be able to understand and process scientific papers, have a basic understanding of marine related issues, be comfortable working in a team and open to interacting with different communities, stakeholders & government agencies.
SKILL BUILDING SESSIONS
In-house Sessions (included in internship fees):
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a) Proposal Writing
Writing effective proposals for grants and funds is an essential skill required for any conservation professional's career. This session covers the fundamentals of proposal writing with examples of successful proposals. Interns will be given an opportunity to practise their skills in proposal writing during the internship.
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b) Building a Crowd Funding Campaign
In recent years, crowdfunding has become a reliable way for the non-profit sector to raise funds and support various successful programmes in the conservation space. In this session, interns will learn how to make an effective crowdfunding pitch and how to run a successful crowdfunding campaign. Interns will get a chance to build their own crowdfunding campaign and run it.
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c) Media Outreach
In this session, interns will learn how to make press releases and carry out a successful media outreach programme for an event or an initiative.
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d) Policy Review & Use of RTI (Right to Information)
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e) Marine Wildlife Stranding Response
This is a technical session which will be conducted by a marine biologist that has been formally trained in responding to the stranding of marine wildlife - especially Cetaceans and Turtles. Interns will learn the first response protocol for live and dead animals and through the Ocean Watch programme, will get a chance to practice and hone these skills.
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f) Campaigning (Online & Offline)
Interns will learn how to design a successful campaign - be it for direct action, bringing about change or for the purpose of advocacy. This session will be conducted by Tania Devaiah - a campaigner experienced in training, documentation, campaign strategy planning and execution on human rights issues, environment and gender and project management.
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g) Survey Methodology, Developing Questionnaires & Coastal Mapping
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h) Understanding Coastal & Fisheries Governance
Conducted by Siddharth Chakravarty, this session will help interns in gaining a broader understanding of the laws and policies governing coasts and fisheries and the various issues that affect this, both at the international scale as well as in India.
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i) Exposure to other issues in Goa - Mining, Coal, Regional Plan,Gender Rights etc
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j) Fundraising & Organisation Building
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Self-funded & Optional Sessions
a) SSI Scuba Diving Courses (Advanced Adventurer, Marine Ecology, etc - Opportunity to do your Dive Master is also possible)
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b) Art of Hosting & Harvesting Conversations that Matter by CircleWallas
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Intern feedback
"One of the most useful skill-building sessions that we had was the session on proposal writing. The session helped me think about projects in a much more comprehensive manner, while also highlighting the essential elements required in a proposal to raise funds for any project."
"Sessions about fisheries in India and mining in Goa gave us the opportunity to broaden our understanding of these spaces and also helped me answer the question of where I fit in as a budding conservation researcher who wants to involve communities in conservation discussions and decisions."
"What stands out for me in these sessions is the level of interaction with each resource person, each intern could work with the resource persons (who are experts in their fields) further depending on our interests."
"These sessions have been invaluable and have helped build the foundation for my career as a conservationist."
UPCOMING PROGRAMMES
June - September 2018
Some upcoming programmes that interns will be required to work on include:
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1) Marine Wildlife Stranding Response Workshops - Phase 2: Capacity building workshops to respond to stranding incidents of turtles, marine mammals and sea snakes will be held in June for all 600 lifeguards currently enrolled at Drishti Marine.
2) Designing an education & outreach project on Goa's marine environment and biodiversity for school children in Goa.
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3) Mapping Goa's biodiversity and cultural heritage to better inform policy and prepare an alternate vision for development in Goa.
INTERNSHIP DETAILS
Duration
Minimum 3 months
How to apply
Send in your CV and cover letter to terraconscious.contact@gmail.com
WHAT INTERNS SAY
"What sets my internship at Terra Conscious apart from any other internship that I have
done or have witnessed others around me doing, is that Puja is extremely invested in our
growth as her interns. This programme is designed to help us, not only to develop and hone
the skills required for our career in conservation practice, but also to develop a deeper
understanding of the issues that are relevant to this space. Personally, I have gained a
tremendous amount of insights (especially concerning the central role played by communities in conservation) and skills (such as effective communication for outreach) during this internship."
—Mallika Talwar
"The six months that I spent working at Terra Conscious have helped me develop a well-rounded perspective on development and conservation, and have even made me a much better person. I also know that I have become much more well-equipped to work in this space, through the technical skills that I have picked up as well as the exposure to different ways of thinking in these spaces. I even learnt about my own flaws and shortcomings, both in the work as well as personal space. However, rather than letting these problems hamper my work in the future, Puja helped me learn how I could address them and learn from the mistakes that I make."
"My biggest takeaway from my time working at Terra Conscious has been the realisation of the level of impact that I can potentially have on the lives of community members, and the need to be as sensitive and empathetic as possible while working in this sector. I realised my own privilege in getting to choose to work in the conservation sector, and how this privilege could very easily counteract any of my work in this space."
"The experience I have gained at Terra Conscious has been invaluable and I would definitely recommend any budding
conservation professional to do this internship to gain a whole new perspective on the needs of
conservation at this time. Just like her work with our community boat partners Puja doesn't just train the interns and leave them to fate but puts in large amounts of time and guides them through every step till they are ready (well almost ready) to be young conservation professionals themselves. Terra Conscious is
not a research organization but it definitely helped me gain a better understanding of the conservation space and showed me the importance, challenges and fundamentals of working with communities.
—Marishia Rodrigues
""I feel very fortunate to have known Puja in both a professional and personal capacity. She has guided me through some rather important decisions in my life and is a constant source of inspiration- a mentor, sister and friend rolled all into one!
During my internship, It was fascinating watching Puja in action! She is incredibly insightful and able to communicate simply and clearly with people from myriad backgrounds. Finding some sort of common ground between researchers, local communities and government authorities is no easy task, but one that she handles beautifully.
She is a fierce and passionate advocate for conservation, equal rights to resources, and sensible long-term policy. Her approach to building awareness is creative and engaging, and she never fails to evoke a sense of curiosity in her audience"