Environmental Education Assistant – Royal Parks Foundation

park

What were your main duties and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

I was involved in the everyday running of an environmental education holiday club in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London/ The Lookout, part of the Royal parks foundation education programme at the Lookout, Hyde Park.
This gives city children the opportunity to explore what the outdoors has to offer.
Tasks included:
-Supporting Ecology Centre staff with delivery of school sessions and holiday activities.
-Preparing equipment and resources for use, and ensuring they are maintained and stored correctly after use.
-Assisting with the day-to-day running of the centre, including daily set up and animal care.
-Maintaining the Ecology Garden and Edible Forest Teaching Garden, e.g. through planting and weeding.
-Supporting Ecology staff with organising and delivering the events programme and smaller activities for visitors.
-Welcoming and engaging visitors to the centre.
-Supporting other Ecology projects within the park and local community.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

My biggest achievement was being confident enough to make suggestions alongside the work I was being asked to do. Because of this I feel as though I’ve been able to have a small influence and put my stamp on some of the programmes at these centres. One example, included suggesting there should be an education display in one of the class
rooms, and I then took on the task to complete that. I was very proud of the result.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I was able to be an extra help during the busy holiday period, mainly by preparing for lessons, laying out equipment and then taking an active involvement in the sessions with young people. I was also able to be a help with a huge amount of admin tasks for the Royal Parks foundation as their fundraising half marathon approaches in October. This was great to be involved in as the run raises money for the parks education programmes.

Did you encounter any problems during the course of your internship and if so, how did you overcome them?

It wasn’t a huge problem, but I did learn a lot about time management when it comes to commuting on the London tubes. There is a lot of unreliability, so making sure I was on time and ready for work was sometimes made difficult by cancelled trains.