Internships
Reef Ecologic’s internship program is about introducing proactive individuals to the world of small business, marine science and management. Every year Reef Ecologic takes on two interns who have complimentary skills and a desire to learn and grow. “Few opportunities like these exist in Australia for people to gain real-world experience in environmental management,” Reef Ecologic Director and Associate Professor Adam Smith said. Dr Smith believes the program is a terrific way for students to see how the real world involves a multifaceted, multi-discipline approach to almost every project.
Due to the challenges COVID is presenting already we will be limiting internship opportunities. Prospective applicants will be likely be taken on in the 2nd half of 2021, will need to be Townsville based (likely JCU students) and have suitable diving, academic and communications skills.
Selection Criteria:
Candidates are expected to exhibit the following attributes
- Very keen desire to gain work experience in a small business marine conservation focused consultancy.
- Enthusiastic, positive, can-do attitude, good collaborator and keen learner.
- Excellent communication abilities and demonstrated ability to work well in a team environment.
- Demonstrated excellence in current academic endeavours
- Scuba diving certifications (Advanced Open Water or higher)
To be eligible for this internship opportunity please email adam.smith@reefecologic.org with a copy of your current CV, addressing the selection criteria above.
2021
Megan Rose Randall
Meg is a Marine Science student from Gold Coast currently completing her last year of her Marine Science and Management degree through Southern Cross University. Completing an internship with Reef Ecologic is one of her last units before completing her degree. As someone who grew up as a volunteer Surf Life Saver on QLD’s Gold Coast beaches from the age of five to adulthood spending most of her weekends throughout the summer season at the beach and being surrounded by and immersed in a diverse range of marine environments including the Moreton Bay Region, the Great Barrier Reef, and Gold Coast and Northern NSW’s surf beaches she developed an infinite passion for exploring, learning about, protecting, and conserving those vital marine environments.
Being someone who greatly benefited mentally and physically from our beautiful Queensland marine environments, she felt it was only natural to dedicate the rest of her life to conserving and protecting them through intense study and volunteer work with such organizations as the ‘Australian Marine Conservation Society’, ‘Humpbacks and Highrise’s’, ‘ORCCA’, attending beach clean ups, and most recently being selected to be part of Peter Harrisons & CSIRO’s Moving Corals RRAP team on Heron and Magnetic Island completing coral reef restoration. Throughout her degree she has also been educating our young leaders of tomorrow at schools throughout QLD and NSW’s leading Marine Education workshops under gold Coast Based company ‘Ocean Stars Marine Education’.
Meg looks forward to learning about further reef restoration techniques, methods and how to apply them and lead others to implement them into their everyday reef conservation and management plan.
Rachelle Brown
Rachelle is concluding her Master of Science in Tropical Biology and Conservation degree at James Cook University through work placement with Reef Ecologic. She has developed a strong knowledge base and skill set through her education and work throughout her home country of the United States, as well as in remote locations internationally such as Panama, Indonesia, Costa Rica and the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador. Her strengths lie in effective communication to diverse audiences, field research and monitoring techniques, geographic information systems (GIS) and creating project-based reports such as restoration plans and impact assessments.
Rachelle looks forward to developing her dive and consulting skills through this partnership with Reef Ecologic, applying what she’s learned in conservation, restoration, and natural resource management to help protect the natural beauty of Queensland.
Kailash Cook
Kailash is coral reef conservationist with a keen interest in sustainability and an extensive love for the marine environment. Kailash grew up on a small island in the Gulf of Thailand, called Koh Tao. It was there his passion for the ocean developed. By the time he was 12, he participated in the creation of artificial reefs, coral nurseries and a variety of other reef restoration activities. He also became the youngest ever Reef Check surveyor and held the title of youngest Reef Check Ambassador before his sister claimed it in 2020. Kailash’s key skills include hands on reef restoration, field work and community engagement. He has experience in designing and implementing field based research experiments. He enjoys public speaking, running workshops and sharing his experiences to inspire people to protect the reef.
Kailash recently graduated from Pimlico State High School in 2020 and has joined Reef Ecologic prior to the commencement of a Bachelor of Science at the University of Queensland in July, 2021. Kailash hopes to help refine his skills and become a well-rounded marine scientist. However, he hopes to get out in the field as much as possible because out on the ocean is where his heart truly lies.
2020
Arnikah Dean
Arnikah is currently studying a Master of Science in Environmental Management at James Cook University. Having developed a sound knowledge of key components of this field, such as environmental/social impact assessments and environmental policy/legislation, she is now hoping to gain more exposure to real-world applications of environmental management. With an undergraduate degree in Marine Science, she has strong report writing and research skills and extensive fieldwork experience in various locations around Queensland, and international locations such as Hawaii and The Galapagos Islands where she completed components of her study.
Arnikah is striving to develop her skills and knowledge and build a career within the field of environmental management. Particularly, she is passionate about promoting the sustainable use of natural resources and protecting precious environments like the Great Barrier Reef.
Daniel Cassidy
Daniel is an MSc graduate student from the University of Essex. Daniel came into contact with us through his girlfriend Greta, who is another intern here at Reef Ecologic. He is also an MSc graduate from the University of Essex, UK. Between his BSc in marine biology at the University of Portsmouth and his MSc in tropical marine biology in Essex, Daniel has become a Divemaster and undertaken fieldwork in remote areas of Indonesia, as well as fieldwork in less-remote, less-tropical Vobster quay. His research interests span from genetics and microbiology to coral restoration and field science. He has advanced statistics skills using R and his passion for research is clear during data analysis. Daniel is looking to further broaden his skillset here at Reef Ecologic by improving his communication skills, online presence and learning new field sampling skills. Outside of the world of science, Daniel is a keen macro photographer with a love for all things small, weird and wonderful in the ocean that you might not see at first glance.
Greta Sartori
Greta is a graduated student from the MSc in Tropical Marine Biology at University of Essex (UK) which has been passionate about coral reefs since the earliest years of her life. For this reason she decided to undergo a bachelor in Natural Sciences, concerning not only the biological sphere, since coral reef history and dynamics are strictly related to geological processes and oceanography. During her formation she also became a professional SCUBA diver, specializing in different survey methods and performing both her dissertations on the field. During these experiences she has been assessing the effectiveness of different kinds of coral nurseries in the Dominican Republic, and she has created a model to investigate the drivers of fish assemblage structure in a marine protected area in Indonesia.
Greta is looking forward to improving her knowledge about environmental management and impact assessments, while helping in writing scientific articles about our projects thanks to her statistical analysis skills. She is also keen to observe and learn more about the Great Barrier Reef, aiming to have a better understanding of how coral reef ecosystems differ around the world after she has been focusing on other areas during her formation.
Al Songcuan
Al is a Master of Science in Marine Biology student at JCU: James Cook University, Australia who is participating in a science-based professional workplace placement with Reef Ecologic from Jan-May 2020. He is a divemaster from the Philippines with a diverse skill set and has a strong research background in different fields of marine science such as fisheries, climate change, habitat and vulnerability assessment, marine ecology, environmental management, geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS). He is very passionate about using his knowledge and skills to help manage the marine environment and save the reefs for future generation.
2019
Susanna Primavesi
Susanna completed a working internship with Reef Ecologic from September to December, 2109. Susanna assisted all members of Reef Ecologic with a range of activities including data collection and analysis, report writing and communications development.
During her time with Reef Ecologic Susanna was a willing and able member of the team, always ready to help and offering to assist wherever possible. Susanna displays good initiative, often assessing situations and determining requirements without asking. If there was ever any confusion she would inquire to ensure she was performing tasks to the required standard. She has a humorous nature and was always a happy and positive person to have around.
Gaia Bostick
Home Institution: University of Puget Sound
Sociology/Anthropology/Environmental Policy & Decision-Making Double Major and Music Minor (Vocal Emphasis)
Project Advisors: Nathan Cook & Adam Smith
2018
Kirk Heath and Megan Fraser
Interns Megan Fraser, studying a Masters in Marine Science at JCU, and Kirk Heath, a mechanical engineer on a working holiday both hail from the United States and at different stages of 2018 have been active participants in Reef Ecologic projects.
Megan joined Reef Ecologic and over the course of a 10-week collaboration she helped the team develop and implement an integrated management system to help the company deliver on its environmental sustainability goals.
“It is difficult to find internship opportunities that provide exposure to the diversity of fields Reef Ecologic provided.” Megan said. “Adam looked both at my skills and the company’s needs and devised a task that complemented both. The project challenged me to go outside my comfort zone helping me develop beyond what I thought was possible”
Kirk was nearing the end of a working holiday and after having traveled around Australia, he wanted to give back to the country in a way that was meaningful. “I have a passion for marine life as an important part of the natural environment. Reef Ecologic are currently implementing the Public Art and Reef Restoration Project in the Whitsundays and their needs were a good fit for my engineering background”.
The future of marine science and management focused jobs requires professionals to demonstrate applied experience. “We feel privileged to share our knowledge in this way and to help nurture the next generation of environmental leaders.” Dr Smith said.
“The program focuses on people but it is a two-way street. Megan and Kirk have been a great asset to Reef Ecologic and hopefully we’ve helped them learn, grow and develop”
The Reef Ecologic Internship program is focused on helping people not only develop and grow professionally, but also personally. “We want to work with people who want to embrace a challenge, go out of their comfort zone, work as part of a close knit team and most importantly, have fun” said Dr Smith.
Reef Ecologic will facilitate opportunities for 2 interns in 2019. If you would like the opportunity to be considered as an intern please send a copy of your resume and your suggestions for a project to adam.smith@reefecologic.org.