Fatima applied for the Environment Agency‘s Summer Diversity Internship Programme (SDIP) during university – and it led to her first job as a Water Resources Officer! Here’s her story…
My name is Fatima, and I am a Water Resources Officer for the Environment Agency (EA).
I graduated from university in the summer of 2022, and I studied BSc Geography.
I found an advert on LinkedIn for the EA’s Summer Diversity Internship Programme (SDIP) during university, whilst I was revising for my exams. I had heard of the work of the EA through some of my modules at university. Working in an organisation that is passionate about protecting and improving the environment is something I had always aimed for. The internship looked like a great opportunity to start my career in the environmental field, so I applied right away.
I started the internship one month after graduating and at the time I did not think it would end up helping me to land my first permanent role after university!
What I did during EA’s Summer Diversity Internship Programme…
The SDIP was a fantastic programme. I worked on assessing the risks that climate change poses to businesses and industries. My project developed case study content for a training module that would go out to all EA staff on how industries can adapt to climate change. This was of particular interest to me as my university dissertation was based on climate change adaptation. We received weekly pastoral support from the programme leads. In addition, I went out on a variety of site visits – from looking at river restoration programmes and collecting hydrometric data, to project management sites and HS2 construction. This helped me understand the range of work we cover at the EA and how we work as environmental regulators. I also went to career entry days representing the EA in London to showcase what a role working in the environmental sector could look like.
Moreover, this was an invaluable experience as I had an example of a professional project that I worked on which had tangible outcomes; this proved useful in subsequent interviews. I gained important skills such as project and time management, networking with a host of teams and felt equipped to understand some of the critical environmental and ecological issues we face. It was also enjoyable to socialise with fellow graduates that were also in the same position as me, eager to make a change on climate change and sustainability.
This internship led to a water resources role with EA…
My next step was to find my first permanent role and I thought what better than to start at the EA where I had gained relevant experience. My internship was key to helping me land my role in Water Resources in the Integrated Environmental Planning team. I chose to work in Water Resources as I wanted to be in a team that is making a difference on the ground in enhancing the environment.
Water is essential for biodiversity, wellbeing, and the economy. Water resources currently face extreme pressures, and it is vital to protect resources in a changing climate. It has been one month since I started my role in Water Resources, and I really enjoy it as it covers a wide range of areas and teams, as well as being essential to our EA2025 strategy. Our team manages water in rivers to enhance them as a resource, whilst protecting wildlife. We endeavour to ensure water abstraction is sustainable in the long run. We work with partners including water companies and local authorities to promote sustainable growth. Lastly, following our regulations on water resources and means, we prevent environmental harm and aim to reduce the impacts of incidences, including floods and droughts, to locals.
There is still a lot more action that needs to take place to ensure we protect water, and the EA, as well as our partners, are actively contributing to make a positive difference. For now, I am still going through training and learning lots about the water environment each day. In the future, I hope to always be contributing towards protecting our environment and the EA has provided a brilliant place to start this journey!
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