Intern with Intention

A land of immigrants, it is no surprise Canada has an abundance of press and broadcasters serving the different ethnic communities, reporting news and covering stories in dozens of languages. Rachael’s intention was to raise the profile of Greenpeace among the ethnic media. However, as she found out, Greenpeace translates easily into all languages and was already well known.

The vast majority of Rachael’s introductory calls were therefore welcomed. “Most showed real enthusiasm for covering environmental issues,” she says. “And they were eager to get information from Greenpeace, especially about their countries of origin.”

The media has always played an important role in getting out Greenpeace’s message, but the multicultural media has a particular part to play and it is not parochial. Since so many of those that read or listen to the news in their first language still have strong ties to family and friends back home, they understand the global significance of environmental destruction, whether that be mud slides because of logging in the Philippines or raging forest fires in Spain and Portugal resulting from global warming.

In fact, the environment is a big story in many of the publications Rachael reached, as it is now in the mainstream media. When she met personally with the editor of the Caribbean Camera, she was impressed to learn the paper had an environmental journalist and was planning a conference in the islands on eco-tourism. Lots of the publications were interested in green living tips “things that people could do in their daily lives to help the environment,” she says.

Rachael shares that “passion” for the environment, which was the reason she sought to work with Greenpeace as part of her last year of studies in public relations at Durham College.  Knowing there would be lots of applicants for such a coveted position, she got her foot in the door by first volunteering with Greenpeace to make welcome calls to new members. As she lives outside of Toronto, it would have been too difficult for her to take direct action, and she is not quite sure she is prepared to get arrested. Still, she says, “I would like to be out there leafleting or demonstrating.”

Rachael can’t exactly pin point when she became so acutely aware of the environment and the need to protect it. She has always been the outdoorsy type and spent her summers at camp in the countryside. Since attending college, she has also been reading the news and books about global warming and its horrific consequences.  And then of course there is the weather “no snow at Christmas time sort of thing.” She is convinced more people have to be involved in solving the problem and she for one is prepared to do her bit.

That includes volunteering with Greenpeace, an organization she was really interested in learning about. And what has she learned? “Basically,” she says, “everyone who works here is very passionate and that effects the way the organization is run.” Her stint as an intern has also reinforced her concerns and the sense of urgency.

Her four month internship at an end, Rachael wants to stay involved with Greenpeace and despite holding down a summer job, has volunteered to help with upcoming campaigns. That’s her intention and it’s a good one.