Internship Experience @ Greenpeace, Pune: Opened My Eyes to Environmental Issues!

Name of Organisation

Greenpeace

Application Process with contact details

I filled in an application form, available at http://www.greenpeace.org/india/en/Get-Involved/Internship-Opportunities/ and received a letter of acceptance within a week.

Following this, I visited the office at Erandwane for an informal and quite casual interview. I was instructed to fill in a form that laid out a few generic questions and I diligently complied.

Post these stages, I was asked to come in for a basic induction programme and was officially accepted for the post. They can also be contacted by calling up their office.

Duration of internship and timings

Internships at Greenpeace tend to extend for a month but I interned only for three weeks from 1st to 20th January.

First impression, first day formalities, infrastructure

My first day was spent in the induction programme. I met the members of Greenpeace and struck up a conversation with them.

I was acquainted with the idea underlying the organisation, its purpose and objective. Essentially, I was given an overview of the NGO and the work conducted by them.

Main tasks

The tasks are tedious. It involved a lot of field work and could get excruciatingly exhausting.

Different places had to be visited on a daily basis. We were expected to raise funds by increasing awareness about Greenpeace.

Sometimes, there was internal work like data entry or painting chart paper. There were also times where there was nothing to do.

Work environment and people

The work environment seemed friendly and fun. I was unable to develop a personal rapport with anyone. Overall, the people were approachable.

Best things

What I valued the most in my internship was watching the employees work. Their fervour and passion fueled inspiration in me. They were devoted to the cause and I admired their zeal.

Bad things

On the whole, I didn’t quite feel like I had gained much out of it. The work was inconsistent and at times, I felt like there wasn’t anything to contribute. The lack of a stipend despite the efforts put in was also demotivating.

Stipend

None

Biggest Lessons

I learnt to appreciate work undertaken for a social cause. I learnt more from watching people at work than completing my tasks.

It opened my eyes to certain environmental issues that were long-forgotten and left in my 9th Standard EVS Books. It made me value the resources we take for granted.

Any Other Thing

The office is small and quite cramped, A rented out flat, it accommodates a maximum of 15 people and can get claustrophobic.

Overall Rating

5

Accommodation

I study in the city and didn’t have the need to look for accommodation. But for those who do, these are numerous PGs or even hostels in the area. Spacious and pocket friendly accommodation can be found quite effortlessly.

Office Timings

The timings stretched from 10 in the morning to 6 in the evening. Sometimes, they would go on for even longer.