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My time as an internThoughts from Rebecca Johnson on the Internship Program 2009In Rebecca’s application she stated that: 'I chose to pursue a career in the field of environmental resource management simply because of my passion for the environment and a desire to find solutions to the negative impacts the revolution in technology that humans have experienced is having on the natural world.' I was unsure about the Internship program until I spoke with Louisa Murray on the phone - I had often felt at university that my passion was a little over the top or misplace, and my conversation with Louisa confirmed, that in this case, that was a quality which was desirable! Of course I was immediately compelled to come to Sydney. Louisa also described the type of workshops and work we would be doing which dispelled my preconceptions about entering such a formidable institution as the National Herbarium of New South Wales - I had thought that the Internship may be a bit dry and rigid or perhaps linear, and that I would have to dress up in dress pants and suits, and look scientific - with lab coats - a task I was unsure I would be capable of pulling off! I discovered the opposite to be true. After the first few weeks I was amazed at the passion and openness in this institution (Botanic Gardens Trust). It promotes knowledge sharing, and almost everyone that I came into contact with was willing to spend time with me. Even with the tedium of some of the work, the atmosphere of learning and friendliness and constant involvement of us in the lives of the scientists was a mind blowing experience. The most enjoyable part was the on week of fieldwork. I was amazed that we had 5 days gifted to us at Pearl Beach in a real research station and where we were looked after. I appreciated working with the experts; Doug Benson and Barry Conn (Lamiaceae expert) to name just two. I knew the scientists names from their publications, and then to meet them and work with them and be taken under the wing of many of them was amazing. I at times felt a little like a Botany groupie on tour with the band. During the Internship Program I was able to discuss my future with the scientists and many of them spent a lot of time talking with me. Having the ability to talk to Elizabeth Brown and Maurizio Rossetto about research projects was great and the fact that they had research projects ready to talk about with a graduation of time scales to match the projects was really useful. After a 3 month break I came back to work on how leaf character traits may be used to find trends in variation within species and possible correlations to environment with Maurizio. I have to comment that if the whole scientific community worldwide behaved like those individuals at the Royal Botanic Gardens we would have attained a harmonious global equilibrium and understanding with the natural world by now - ha-ha! But what I want to do next is to take a year off from botany and do a Masters in Humanities and then a PhD in Science/Philosophy at Armidale UNE, as while I don’t see myself doing taxonomy for the rest of my life, I will certainly always take a systematic approach to everything I do. I would like to work in the broader environmental arena, as I feel that the global environmental situation is so dire that the changes required that we may have any hope of turning this situation around must be enacted now. But also the future of taxonomic research seems rocky at best, as governments around the globe take the focus more and more away from biodiversity and the health of natural ecosystems. Taxonomy is an essential discipline and should be a strong part of any biological study, but at present future job prospects seem limited. Science and botany will always be there underpinning my knowledge and the basis for my passion for learning. I highly recommend the Internship program, and feel it would be a valuable experience for any environmental science student or similar. The program not only gave us practical and meaningful experience in a specific area, but also reaffirmed the value and importance of what each of us wanted to do and the confidence to follow that path. |
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