Since July, Astrid has been supporting Habitat Ireland’s work through an internship with Northeastern University (Boston). As part of her role, she has been working alongside the Engagement Team, facilitating school workshops, interacting with members of the public at events and presenting to young people about Habitat’s work. Read about her experience below.
When looking for a co-op placement, I knew I wanted a position that allowed me to work outside the office. Working for Habitat for Humanity Ireland has given me so many opportunities to get involved in the local community and see the direct impact of our work. One way I've done this is through working with different school groups with Pete the Engagement Officer.
This has involved going to different secondary schools throughout Ireland to deliver workshops and assisting with primary school groups when they visit their local ReStore.
Most recently I visited the Habitat ReStore in Newtownards to host three different primary schools during European Week of Waste Reduction. We gave a quick presentation of waste in the UK and Ireland, a tour of the ReStore and a hands-on arts and crafts activity of decorating old tiles to turn them into coasters. I loved interacting with the young people, listening to all their great ideas to reduce waste and seeing what art they came up with for their coasters.
I’ve also worked stands at both Queens University Belfast and Ulster University. Ellie, my fellow intern from Boston, and I ran the Habitat for Humanity stand at Queen’s sustainability fair. This involved explaining our global mission and local work through our ReStores to university students. We also had an interactive activity surrounding the SDGs where students came up with their own personal goals for their everyday lives, to be more sustainable. It was amazing to see what everyone came up with, which ranged from using more public transportation to committing to shopping and eating locally.
In secondary schools I have directly assisted with the Changemakers programme, which is a way for secondary school students to learn more about global citizenship, get involved with Habitat’s mission locally, and raise funds to support partner programmes. I have travelled to schools, including Hunterhouse College where Derry Girls was filmed (!!!), to engage students in exploring key social justice issues facing our communities and our world. I have had the opportunity to run different activities from quizzes to matching the SDGs to their definitions.
The Changemakers programme also involves a practical day where students volunteer in the ReStore. On these days I have assisted different groups on their volunteer tasks, answered questions, and presented short informational videos to ass to their experience.
Overall, I have greatly enjoyed working with students of all ages, sharing my knowledge of sustainability and learning what it's like to work with students.
