Environmental Internship Accomplishments
Francesca - Israel Nature and Parks Authority
The Israel Nature and Parks Authority is the government organization that manages nature reserves and national parks in Israel.
Francesca worked with Shkedy Yehoshua, PhD, the NPA's Chief Scientist. Her position will focus on three main topics:
1. Invasive alien species - Cost-effectiveness of prevention policies and Inter-institutional synergies
2. Marine economy conservation policies
3. Economic and territorial policy for marine reserves
Laura - Green in the City – Yarok B’Ir
Yarok B'Ir is an urban rooftop start-up farm that grows produce using hydroponic and aquaponics systems. The produce is grown on the roof of the large Dizengoff Center shopping mall in the city center and sold locally within a 2 km radius of the farm.
Laura participated in all farm work, including planting, harvesting, and packaging plants; measuring pH and nutrient levels of the water; delivery to local restaurants and cafés; learning how to deal with pests and how to construct 'food production technologies' such as Hydroponic systems.
Shoshana - Tel Avir
Tel Avir is an English-speaking group dedicated to creating a local networking hub to promote social and professional networking. It organizes monthly events to increase knowledge, awareness, and involvement regarding environmental issues.
Shoshana was planning, organizing, and sending out a monthly newsletter.
Queenie - TNS - The Natural Step
The Natural Step is a nonprofit organization that promotes strategic sustainability in Israel, using an innovation and quality perspective. TNS is part of an international network that works around the world to promote sustainability since 1989. The Israeli organization was established in 2012.
Queenie’s role was to support the Sustainability Transition Lab's work on food waste by contributing research and documentation to support successful food-waste reduction implementation. Her main task is to research examples of food waste reduction in hospitals worldwide, build a database, and develop a case study and presentation relevant to stakeholders of the Sustainability Transition Lab.
Dominik and Juliana - Israel Society of Ecology and Environmental Sciences (ISEES) - Zavit.
ZAVIT is a science and environment news agency initiated by the ISEES. They publish a magazine that connects Israeli environmental scientists with a wide range of media outlets, providing exclusive coverage of the latest environmental research to the mainstream media.
Dominik joined Zavit’s editorial team and will participate in this process, which includes independent research and article drafting on relevant topics. Sources may include scientific research papers and articles from reliable news outlets.
Juliana worked on weekly projects on differing topics related to the environment, science, and ecology, both in Israel and internationally. Those topics were then transformed into articles published in the Israeli mass media. For example, here is a link to an article titled "Is the Environment Back in Fashion," written and photographed by Juliana, which was published on Zavit (the article is in Hebrew).
See here a new article by Juliana - How to protect the skin without damaging the environment?
Einav - Goodvision
Good Vision Ltd. is a leading consultancy firm for corporate social responsibility (CSR) planning and management. The company specializes in strategic planning for social, environmental, and ethical projects, project management, and integrating these processes into organizations.
Einav conducted benchmarking research on CSR strategies used by organizations worldwide, as well as on global trends in specific industries. She will also assist the team in developing strategies and reports for the firm's various clients.
Joseph - Research Project for KKL/JNF – Keren Kayemet L'Yisrael – Jewish National Fund.
Dr. Shula Goulden, part of the KKL-funded project on ‘Water Sensitive Cities in Israel.'
The main goal of the project is to research the potential uses of smart technologies in urban water management and the connections between ‘smart cities’ and ‘green infrastructure.'
Joseph researched and identified the policies and regulations in Israel and abroad that encourage more sustainable management of urban stormwater.
Marianna - IBA - Israel Bikes Association Israel Be-shvil Ofanayim (IBA)
IBA is an NGO promoting urban bike commuting as a viable means of transportation in Israel to reduce social gaps and improve the quality of life, the environment, public health, and road safety for the benefit of the entire population.
For Marianna, this was an opportunity to learn the challenges that are involved in developing sustainable transportation systems, and the barriers to changing car-dependent mindsets on all levels - community, municipality, and government. Her job will mainly involve researching the implementation of best practices for urban cycling in Israeli cities.
Juan - Gigawatt Global
Gigawatt Global is a multinational renewable energy company focused on the development and management of utility–scale solar fields in emerging markets.
Juan assisted in setting up off-grid applications, particularly for off-grid electrification projects in Burundi, working with third-party contractors and international project financiers to facilitate these initiatives.
Alexandra - Environmental Authority, Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality - “Bon- Appetite” program, Urban Food Policy
This program is a sustainable food policy program of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality. The pillars of the program are governance, education and pedagogy, social welfare and active community, and urban sustainability.
Alexandra assisted in maintaining international steering committees and in broadening awareness through research on urban food policies worldwide. In addition, she participates in and assists with the formulation and preparation of a panel for an international conference, which the city is responsible for.
Andre - Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a global organization dedicated to environmental protection and nurturing life and a peaceful world. The Israeli Greenpeace branch focuses on advancing renewable energy and campaigning against coal use.
Andre's position was focused mainly on two fields: 1) campaign development and strategy, and 2) photography footage and documentation.
Naresh - Greeneye
Greeneye is an innovative business engaged in research, analysis, and consulting at the intersection of finance, business, and sustainability.
Naresh joined a team to create a Microsoft Access database containing information on all Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) available in the global financial market, based on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) indexes. The objective of this database is to provide socially responsible investors with relevant information to help them select their investments.
Joel - AEJI - The Association of Environmental Justice in Israel
AEJI focuses on the interconnectedness of society, the environment, and decision-making processes in Israel to produce policy recommendations that are practical and acceptable while promoting the strengthening of democratic, equal, and environmental justice values. It aims to promote active, deliberate civic participation, especially among minorities and residents of the social and geographical periphery.
Joel’s job was research-based, with the goal of developing strategic policy regarding the threat of Climate Change. Research methods included conducting interviews with experts in security, politics, and the environment; reading relevant literature; and structuring reports according to appropriate guidelines, developing themes more concretely, and focusing attention on strategic policy.
Read about Climate Security in Israel and the Middle East - the report that Joel worked to create, published by AEJI
