Master of Environmental Science student Sayuri Peries has contributed 100 hours towards the development of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services’ (DFES) climate change strategy through an internship with UWA’s McCusker Centre for Citizenship.
Miss Peries decided to complete the internship to gain hands-on experience in a professional setting and make a tangible impact on climate change.
“DFES was already aware of the importance of integrating measures to adapt to and combat climate change,” said Miss Peries, who was tasked with developing a WA-specific strategy to reduce DFES carbon emissions, noting this was “a very new aspect of research for the DFES”.
Miss Peries researched “international best practices and developed a strategy that would be suitable for WA when reducing emissions”, creating a detailed report that she recently presented to DFES senior leaders.
DFES Superintendent Operational Research and Development and internship supervisor, John Kagis, noted the impact of Sayuri’s work in producing “a quality report” that “DFES will be able to reference as the organisation starts on its journey towards a climate change strategy to reduce its carbon footprint.”
Miss Peries says her internship at DFES has helped her to realise she has the capacity to contribute to the community and planet at a local, national and even global level, with the most meaningful aspect of the experience being the engagement with DFES staff and stakeholders.
“I learnt a lot from industry professionals with regards to the importance of developing and implementing policies to fortify environmental sustainability,” says Miss Peries, learning the value of collaboration to “work together and efficiently plan, develop, and implement solutions to curb our current climate crisis.”
Miss Peries says her McCusker Centre for Citizenship internship has been extremely valuable.
“This opportunity provided me an excellent start in my contribution to environmental and social sustainability,” said Miss Peries. “It has equipped me with valuable skills to improve my contribution to the community as an active citizen.”