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Last summer, students in the University of New Brunswick’s (UNB) master of environmental management (MEM) program took part in work-integrated internships as part of their degree requirements.

The internship is a new addition to the master’s program—having only been a requirement for the past two years—but has proven to be a success.

“The internship adds an experiential learning component to this primarily course-based program, and it provides students with real-world, hands-on learning,” said Jacqueline Nsubuga, experiential learning coordinator for UNB’s faculty of forestry and environmental management (ForEM).

“It also opens doors of opportunity for students post-graduation. Many of the program’s 2024 graduates are now employed with the organizations with which they interned.”

Nsubuga said the MEM program draws students from a wide variety of disciplines, making the internship even more valuable for students who may not come from an overtly related field.

“We have had people come to the program with engineering backgrounds and education backgrounds. People wake up one day and realize they want to save the planet,” she said.

“These people may want to integrate their current degrees with environmental management. The internship really can help them conceptualize what their opportunities look like.”

Once the internship is complete, students write a report and reflection of their learning objectives and their work experience and present it within the faculty and to their classmates.

Students are encouraged to find internship placements in the aspects of environmental management most aligned with their future career goals.

Nsubuga highlights the support provided by UNB’s Career Development & Employment Services as well as the ForEm faculty in helping students find meaningful work experiences, whether for internships or post-graduation jobs.

In the 2023-24 MEM cohort, six students, including Nadeesha Niroshani, found placements with the New Brunswick Aboriginal Peoples Council (NBAPC).

Nadeesha, who came to New Brunswick from Sri Lanka, completed her undergraduate degree in the field of agricultural sciences. Her research included producing organic fertilizer to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers which have harmful impacts on the environment.

She was intrigued by the direct professional pathways MEM provides its students.

“I really enjoyed the program. It was a bit different for me at first having come from a science and research background,” Nadeesha said.

“The MEM program is very management-focused, but in time I realized that it was perfect for me as I had the science foundation, and now I could learn how to manage too.”

Nadeesha said she is grateful for UNB’s experiential learning portal, where she found the opportunity to intern with NBAPC.

“As an international student, I did not have any employment connections, but the Portal had lots of job opportunities in the field to choose from.”

During her internship, Nadeesha worked mainly on the 2 Billion Trees program, the objective of which is to plant two billion trees over ten years by funding organizations to support this goal.

Over the summer, Nadeesha helped NBAPC plant 10,500 seedlings from six tree species, in six different locations: on NBAPC’s site at Little Lake, and on private lands along the Nashwaak River.

Nadeesha remembers the sweltering midsummer days and the intensive labor.

“The other thing is bugs,” she laughed. “We used bug spray of course, but it disappears when you’re sweating. I think that was the hardest part, but at least there are no venomous snakes like back home in Sri Lanka.”

Planting offered Nadeesha the opportunity to take in New Brunswick’s scenic landscapes.

“Sometimes we would go kayaking to cool off,” she recalled, “and I got to see bears and moose for the first time.”

“Restoring natural habitats along the rivers was our main aim,” Nadeesha said. “There is a lot of erosion on the riverbanks, so we focused our planting in those areas.”

Two other projects the NBPAC interns contributed to were funded by the Canada Nature Fund for Aquatic Species at Risk and the Aboriginal Fund for Species at Risk (AFSAR).

They undertook water quality sampling and data collection from New Brunswick waterways to study species at risk, including Atlantic salmon, eel and the yellow lampmussel.

They also took part in electrofishing, a fishing technique that uses electricity to temporarily stun fish so they can be caught, examined and released.

“The purpose was to see which species are living in what habitats. Once this phase of the work is done, there is a plan to help salmon repopulate through a hatchery project.”

Nadeesha enjoyed the mix of field and office work, and the collaborative nature of her role.

“One of the biggest takeaways for me was learning to work in a Canadian context,” she said. “It’s a bit different from my country. There are so many new things I have learned, like how government-funded projects are run and how we can contribute.

“I also learned so much from the Indigenous peoples we worked with about their beautiful perspectives.

“The whole experience gave me a chance to become confident in my communication skills,” Nadeesha said. “My first language is not English, but everyone was kind and supportive.”

Nadeesha is now employed on contract with NBAPC as an environmental technician.

Amandeep Singh is originally from India. Like Nadeesha, he interned with NBAPC and is now a full-time contract employee.

Singh also has a master's degree in biotechnology. “Everything I did in biotechnology was laboratory-based,” he said.

“That work got to me after a while, and I wanted to do something more tangible—something I could do with my hands, something I could see. I also wanted to make a difference in terms of how the world looks at the environment.”

That’s when he enrolled in MEM.

“The program has only widened my perspective,” he said. “It has taught me how to build my network, how to manage successfully and how businesses work—especially from an environmental perspective.”

In the summer of 2024, Singh traded his lab coat for rubber boots.

“I thought I would be in a lab for the rest of my life. I’m so glad I experienced fieldwork—there is so much more in the world that we don’t know until we try.”

Much of Singh’s fieldwork took place near the Keswick River, a tributary of the Wolastoq (Saint John River), which he described as “exquisite and picturesque.”

“One of the biggest pros for me were the connections I made. The technicians I worked with during the internship were my classmates as well, so we all got to know each other. I didn’t expect such collaboration.

“Many of us were international students, and I was worried that we might not share the same thoughts or values, but I learned that this worry was mutual for everybody. We all did our absolute best and we helped each other and lifted each other up. There was such natural congeniality and amicability amongst the group. The collaboration really pushed me forward.”

Another thing that stood out to Singh was the unpredictable nature of working in the field.

"I've only worked in places where the workflows were very structured. I always knew what to expect” he said.

“This was entirely different. Some days you would be dressed for fieldwork and in a moment, the weather would change, and it would wash up your schedule for the day,” he said.

“There are some weather phenomena that I had never heard of back in India. I knew snow, but I had never heard of sleet or freezing rain. I’m learning quickly,” he laughed.

The most important lesson Singh learned is the importance of consultation.

“I did not know anything about Indigenous communities before moving to New Brunswick,” he said. “I have learned so much from my classes and the people I have met, particularly this idea of reciprocity with nature.

“The idea that you can take from nature as much as you need, but you must help it progress, help it maintain its perpetuity.

“In a way, I think it’s the most advanced idea of sustainability.”