Environmental Management Internships in Fiji

Travel to the islands of Fiji to learn about coral reefs, island customs, and the cultural ecology that links them together. This six-week program provides interns with an up close and personal immersion into the Fijian way of life and Fiji's marine ecosystems. Training for the project takes place in the capital city of Suva on Viti Levu. There, interns will meet with world-renowned reef ecologist Helen Sykes to complete their training. They will learn how to lay transects and how to observe and record key indicator species that they will encounter on the reefs. Once training is finished, interns will depart for one of the Institute for Global Studies' chosen research locations. Currently, IGS is conducting surveys on the islands of Taveuni and Beqa. They will live with a Fijian family, providing them with insight into Fijian culture in a way that books cannot render. What makes this immersion special is that villagers retain a uniquely Fijian perspective and practice many of the subsistence patterns of their ancestors. As English is the primary language of instruction in schools, most villagers can converse in the language.