{"id":2894,"date":"2021-07-27T18:02:16","date_gmt":"2021-07-27T17:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.exeter.ac.uk\/internships\/?p=2894"},"modified":"2021-07-27T18:02:16","modified_gmt":"2021-07-27T17:02:16","slug":"student-case-study-camborne-town-council","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/internships\/2021\/07\/27\/student-case-study-camborne-town-council\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Case Study:\u00a0Camborne Town Council\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Name of Student:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Phoebe Ranger<\/p>\n

Degree Subject:\u00a0<\/strong>BA Politics and International Relations<\/p>\n

Type of Internship:<\/strong>\u00a0Green Consultant Scheme<\/p>\n

Company Name:<\/strong>\u00a0Camborne Town Council<\/p>\n

Job Title:<\/strong>\u00a0Green Consultant<\/p>\n

Description of Company:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Camborne is geographically the largest parish in Cornwall. Reflecting Cornwall’s diversity of urban areas, characterful villages, and sparsely populated rural areas of outstanding natural beauty. The Council administers an area of approximately 2,800 hectares and nearly 23,000 people live within the boundaries. Although Camborne was formerly one of the richest tin mining areas in the world, it is now among the 2% most deprived areas in all of England. As the Town Council is the tier of local government closest to the people Camborne Town Council is committed to empowering the local community by encouraging town pride and proactively engaging the parish with new community improvement projects.<\/p>\n

What were your key duties and responsibilities during your internship?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The key duties and responsibilities of my internship included producing a 3,500-word report to present to Camborne Council\u2019s Climate Action Group Working Party with the intention of forming the blueprint for a future climate action plan. I was also given the opportunity to attend council meetings concerning upcoming sustainability events as well as discussions with Cornwall Council, the second tier of government for Camborne, on the future of recycling in the county. Each meeting I attended helped me to create a report that accurately reflected the needs and concerns of Camborne Town Council regarding sustainability.<\/p>\n

What outputs and outcomes did you deliver for your employer?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My final deliverable was in the form of a sustainability report detailing recommendations for Camborne\u2019s Climate Action Working Party to take forward and to consider when writing their 2021 Climate Action Plan. Each recommendation needed to align with the objectives specified in the council\u2019s 2020-2022 Strategic Action Plan in order to support Camborne Town Council\u2019s mission statement and to ensure the needs of the community remained central to all environmental and sustainability recommendations. Camborne Town Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and affirmed its commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation of more sustainable practices within the community in order to achieve this ambition had been delayed. The council felt it was imperative that they reaffirm their declaration of a climate emergency and support their commitment to protecting the environment by detailing environmentally responsible recommendations in a sustainability report. My recommendations included making the council building a model for sustainable practice, engaging the youth of the parish through the implementation of a repair caf\u00e9, maximising community carbon sequestration by initiating a local rewilding project and detailing how the council can attract funding for eco-friendly infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n

What was your biggest achievement in your internship?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was able to present my recommendations to the mayor of Camborne for my final presentation at Camborne\u2019s Climate Action Working Party meeting. Here, I was able to discuss with other party members the details of my recommendations and share my findings on how to create a sustainable future for the town. At the end of the presentation, the Mayor stated that she would like me back to work with the council again in the future.<\/p>\n

What did not go so well on your internship? How did you overcome any challenges?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although embarking on my internship was daunting at first, I felt that the Green Consultants training gave me all the tools I needed, and I felt well equipped. Completing the on-campus project beforehand provided me with a good understanding of environmental and sustainable consultancy and I was able to navigate through any challenges using the knowledge I had gained from the programme.<\/p>\n

Skills Learnt:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n