and a happy birthday!

My name is Leah, I am 22 years old and from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. I am a student at the University of New Brunswick doing my Bachelor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Leadership. As a part of my degree, we are given an opportunity for an international internship to gain hands-on experience within a different culture and community to gain cross-cultural leadership skills.

I decided to come to Vava’u and join VEPA for the term because I wanted to immerse myself within a different culture, community, and environment in a way that pushed me out of my comfort zone and challenged me. Although my area of study is not directly environmental science, leadership plays a huge role in the action against climate change. Now more than ever, we need socially responsible leaders that prioritize our planet’s future. I believe this experience will give me better insight into being an ethical leader and implementing sustainable practices into my lifestyle and work back home. I am really excited about the opportunity to learn about the community and the environment and apply my skills to a new area of work.

My first week here has been full of new experiences and rich with culture. I have already learned so much about sustainability and conservation in Vava’u and its importance to the people living on these islands. On May 22, I had the opportunity to attend an event for International Biodiversity Day, where we removed invasive plants (lopa) on Mount Talau, and finished with a plastic-free lunch! It was nice to do hands-on work that makes a difference in building back biodiversity and gaining cultural knowledge about the environment from the team. I better understand the importance of the work that the VEPA team is doing and I am excited to learn and work alongside them for the next ten weeks.

It has been such a unique experience to be immersed in the Tongan culture not only at work but at home as well. I have met the most wonderful people who have welcomed me into their family while living in a homestay. The people here are so generous and kind, going out of their way every day to engage with me and teach me about their language, traditions, and of course, feeding me lots of Tongan food. I am so grateful for their hospitality and selflessness.

In the next couple of months, VEPA has some very exciting projects that I am lucky enough to participate in. I look forward to the rest of my time in this beautiful place –  learning, growing, and reflecting on my experience – while doing what I can to help protect the local environment. Malo Vava’u & VEPA!