Four of our Year 13 students, Coco Wilson, Joanna Shi, Michelle Lei and Rose Bowden participated in the Climate Ambassador programme at the University of Waikato this year.
They finished the programme after completing the CLIMT101: Introduction to Climate Change paper online throughout Term 1 and 2, and visiting the university for two in person days in April and June. In order to be accepted into the programme students must qualify for direct entry (at least a Merit endorsement at Level 2 and UE Literacy and Numeracy). The 15 points obtained by completing the paper can be used towards University study in either the Bachelor of Climate Change or an alternative qualification.
We asked Rose Bowden to share her experience of the programme.
Coco, Joanna, Michelle and I loved participating in the Climate Ambassador Programme this year.
We applied late November last year and got properly enrolled in January once NCEA results were released. The programme started in March and finished in June. For the programme, we completed the university’s CLIMT101 paper online and we went to the university twice for two in-person days. On these days there were presentations, workshops, group projects, lunch at the university’s Halls of Residence, and other fun activities. The second day, just a couple weeks ago, we continued the programme’s tradition of planting trees at the campus to mark the end of the programme.
Within the paper, we did weekly mini-lectures and workshops (usually with a small assignment or quiz to submit afterwards), one written piece, and two tests. If you’re a year 12 thinking of participating in the programme, this might seem intimidating, but the workload isn’t as bad as it sounds. I took 6 subjects in year 12, and doing this programme alongside 5 level 3 subjects was honestly less stressful. If you are interested in climate change like I was, it won’t feel like boring schoolwork. The concepts we learned about led to some really interesting discussions that left lasting impressions on us, so even if your path isn’t environmental science or tertiary study, the knowledge is still valuable no matter where you apply it to.
If you are a Year 12 student who is interested in the topic of climate change, you enjoy meeting people, and/or you want to know what studying it at a tertiary level is like, the four of us encourage you to try out this programme. It helped us gain a better understanding of climate change and its effects, and we all really enjoyed the experience.
If you are interested in applying for the programme next year keep an eye on the notices or email Mrs Ganley.
