Life as a Sustainability Trust student intern

Published 29 March 2022

Meet Hayley, our awesome 2021 student intern. 

2021 Student Intern Hayley (left) pictured here with Phil (middle), Our Fair Energy Manager and Simon (right), Home Energy Assessor.

Meet Hayley Jones, our awesome 2021 student intern. Hayley joined us last year as part of her SDGs masters, where she was focusing on environmental sustainability and how we can mitigate and adapt to the ongoing pressures of climate change. 

For Student Volunteer Week 2022, we’re profiling Hayley about her upbringing, study, and journey with the trust.

So Hayley, can you tell us a little about yourself – Where did you grow up? Do you have siblings ? have you travelled and where? What’s your favourite pastime?

I grew up in Ōtautahi and have one brother, he lives in Te Whanganui-a-Tara too which is cool. Our parents met while travelling and their passion for it was definitely passed onto us, I’ve been super lucky to go on lots of adventures overseas and around Aotearoa. One of my favourite pastimes is actually going on road trips in our whānau van that involved lots of sing-a-longs and car games. 

What did/are you studying? Was this always the plan or did you change tracks? If you did.. what spurred that?

I changed my mind a lot in my undergrad where I switched from psychology to indigenous development and ended up at sociology, but choosing to do my masters was a much more purposeful decision. After some time working I knew I wanted to go back to study to learn more about, and start a career in, environmental sustainability and how we can mitigate and adapt to the ongoing pressures of climate change on our physical and social worlds. 

How did you end up at the trust??

I ended up at the Trust as I had to complete an internship for the SDGs masters I was studying. My very cool boss at Kaibosh, Matt, put me in touch with Georgie and it all worked out perfectly! 

What has been your favourite moment (s) at the Trust?

It’s tricky to pick one as my favourite, but I really enjoyed the opportunity to sit in on the Waste Free Welly hui. It was so inspiring to hear how passionate people were about creating good futures for their communities. 

What would you say to other students considering volunteering at the Trust?

Do it! And be open to whatever opportunities come up, one of the best things about the trust is how everyone chips in and collaborates to get stuff done :) 

Why are the SDGs important to you? Why is it important for businesses to adopt them?

I think they’re important because they challenge people to think holistically about sustainability and how interconnected everything is. It is important to be aware of how a siloed approach to development can have negative trade-offs in other areas. For businesses, adopting the SDGs gives them tools to be aware of this and to see how they can always be improving on areas of their sustainability. They also keep important issues such as social equity and gender development in conversations about economic growth and environmental conservation. 

What would you do if money wasn’t a factor? for work and for funsies?

Hmmm for mahi I’d work at an animal shelter and for funsies I’d travel!

We love it! Thanks so much Hayley. If you've been inspired to learn more about volunteering or interning for the Trust, please get in touch.