By: Allison Harten, CDRW Communications Intern
For the past six months, I have had the amazing opportunity to work as the Communications Intern for the Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed (CDRW). This position has allowed me to explore a different side of the environmental sector and gain skills that will propel my career in environmental communication.
From the beginning of my internship, I worked on projects that focused on creating cohesive messaging for CDRW and its members. My highlight project was creating CDRW’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Messaging & Social Media Guide alongside staff and other member organizations. This project increased my understanding of DEIJ’s intersection with environmental movements, histories, and current challenges. It allowed me to explore how our Coalition priorities are environmental, social, and economic issues that affect different people and communities in different ways. The guide itself is evergreen and can be used by organizations to post about DEIJ throughout the year. I am proud of the document we created and hope to see it continue to evolve and expand.
In addition, I participated in Communications Workgroup calls, created and updated social media toolkits, wrote blogs, edited the website, and much more. I was also able to attend a press event on the Wilmington Riverfront for the reintroduction of the Delaware River Basin Conservation Reauthorization Act by Senator Tom Carper and Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester. I enjoyed seeing so many people come together to support and advocate for the Delaware River Basin. During my internship I also learned how to use a variety of key communications platforms such as Hootsuite, SquareSpace, and Constant Contact.
Overall, this internship was a fantastic learning experience and allowed me to gain a variety of skills and try new things. I was able to grow my social media skills and learned how to create a variety of media to engage organizations and the public. I am thankful for the supportive CDRW staff and the many opportunities they provided to learn and grow. This role has strengthened my content creation, website design, project coordination and communications skills and more!
I am parting from this internship excited to use these skills I have gained in my future in environmental communication and engagement. I am grateful for the CDRW team, coalition members, and partners and look forward to continuing to build those relationships into the next chapter of my career. Thank you for a wonderful internship experience CDRW!
- Allison Harten