Maria Allison: OEA intern Summer 2025.

Maria analysed the output from a Geography webinar we had run a few month previously. She took the transcript, the chat, and other notes and created a fantastic blog pulling together the key points from the webinar. This is really useful and will be distributed widely.

 I am a third year Durham University undergraduate on the Geography BSc course with a particular interest in the global impacts of environmental change. 

Over the past year, I have completed modules in: Scientific Research in Geography, Reconstructing Environmental Change, Mountain Landscapes, Handling Geographic Information and Climate change: Geographical Perspectives. In my final year, I am taking modules focused on environmental and social change in Arctic environments.

This year I am undertaking fieldwork in the Norwegian Arctic to examine the interactions between human and physical processes and to explore the interface between social and environmental change.

I am driven by a commitment to understanding changing natural processes and their impacts on both environments and communities. 

My previous internships include those at Water Aid, the National Land Survey of Finland (Maanmittauslaitos), Tbilisi State University and North Aston Organics. I am also co-authoring a research paper with the Department of Education at the University of Oxford.

In the future, I hope to work in a role where I can contribute to understanding how to mitigate and adapt to the environmental challenges ahead.