Student Vocational Bursary Scheme

The UKELA Vocational Bursary Fund was established in 2008 (initially as a one year pilot) and is intended to enable students to undertake a period of vocational placement (such as an internship or externship) in the field of environmental law. Placements may be with a public body (e.g. a government department, local authority, regulatory agency), with a not-for-profit organisation such as a non-governmental organization, with a university department, in private practice (legal or otherwise), or any other vocational placement which would further the charitable objects of UKELA. Decisions on applications are made by a panel chaired by Donald McGillivray of Kent University Law School and Prof Mark Poustie of Strathclyde University Law School and including UKELA members from the private and public sector, academia and from the NGO sector.

2010 bursary awards

Nicola Peart (left) and Kirsty Schneeberger

The winners of the 2010 bursaries were: Kirsty Schneeberger and Nicola Peart. A report of their placements will appear here in due course.

Kirsty Schneeberger, a graduate in Government & International Relations and Philosophy who is between studies for the GDL and BPTC (both at BPP Law School) is being funded to work with Think2050, a project based in London that aims to broaden the participation of young people in Government policy-making and legislation. The projects include the drafting of a ‘Future Generations Bill’ that Think2050 is aiming to have introduced into the House of Commons later in 2010 to ‘institutionalise the rights of young and future generations’ as part of the organizations campaign to entrench intergenerational equity in law and policy-making. Nicola Peart, a graduate in Plant Sciences and Ecology, and in Environmental Economics and Policy, will be doing the GDL at the College of Law in London in 2010/11. Nicola’s internship is with the Law of Nature Foundation on Bantayan Island, The Philippines. The Foundation is an organisation of environmental lawyers and conservation scientists that uses environmental law to change environmentally destructive behaviour, and promote sustainable practices amongst rural and urban communities, industry and commercial sectors.

The 2009 bursary awards

For 2009 two awards were made which nicely complemented each other. One award was to support work in Wales exploring the interface between habitat conservation and countryside access legislation, while the other award was to support research into the recent changes to the constitution of Ecuador which seeks to grant rights directly to nature (as advocated by those in favour of ‘Wild Law’). The successful applicants have reported on their work in e-law.