Claire Wansbury is the Associate Director of Ecology at Atkins, a large engineering and environmental consultancy. Most of her time is spent advising on the protection of wildlife on major infrastructure projects such as road schemes and railways. She also works on introducing new approaches within the industry, like Biodiversity Net Gain and Natural Capital
What’s it like to work as a environmental consultant? Mark is Head of Ornithology at APEM – Europe’s leading independent environmental consultancy specialising in freshwater and marine ecology and aerial surveys. We offer work of the highest quality and scientific integrity, together with excellent service. WHY DO YOU HAVE A CONSERVATION JOB? I think that the
The beautiful British Virgin Islands (BVI) are a chain of more than fifty volcanic islands between the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. The country is home to a huge variety of rare plant and wildlife species. Nancy Pascoe, Deputy Director for Science, Research and Environmental Policy at the National Parks Trust of the
As a student in Portugal, a conversation with botanist Jorge Paiva spurred Sara Barrios to apply for an internship that led her to the Herbarium at Kew Gardens. Some 16 years later, fresh from fieldwork in the British Virgin Islands, Sara spoke to me about her role as Conservation Partnership Coordinator for the UK Overseas
After combining his love of surfing and science to study marine biology, Oliver Clements trained in computer programming, and now works as a GIS expert on remotely sensed Earth observation data. He looks at the planet’s oceans from satellite data to detect patterns in everything from plankton volumes to sea surface temperature. The main barrier
Do you like the sound of creating new habitats, leaving a positive legacy of nature behind you? That is soon to be the reality of working as an ecological consultant, as the upcoming Environment Bill will make it a legal requirement for new construction developments to have a positive impact – a ‘net gain’ –
Have you ever considered working as an environmental consultant? Do you know what one is and does, and what skills they are looking for? Today we’re speaking to Nancy Thomson, who’s the Director and founder of Thomson Environmental Consultants – a very well known name within the industry Nancy has set up two consultancies already.
Today we’re talking to a hugely inspiring figure within the UK ecology scene, who enjoys disrupting the market, and doing things differently. Professor David Hill CBE is chairman and founding owner of The Environment Bank which he set up because of his concerns at the way wildlife was being treated within the planning and development sector. In this episode we cover a lot
David is chairman and founding owner of The Environment Bank Ltd which he set up in 2006 to introduce the concept of compensation, via biodiversity offsetting, habitat banking and net gain, into the UK because of his concerns at the way biodiversity was treated within the planning and development sector. In this interview for Ecology Jobs
Looking back, we can hardly believe what happened in 2020. This time last year all was ‘normal’ and here we are in a world filled with face-masks, hand sanitiser and travel restrictions. Nevertheless, 2020 hasn’t slowed us down. In fact, seeing how governments worldwide can enact change quickly, at a global scale, to tackle an
Do you want the best advice to land a job in wildlife conservation? At Conservation Careers we’ve interviewed over 500 professional conservationists and shared their stories and advice on our Careers Advice Blog and Podcast. But in this special podcast with The Guide to Mindful Conservation: Dancing in Pink Hiking Boots, we hear from Conservation
As conservation career opportunities rebound, conservationists and organisations who understand their ‘niche’, innovate and adapt can survive – or even thrive. In March 2020 the global COVID-19 pandemic froze international travel, halted recruitment and sent the conservation industry into a sudden standstill. In April 2020, a survey of 330 conservationists by Conservation Careers showed that
Do you enjoy getting out into the field, identifying plants, animals, insects and more? And would you like to be paid for doing this and spend your career surveying for protected species and habitats whilst implementing the law to identify and avoid harmful impacts on them? Then a career as an ecological consultant might be
Are you interested in switching careers into conservation? Or perhaps you completed some studies and you wish you’d done something more conservation-y instead? So how do you transition across and how do you reskill? Today we’re talking to Dr Ada Grabowska-Zhang, from the University of Oxford. Ada is the Course Director for the Postgraduate Certificate
We’re often so tight on time and resources in the conservation sector that we don’t invest in one the most important steps in recruitment: writing a great conservation job advertisement. A job advert is a sales document, and its purpose is to attract attention to your role and organisation. If you want to attract the
Neil Middleton is the author of the ‘The Effective Ecologist’ which covers the stuff that no-one told you about at university – how to develop your office-related and business skills to succeed in your career as a professional ecologist. An effective ecologist is someone who … Behaves professionally and fully understands how to operate with positive
“My most helpful advice for people looking at ecology careers would be: to reach for your goals. Be determined, be consistent, do not other people tell you that something is not possible. But realistically, you need to work very hard at the right things in order to achieve at a high level”, said Neil Middleton
The Effective Ecologist covers the stuff that no-one told you about at university – how to develop your office-related and business skills to succeed in your career as a professional ecologist. This book shows you how to be more effective in your role, providing you with the skills and effective behaviours within the workplace that
From an early age Lizzie Bruce has always loved being outdoors enjoying the Great British countryside. Today she is West Norfolk Assistant Warden for the Norfolk Wildlife Trust and she shares her conservation career secrets… Why do you work in conservation? If you asked me when I was school what my career would be, conservation wouldn’t
An island Nature Reserve where environmental conservation and industrial resource extraction go hand-in-hand? This may be hard to imagine but such a place does exist, and this is where Adam McVeigh calls home for two weeks, every month. As a Senior Environmental Scientist for Stantec consultancy in Australia, Adam works on a particularly unique island,
In the world of primate research, few scientists get the opportunity to research both Chimps and Bonobos (our least studied close relative) in the wild. Here researchers Miguel Adán Pascual and Daiane Galdino talk about their incredible field experiences in the African forests. They also discuss finding fieldwork opportunities together as a couple, as well
“If we want to conserve wildlife, maybe we need to eat it.” This is a surprising and provocative statement to my ears, but perfectly logical to Francis Vorhies, a Conservation Economist of more than three decades. Having worked in multiple countries, from private enterprises to NGOs and international agencies including the International Union for Conservation
“Some of the choices that you make are conscious and pre-planned. Very often, they’re by happenstance, and it’s taking advantage of those opportunities when they come through.” Paul Gosling is a specialist environment and sustainability recruiter with over 25 years of experience. He currently works as the National Director for Sustainability at Hays recruitment company,
As conservationists, one thing we’ve seen a lot of on the news in recent years is forest fires. Huge blazes in Australia, California, the Amazon razing forests to the ground and decimating wildlife unlucky enough to be in its path. Today we’re speaking with someone who works on the front line as an expert on fires and forest ecology within California. Dr Hugh Safford is
Are you thinking about a career in marine conservation? Have you thought about working for a charity? At a charity, you can spend your life helping others, especially those without a voice! The Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) is the voice for Australia’s oceans. They’re the sole national charity devoted to defending marine life! Darren Kindleysides, the CEO, has led
Have you considered a career as an Ecological Consultant or Consultant Ecologist? Here, BSG Ecology provides guidance to students, graduates and early-career ecologists on the skill sets you might seek to develop, and how to set yourself apart from your peers in the job market. Background Ecological consultancies vary in the way in which they
Are you looking for the best postgraduate training to further your conservation career? Do you think you might need to do a Masters, Postgraduate Certificate or similar? During this live event, we spoke to leading Course Directors from Cambridge and Oxford Universities to answer your questions. Panel | Postgraduate Training for Conservation Careers Dr Nick
What is the Masters in Global Ecology and Conservation at Cardiff University? Our Masters in Global Ecology and Conservation is a full-time, one-year course that has been developed to train the ecologists and conservationists of the future. The world’s ecosystems are facing significant challenges – from a growing human population and habitat loss, to plastic
Interdisciplinary conservation scientist Dr Charlie Gardner holds a portfolio type career. With much of his work focussed on Madagascar, he has held various roles from Field Biologist to Consultant and Scientific Advisor for organisations such as WWF and has also been increasingly involved in communicating conservation as a Researcher and Guide for the BBC, Specialist
Dr Joe Chipperfield is a postdoctoral Research Ecologist working in the Biogeography department at the University of Trier in Germany. The main focus of his research is the development and application of new techniques to ascertain the ranges of species and to try and predict what may happen to these ranges in the future. WHY DO YOU
