Interviews Scientist September 15, 2020 7 min read

The Boundless Survival Potential of Butterflies

Dr. Jane Hill is a professor and deputy head of the Biology Department at the University of York. Her eagerness and enthusiasm to protect ecosystems led her to explore the impacts of habitat fragmentation and climate change on temperate and tropical insect biodiversity. Research in Hill’s lab does not stop there; she also works on

Celine Hashweh
Scientist Interviews September 11, 2020 7 min read

Working from the Heart of a South African Reserve – An Interview with Jarryd Foster

Wildlife ACT is an award-winning wildlife conservation organisation running Critically Endangered and priority species conservation projects in South Africa. They provide wildlife monitoring services and state-of-the-art animal tracking and anti-poaching equipment at no charge to several reserves across KwaZulu-Natal, working closely with many other global conservation organisations, including the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Endangered

Charlie Gulliford

Environmental Entrepreneur: Sustainability Coach helps Caribbean Businesses

Have you ever considered a career helping businesses manage natural resources, conserve biodiversity, adapt to climate change or become more sustainable? Tracey Edwards is a Sustainability Coach and Entrepreneur from Jamaica and founder of Plakortis, an environmental sustainability coaching service for businesses across Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. With over 15 years experience in the

Dr Nick Askew

Sail to the Ecotourism Job of Your Dreams

Ecotourism is all about creating and promoting sustainable travel opportunities around the world. It’s about showing off the natural world and its amazing inhabitants. With the aim of fostering environmental and cultural understanding, appreciation and conservation! It helps to deliver real benefits for local communities and conservation. This is arguably one of the most important

Tash Allen

Join us! We’re Celebrating Diversity in Conservation

At Conservation Careers, we believe in conserving biodiversity through diversity. We urgently need more perspectives, voices, ideas and expertise to create a world in which wildlife thrives. Celebrating Diversity in Conservation is a new initiative to share careers advice from professional conservationists from every corner of the planet. Our ultimate goal is to showcase conservationists from

Dr Nick Askew

Seize the Day and Save Sharks With Shark Girl Madison

Madison Stewart, AKA Shark Girl Madison is a woman on a mission to save the ocean’s most misunderstood inhabitants: sharks. She was 2019’s Australian Geographic Society’s Young Conservationist of the Year. She’s been campaigning for over ten years. She’s been successful at lobbying the government to shut down shark fisheries. She’s helped stop supermarkets from

Tash Allen

Podcast: Jon Paul Rodríguez | IUCN Species Survival Commission

Jon Paul Rodríguez is an award-winning Venezuelan conservationist who wears many hats. As Co-Founder of local NGO Provita, he spearheaded work to nearly triple the number of Endangered Yellow-Shouldered Parrots in the wild, winning the Whitley Gold Award in 2019 in the process. More recently, he was elected as the first non-European and non-North American Chair of

Dr Nick Askew
Interviews Mid Career May 7, 2020 7 min read

No substitute for getting your hands dirty

Sabelo Lindani is one of the more experienced conservationists in Cape Town, South Africa, with experience in both the governmental and private sector of conservation. In 2017 he started his own company (Contour Enviro Group) and now employs 25 other up and coming and experienced conservationists. Together they offer government and private clients Wilderness and

Michael Henshall
Interviews Mid Career May 4, 2020 5 min read

The Mauritian Wildlife Foundation: How Conservation Continues During a Crisis 

Anne-Gaëlle Carré works as the Assistant Coordinator on the pink pigeon project with the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation. The species she works with, and many others that the foundation supports, is dependent upon intensive conservation efforts for its survival. To put it bluntly, without constant input from Anne-Gaëlle and her team, the pink pigeon (Nesoenas mayeri) would likely become extinct.  In

Bethany Richmond

Inspiring local communities in Africa to support lion conservation

“Local people should be at the forefront of the solutions to the challenges facing their wildlife. Sometimes, change can only come when the people most affected and impacted take charge. Local communities play an important role in fighting poaching and illegal wildlife trade, which are major threats affecting lions and other wildlife.” – Moreangels Mbizah  Moreangles Mbizah

Anthony Ochieng
Interviews Mid Career January 6, 2020 4 min read

Advice from The Conservationist Island Girl

Mauritian conservationist and Fulbright Scholar Véronique Couttee talks about the challenges faced by local staff in conservation, her six-year scholarship journey and her blog – The Conservationist Island Girl. How did you begin your conservation career? “I always liked nature but growing up I didn’t know that could even be a career. I ended up

Patrick Pester

Opening up the conservation space with Maria

“It really breaks my heart to think of Pakistan’s wildlife disappearing without people even realizing, so a lot of that feeds into my pursuit of wildlife conservation and wanting to break down barriers, especially for Pakistani women getting involved.” Maria Hashmi, 21 years old, has a huge passion for all things zoology, especially reptiles. This

Susie Stockwell
Podcasts Celebrating Diversity in Conservation December 24, 2019 73 min read

Podcast: Dr Nick Askew | Conservation Careers

Welcome to this special extended edition of the podcast. Today we’re turning the tables slightly and talking about, well us; Conservation Careers. We thought it would be a good end to the year and to the decade to look back at the journey of Conservation Careers over the past six years and also to look forward to

Dr Nick Askew
Interviews Mid Career October 24, 2019 3 min read

Caring for the Kakapo, New Zealand’s Endangered Parrot

When you’re working alone in the bush the last thing you want to see is the outside toilet door opening, but for Department of Conservation ranger Ricki Mitchell, this was an intrusion of the avian variety. The kakapo. New Zealand’s critically endangered flightless parrot, and a welcome relief for her to say the least! After

marcia.welch@outlook.co.nz' Marcia Welch

Women for Conservation | Luwi Nguluka

In conservation, a gender gap can be evident, with women being under-represented in many countries. Often, the barrier to entry is not due to a lack of intelligence and education for the science roles, or a lack of strength for the fieldwork, but a lack of respect and belief from others. Females face stereotypical perceptions

Kathleen Retourne
Interviews Celebrating Diversity in Conservation September 3, 2018 6 min read

Dale Wright | BirdLife South Africa IBA Conservation Implementation Manager

Dale Wright is the Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA) Conservation Implementation Manager for BirdLife South Africa, where he focuses on the safe-guarding of South Africa’s Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs), as well as the direction of conservation programs within these areas.  How did you first become interested in conservation? Was it something you

Tessa Cooper

Shannon Wild | Wildlife Photographer

Shannon Wild is an Australian wildlife photographer and passionate conservationist. She has worked all over the World, capturing the beauty and diversity of wildlife on Earth. In the interview below I ask for her advice and knowledge on the industry… What is your current job title/role?  I am a wildlife photographer and cinematographer.  How did you

Demi McCollum
Interviews Scientist April 3, 2018 8 min read

Don’t eat penguin snow – Antarctic advice from Iain Staniland

For more than two decades Dr Iain Staniland has worked for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), carrying out research on Antarctic wildlife and producing numerous scientific publications. He created the blog – Antarctic Dad and has spent a combined total of four years living in the great white south… Keep reading, we may be some

Patrick Pester

Find Your Niche in Conservation

Filling a gap Positive Change for Marine Life is a marine conservation organization based in Byron Bay and Brisbane, Australia. Their slogan ‘paving the path to change through understanding, education, and respect’ comes from their desire to work with communities and create viable economic alternatives to inhumane and unsustainable marine industries. Their campaigns cover a

Dr Nick Askew

What’s involved in conservation campaigning?

Julie Melrose is Assistant Director for the Conservation Council Australian Capital Territory. She is a passionate advocate for progressive social and environmental change with over seven years experience managing a variety of projects and campaigns like Earth Hour for WWF. WHY DO YOU HAVE A CONSERVATION JOB?      I have been working for environmental NGOs for

Dr Nick Askew

What’s it like working in conservation fundraising?

Nick Askew is the Fundraising and Communications Manager for BirdLife Pacific – a flourishing network of seven national conservation organisations based in Fiji, Palau, New Zealand, Australia, Cook Islands, New Caledonia and French Polynesia. They are supported by the BirdLife Pacific Secretariat which manages regional projects and assists in conservation planning, capacity development and fundraising. WHY

Dr Nick Askew

Fighting for birds with Dr Mark Avery

Mark is the former RSPB Conservation Director and has been called Britain’s premier wildlife blogger. He worked for the RSPB for 25 years – and spent 13 years as their Conservation Director. Mark’s knowledge about nature conservation in the UK is without par, and he cares deeply about the sustainability of wildlife in the modern world. The

Dr Nick Askew
Interviews Celebrating Diversity in Conservation December 31, 2015 6 min read

A wild career in Texas with Matt Wagner

Conservation Careers Blogger Naïma Montacer speaks with Matt Wagner, Deputy Director of the Wildlife Division at Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, about his fascinating career… I sat in a small room overlooking the coast of Texas, listening to Matt Wagner speak about what’s new in wildlife conservation around the state. I was intrigued by Wagner’s enthusiasm, not

Naima Montacer
Interviews Celebrating Diversity in Conservation December 31, 2015 8 min read

International Nature Volunteers – Volunteering that Won’t Cost the Earth

Olivia Congdon speaks with Toby Malcolm about the International Nature Volunteers. The eternal struggle that accompanies being a conservation volunteer is the financial burden. How frustrating is it when you find that amazing international volunteer project, but then realise that the project fee, on top of travel costs and life expenses, just won’t be feasible? As

olivia_22_6@hotmail.com' Olivia Congdon
Interviews Mid Career December 31, 2015 4 min read

How to work for the Cambridge Conservation Initiative?

Elizabeth Allen is the Collaborations and Communications Manager for The Cambridge Conservation Initiative. CCI is a unique collaboration between the University of Cambridge and leading Internationally-focussed biodiversity conservation organisations clustered in and around Cambridge, UK. It represents a critical mass of expertise — on a scale unparalleled anywhere in the world — at the interface of

Dr Nick Askew