The majority of environmental news is dominated by depressing, defeatist narratives that describe the decline of nature in every corner of the planet, with humans commonly blamed for this destruction. Helen and Christopher Neave challenge this, as 14 years ago, distressed by the environmental situation, they decided to take action. Although now ‘Make it Wild’
In this episode, we speak with the Deputy Global Conservation Director at WWF International, Cristianne Close. Cris describes herself as ‘passionate about creating positive change in the world, especially aiming to make the impossible, possible’. We discuss how she gave up a fast-paced corporate career to follow her purpose and work in conservation. Now,
Increasingly, the private sector is taking a growing interest in their impact on wildlife, and this could lead to a much-needed step change in conservation efforts. But why do companies care about nature? How can they assess and minimise their impacts? And what sort of jobs are opening up for conservationists seeking to work in
There are many threatened species in the world, but Southeast Asia’s Critically Endangered species are particularly vulnerable to extinction. With limited conservation attention on these species in the region, the IUCN SSC Asian Species Action Partnership (ASAP) was formed to end species extinctions of birds, amphibians, mammals, freshwater fish, and reptiles. ASAP is a partnership
If you’ve spent time in the UK and visited a local nature reserve, then chances are you’ve been to a site managed by one of the 46 individual Wildlife Trusts that collectively represent 2,000 staff, 35,000 volunteers and nearly 1 million members. Helping to coordinate this huge force for nature is the Royal Society of
After graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 2005, Canadian Aram Kazandjian took the expected route into the corporate sector. Fast forward 12 years and he was living in a national park in Sierra Leone as Manager of Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary. Aram shares his route into conservation and discusses how typical ‘business’ skills are
If you are passionate about wildlife and conservation, you have probably wondered about the role people can play in conservation. You are not alone. Dr Rebecca Jefferson, Marine Social Scientist, Founder and Director of Human Nature asked herself the same question when she was seeking a career in ocean conservation. Since Dr. Jefferson was a
We ran a live event in partnership with Conservation Optimism, to explore and celebrate the work of Dr Charu Mishra – the world’s foremost expert on snow leopard conservation, and double Whitley Gold Award Winner. Conservation Optimism is a global community dedicated to inspiring people to make a positive difference for nature, and co-hosting the
Why should more conservationists learn to study people? To better understand them as individuals, communities and societies, alongside their complex behaviours and interactions. This is what today’s podcast is all about, and it’s something termed social science. Here to discuss the power of social science for conservation is today’s guest Dr Rebecca Jefferson. Rebecca runs Human Nature, a
In his final year as a university undergraduate, Kumar Paudel founded the non-profit organisation Greenhood Nepal. It created a platform for young people like himself who lacked experience but wanted to contribute to the conservation field. Kumar shares how since its foundation in 2012 Greenhood Nepal and its team have ‘grown up’ together to become
“I think empowerment to protect what we have, often comes from celebrating what we’ve got”. Leanne Cullen-Unsworth is the CEO of Project Seagrass, an amazing charity working in the UK and across the globe to celebrate, protect and restore ecologically important seagrass meadows. This incredibly valuable ecosystem was often overlooked in planning and management policies,
What role does ‘urban greening’ have in the world of conservation? This is one question that Angus Cunningham, horticulturalist and CEO of Scotscape, considers, as he shares his enthusiasm for this new and burgeoning industry. While Scotscape is amongst the market leaders in the UK, the phenomenon is worldwide. “Wherever you are in the world”
What role do schoolchildren play in conservation efforts? Why target them specifically, and how do you successfully establish and grow a conservation enterprise from scratch – now empowering over 13,000 young people to help tackle climate change and wildlife conservation. That’s what today’s inspiring guest – Laura Dempsey – has achieved with Volunteers for Future.
The Bénoué ecosystem in northern Cameroon is the hotspot for lions in West and Central Africa. However in this area, which includes three national parks – Faro, Bénoué and Bouba-Ndjidda – and 32 hunting zones, only 250 lions remain across the vast 30,000 km² landscape. The region has faced severe threats from habitat loss and
Have you ever had a BIG idea that grabbed your attention and got you excited? And if you have, did you know how to start turning your idea into reality? Todays’ guest is a career switcher doing just this. Tara Phillips is a Ted-X speaker coach who is developing an exciting idea to start an
Listening to activist Ofir Drori speak, it is impossible not to be energised by the strength of his passion and determination when discussing his work. Back in 2002 he founded West and Central Africa’s first anti-corruption and wildlife law enforcement NGO, and within seven months his dedicated team of volunteer activists had achieved the region’s
“I knew what I wanted, and I went for it” says Dr Marisa Tellez. From about 5 years old, instead of playing with dolls, Dr Marisa Tellez was evolving her knowledge of the world’s top predators. Starting with her love for great white sharks, Marisa became fascinated by this species that survived the mass extinction
Stella Diamant is a passionate conservation biologist who founded the Madagascar Whale Shark Project, introduced a code of conduct for Whale Shark tourism, initiated an environmental education programme for Malagasy youth, and has identified almost 500 individual Whale Sharks. She’s now working in collaboration with other NGOs and has helped ensure the code of conduct
“I had a yellow rain jacket that was just white with guano, and I learnt pretty quickly that I had to close my mouth when looking up”. They do not teach you everything in school; sometimes the field turns into your school. Mathieu Charette, an ornithologist from Montreal, Canada, and director of the Toucan Ridge
Surita Volland is a bushbaby enthusiast and, on top of her regular job at Johannesburg airport, the founder of Save the Fourways Bushbabies. This small-scale NPO in Johannesburg, South Africa, is working to save the Fourways land corridor from commercial development – a corridor that the bushbabies have made their home. Read on to hear
Last year, Sir David Attenborough said that saving the planet is now a communications challenge. And within conservation there is a growing realisation that we need to do much more to share our messages, to encourage more support and action. As a result, conservation employers are rapidly looking for people with communications skills. They want
“The future depends on what we do in the present”- Mahatma Gandhi There are many ways in which individuals can make a difference in turning the tide against the biodiversity and climate crisis, from becoming politically active to eating less meat and with the seasons, riding a bike to work or staying local for holidays
Professor Juliet Vickery is Chief Executive Officer of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), President of the British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU), Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge and Honorary Professor at the University of East Anglia. Juliet generously made time to share her career story with me and to reflect on BTO’s recent
Conflicts between humans and wildlife are very common in Africa. These conflicts will most likely increase due to the growth of the human population. By 2050, the human population of Africa is expected to double in size, resulting in an ever-increasing need for space to grow food and built houses. The expansion of human civilization
Rewilding and restoration is an increasingly exciting and popular area of conservation. Whereby land is returned to a more natural state in a bid to let natural processes thrive once more. There are numerous examples of it working quickly and really well – species returning in a matter of years – but have you heard
Do you love learning about the natural world and have a sense of travel and adventure? Do you wish you could get out from behind a screen, step out of your comfort zone, and step into wild nature? On the podcast today I’m speaking with Daniel Kaul, Managing Director of conservation-oriented travel company Natucate. Natucate offer
Francisco Petrucci-Fonseca is a nature lover passionate about the Iberian wolf. He’s a Biologist and Professor at the University of Lisbon, Portugal. He’s also the co-founder and President of the Portuguese NGO, Grupo Lobo, working for 37 years on better protection and coexistence between wolves and humans. Francisco has dedicated his life to the wolves
Have you ever had an idea that you think is great and wish you’d done something about it? Well, today’s guest is making her great idea for helping individuals to take action on a global scale a reality. Megan Cromp is Director of Key Conservation, which is seeking to help conservationists gain critical funding and
In this episode I’m speaking with Dr Gemma Harper – the Chief Executive of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, or JNCC for short. JNCC is a public body that provides a shared scientific nature conservation service for the UK. This helps the governments in the UK to achieve their wildlife conservation objectives. Just one year
Start your career in wildlife conservation with our unique programme of training, support community & jobs. Do you want to spend your career helping wildlife to flourish, but are feeling a little lost, confused or disillusioned? If you’re a student, job-seeker or career-switcher, getting started as a professional conservationist can be hard. But what if you
