Communication and Conservation: an interview with Lexie Beach, Communication Coordinator of Sea Turtle Conservancy

Lexie Beach is the Communication Coordinator with Sea Turtle Conservancy, the world’s oldest sea turtle research and conservation group. For nearly 60 years, Sea Turtle Conservancy has worked to protect and conserve sea turtles and their habitats from extinction through research, education, and advocacy. Conservation Careers chats with Lexie about her role with Sea Turtle

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Flying in to save flightless birds

Biodiversity Ranger Cassie Mealey talks about her work with some of New Zealand’s rarest kiwis.                                    The Haast tokoeka is one of the rarest species of kiwi occurring in the Haast ranges of southern New Zealand. Here, on behalf of the governmental Department of Conservation, Cassie battles steep mountains, temperamental weather conditions and a dodgy

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Grant Applications, and Tigers, and Bears

Oh My! Advice from Panthera’s Dr Wai-Ming Wong on producing a strong grant application. If you love your cats big (and small) then you’ll likely have heard of Panthera, an organization dedicated to the conservation of wild cats of the world. Panthera aims to secure a future for these majestic animals through scientific research and

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A Caribbean murder mystery, changing perspectives, and how to kick start your conservation career

This week Rachel Louise Gunn talks to Dr Dan Exton from Operation Wallacea (Opwall). Dan is currently Head of Research at Opwall and has worked in the marine conservation field for the past 15 years.  Opwall is a network of academics who design and implement both biodiversity and conservation management research expeditions around the world. Rachel went

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Nature’s ninjas – the front line in conservation: An interview with Global Conservation Force’s president Mike Veale

As we march into 2018, news from the conservation front-line is bleak. The earth is teetering towards its sixth mass global extinction – this time, as a direct result of human interference. Meanwhile, wildlife is the fourth most profitable trafficking crime after humans, weapons and drugs. And, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

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Corporate to conservation, how business know-how can land you your dream job: An interview with African Impact’s Business Manger Stuart Isham Fairbairns

In theory, the cut and thrust of the corporate world is a far cry from the ideal of the conservation industry. But, conservation is a business, and the skills that make a multi-national corporate thrive, can be utilised to boost conservation projects, too. Prior to 2014, Stuart Isham Fairbairns, the Kruger Business Manager for African

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Want to be a conservation journalist? Find a niche or two, don’t be afraid to make a stand and strap yourself in – it’s going to be bumpy ride: An interview with conservation journalist Jeremy Hance

Five years ago, conservation journalist Jeremy Hance found himself on a research project in the Dominican Republic. He was deep inside a forest and night had fallen. In his hand was a bag which contained a solenodon – a venomous shrew-like mammal, which had been caught to be collared for a research study. Typically, this

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A life behind the lens

Dr Paul Stewart, the cameraman behind Planet Earth II’s BAFTA winning snake-iguana sequence, takes a break from filming his latest project in the Peruvian Amazon to share advice and stories from a thirty-year career in wildlife filmmaking. “I like Cinematographer because it sounds way more impressive” Paul jokes as we sit down at our slightly

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Volunteering forced me to re-evaluate my life: An interview with Wild Tomorrow Fund Executive Director John Steward

It was only supposed to be a month-long vacation but, for Wild Tomorrow Fund Founder and Executive Director, John Steward, a volunteer placement with Wildlife ACT in South Africa resulted in a complete re-evaluation and life overhaul. After witnessing the plight of African wildlife due to dwindling habitat and illegal poaching, Steward walked away from

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Educating the younger generation vital for conservation; an interview with Wild Volunteers’ founder Anton Roberts

The human population is growing at an alarming rate – in April this year there was an estimated 7.5 billion people living on the planet, placing a substantial burden on the earth’s resources as they compete for land and food. As such, over population is having an increasingly detrimental impact on habitat and wildlife numbers

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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

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How to Become a Research Ecologist?

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

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From Environment & Sustainability undergraduate at Keele University straight to employment as Sustainability Project Officer

Interviewing early career environmentalists there’s a common challenge in moving from being a student to a paid career. Gaining experience alongside your studies or immediately after, often as a volunteer, is core to almost all the life stories of people I talk to. Kat Machin managed to get her life changing experience as part of

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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

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Conversation sparks conservation: an interview with Blue Ventures’ Chief Executive, Alasdair Harris

It is no coincidence that conservation and conversation are anagrams. In our age of insta-information and digital decisions, it’s easy to mistake boardrooms and computer screens for the birthplaces of conservation projects. But spend 30 minutes speaking with Dr Alasdair Harris, Chief Executive of multi-award winning NGO Blue Ventures, and he’ll quickly remind you that

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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

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