‘Giving back to Nature’: A conversation with Helen Neave, co-founder of ‘Make it Wild’

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’

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Inspiring urban conservation through social media | A Q&A with wildlife influencer Lirayen Valencia

“I would love to see more wildlife influencers, and for them to be as popular and cool as fashion/lifestyle influencers” As of January 2024, around 62.3% of the world’s population are social media users. Communications have always been crucial for spreading conservation messages across the globe, but it seems that now, more than ever before,

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Podcast | Cristianne Close | Deputy Global Conservation Director WWF International

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,

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The fight to protect maned wolves in Brazil’s disappearing Cerrado: An interview with Bárbara do Couto Peret Dias from Onçafari

Picture a wild savanna, teeming with life. Millions of insects hum in the dense undergrowth, birds flock in the skies, and elusive mammals can be glimpsed through the tall grasses. You might be picturing lions and giraffes, but this is not Africa. It’s the Cerrado savanna in central Brazil, and it’s in critical danger. Brazil’s

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Podcast | Lise Aangeenbrug | Chief Program Officer at the National Park Foundation

How do you raise nearly $169,000,000 per year to protect and conserve America’s 420+ National Park Sites?  Sites important for recreation, education, and the conservation of endangered landscapes, natural communities and species.  We discuss this, amongst many other things, with Lise Aangeenbrug.  Lise is the Chief Program Officer at America’s National Park Foundation, the official

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Working together to fight species extinction | An interview with Asian Species Action Partnership

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

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Riding the waves of knowledge: A conversation with Frances Lang on education and marine conservation

You may notice the landscape of conservation is evolving, becoming increasingly diverse each day, with a growing number of people expressing their interest in getting involved. Numerous opportunities are available, indicating a positive outlook for the future of ocean health. However, amid this positivity, a challenging reality remains – the task of enhancing ocean literacy

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From the corporate world to the African forests – how modern conservation is everyone’s ‘business’

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

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Giving money where it’s needed – An interview with Conservation Allies’ Executive Director

Dr Caitlin Eschmann is Executive Director of Conservation Allies, a small non-profit organisation based in America that offers a true and unique partnership for local conservationists who are unable to easily tap into the donor world. Conservation Allies works with vetted partners in Madagascar and Latin America to support their critical work of conserving endangered species and

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Podcast | How important are volunteers in conservation? Rhoda Ludford – Volunteering Development Consultant with the RSPB

How important are volunteers in conservation? What are the different types of work you can do as a volunteer, and how can it benefit your career? We answer these and many more questions in discussion with today’s guest Rhoda Ludford. Rhoda is the Volunteering Development Consultant with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

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Podcast | Charu Mishra | The world’s foremost expert on snow leopard conservation

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

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Podcast | Dr Rebecca Jefferson | The power of social science for conservation

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

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Supporting an emerging conservation community and protecting Nepal’s rare wildlife

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

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A career in academia: Researching the impacts of climate change and habitat loss with Professor Jane Hill

Professor Jane Hill, OBE (Order of the British Empire), is a Professor of Ecology at the University of York in England. She is President and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, a trustee of the South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership and, formerly, a trustee of the British Ecological Society. Her research primarily

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Podcast | How to raise more funding for wildlife conservation with David Goldman from the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife

What can Coca-Cola teach us about how to better save wildlife, in Australia and beyond?  And why should more governments set up charitable foundations to protect their national parks and threatened wildlife?  We discuss these and many other issues with today’s inspiring guest – David Goldman.  David is the Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer at

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More information needed to inform future policy approaches to badger trade in South Korea

Conservation biologist Joshua Elves-Powell and co-authors have recently released ground-breaking new work on the poorly known wildlife trade in badgers in South Korea. They concluded that increased monitoring of the trade and more targeted research would improve the availability of information and thus enhance the quality of future policy approaches. Moreover, the conservation risks of

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Podcast | The Importance of Communications for Conservationists

Why is communications so important for conservationists? What communications skills are employers are looking for? And how can you start developing these skills, today? We answer these questions and more in this special edition of the Conservation Careers Podcast. Sir David Attenborough said that “Conservation is now a communications challenge”. Awareness of this challenge is

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Underwater meadows of hope – In discussion with Project Seagrass CEO, Leanne Cullen-Unsworth

“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,

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Podcast | Laura Dempsey | Collaboration, Education & Innovation (Volunteers for Future) 

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. 

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