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
Interviews Senior Level July 6, 2017 6 min read

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

Kristi Foster

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
Scientist Careers Advice May 15, 2017 8 min read

13 Short Online Course Ideas to Boost Your GIS Career

Geographic Information Systems is a discipline which goes right to the heart of conservation and helps us to answer fundamental questions right across the spectrum of topics in conservation. ‘Why does this species occur here but not there?’, ‘Where should we prioritise our conservation actions?’, ‘How connected are these two wildlife populations?’, ‘What is the

Thom Starnes
Interviews Senior Level March 7, 2017 8 min read

Professor Steve Ormerod – An Ecologist’s Career

Steve Ormerod is Professor of Ecology in Cardiff University’s School of Biosciences and current Chairman of the RSPB Council – the biggest wildlife charity in Europe. His conservation career so far includes the following highlights: the winner of the Marsh Award for Marine and Freshwater Conservation, Chief Editor of the Journal of Applied Ecology; President

Dr Nick Askew
Interviews Senior Level February 28, 2017 10 min read

The International League of Conservation Photographers with Alexandra Garcia

Alexandra Garcia is the Executive Director of the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP), a non-profit organization that includes 100+ of the best professional nature and wildlife photographers in the world (Fellows) who are fully dedicated to using their imagery to promote earth friendly outcomes. Here she talks about her career and the amazing work of

Dr Nick Askew
Interviews Senior Level February 22, 2017 10 min read

Going it alone – Setting up Thailand Elephants

Returning home in late 2014 after managing an Elephant Reintroduction Volunteer Programme for two years in a Karen hill tribe village in Northern Thailand, Gemma Annan and fellow intern Jade Clayson decided more needed to be done to educate tourists regarding captive elephant welfare in Thailand. Putting a team together comprising of childhood friend Claire

James Walker
Scientist Interviews January 26, 2017 6 min read

A neotropical conservation career companion

“After I’d left university I was sure of one thing,” says Christopher Beirne, “That I never wanted to do a PhD.” But career trajectories are an awful lot like jungles – wild and unpredictable – and nearly 10 years after first falling in love with the neotropics, Dr Chris Beirne landed back in Peru as

Kristi Foster
Interviews Early Years January 24, 2017 3 min read

The UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre – with Emily Dunning

Emily worked as Assistant Programme Officer at The UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. UNEP-WCMC is the United Nations Environment Programme’s specialist biodiversity assessment arm. They provide authoritative information about biodiversity and ecosystem services in a manner that is useful to decision-makers who are driving change in environment and development policy. Emily studied Geography at Trinity Hall, Cambridge

Dr Nick Askew
Interviews Early Years January 17, 2017 5 min read

Naturewatch – a student-led online wildlife series

This week we spoke to Peter Cooper – a 22 year old postgraduate studying MSc Biodiversity & Conservation at the University of Exeter Penryn Campus – about the new online wildlife series Naturewatch. Peter is script editor on Naturewatch and committee member for the UK youth nature network, ‘A Focus on Nature’. He’s also life-long

Dr Nick Askew
Interviews Senior Level January 4, 2017 6 min read

Making Your Own Success in Conservation

I spoke to Alex Bateson, a franchise holder at Lion Learners North West England. It can be a difficult task getting your foot in the door at a successful conservation organisation, why not try being a little entrepreneurial and set up your own conservation enterprise like Lion Learners? Alex can you tell us a bit

Emma Ackerley
Interviews Communicator December 11, 2016 4 min read

What’s it like to be an assignment photographer?

Jason Houston is an assignment photographer with over 20 years’ experience working around the world producing stories that matter for conservation. Jason travels fast, light, and unobtrusively to capture authentic moments that will powerfully and effectively tell a story. Here Jason provides an insight into the highs and lows of his chosen career. How would

Dr Nick Askew
Interviews Senior Level October 15, 2016 13 min read

What’s involved in being a conservation director for Fauna and Flora International?

Paul Hotham has over 25 years of conservation experience including work in the UK National Parks and voluntary sector and international conservation NGOs. His MSc thesis was undertaken in the Amboseli and Kilimanjaro National Parks on transboundary cooperation between protected areas. Paul has extensive experience in species conservation, protected area management and conservation capacity building.

Dr Nick Askew
Ecologist Careers Advice August 23, 2016 2 min read

Introducing Ecology Jobs – a job-site dedicated to ecologists

With an increasing number of jobs in the ecology sector opening up all the time, we’re excited to speak with Andrew Black – Director of Ecology Jobs, the only UK job-site dedicated to helping ecologists. What is ‘Ecology Jobs’? Our demographic is UK ecologists, and we understand the specific needs, skills and requirements of both

Dr Nick Askew
Interviews Senior Level August 16, 2016 3 min read

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 human imprint on the earth is massive. Wildlife biodiversity,

Dr Nick Askew
Interviews Scientist August 1, 2016 5 min read

Landing your dream job: A success story from The Nature Conservancy’s Eddie Game

An introduction to conservation Eddie Game was working for Australia’s fisheries department in the sub-Antarctic when he realized that he wanted to become a conservation scientist. Unlike many others who are drawn to the field after having experienced some form of environmental destruction, he was drawn to conservation after observing the success of protected areas.

Courtney Jackson

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 Senior Level July 19, 2016 5 min read

What jobs can ecology graduates do?

Simon Bangs is a Conservation Recruitment Consultant for Allen & York – a leading International Sustainability Recruitment Consultancy, with an increasing number of renewable energy jobs, ecology and environmental jobs throughout the globe. WHAT DO YOU DO AS A RECRUITMENT CONSULTANT? We work on behalf of a variety of clients around the world to source new

Dr Nick Askew
Interviews Senior Level June 9, 2016 4 min read

A turtley awesome job: career insight from Sea Turtle Inc.’s Khrystyne Jamerson

In light of the recently celebrated ‘World Turtle Day’, I caught up with Khrystyne Jamerson, an educator at Sea Turtle Inc. on South Padre Island. Khrystyne’s enthusiasm for wildlife conservation inspired me daily while we were working together for Ghana Research and Education Alliance for Turtles this past winter. Her new position allows her to

Caitlin Frankish
Interviews Senior Level June 6, 2016 5 min read

Decision making matters: career advice from multi-award winning conservationist Hugh Possingham

In a world run by politicised decision-making, how can conservation compete? Decision science runs the world – from manufacturing to the military, from transport to economics. And according to multi-award-winning ecologist Professor Hugh Possingham, conservation decision-making is also the best way to solve environmental problems. Natural decisions “Conservation is an applied science; it’s all about

Kristi Foster
Interviews Senior Level May 31, 2016 7 min read

Keeping Tasmania’s Rich Biodiversity Alive: Jane Hutchinson

Tasmania is the southern-most part of Australia, an island state that is known for its exquisite natural landscapes and unique fauna. However, it’s future lies in the hands of conservationists and groups like the Tasmanian Land Conservancy, which protects and improves important areas of land, conducts biological research and assists in a huge variety of

olivia_22_6@hotmail.com' Olivia Congdon
Interviews Senior Level May 19, 2016 7 min read

Telling the ocean’s stories

Helen Scales is a marine biologist, writer, broadcaster, explorer and all round polymath. Two of her greatest passions are the oceans and storytelling. Her love of the sea and academic background, and a flair for narrative, have led to several books, the most recent of which, Spirals in Time, was published last year. She also

Jim Pettiward
Scientist Interviews May 9, 2016 6 min read

From intern to inspiration story: landing an adventure job in the Peruvian Amazon

Scottish zoologist Holly O’Donnell doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. When a university professor told O’Donnell that her bachelor’s degree was worth “toilet paper” and that she was going nowhere, she could have abandoned her career dreams. Instead, she fundraised and interned her way from Scotland to Antarctica, Paraguay and the Peruvian Amazon, where she

Kristi Foster
Interviews Senior Level April 25, 2016 4 min read

So you want to be a Marine Conservationist?

Sam Craven, an established marine conservationist, works for Zoox as a senior programmes officer in the Philippines. Zoox is an organisation that was created to help budding marine conservationists to gain the experience and training they need to enter a career in marine conservation, and their programmes allow volunteers to get involved with a UNEP

c.a.chivers@hotmail.com' Charlotte-Anne Chivers
Interviews Senior Level April 15, 2016 9 min read

From Rainforests to Reefs: the Australian-based Conservation Master’s

  With arid lands, rainforests and the Great Barrier Reef within roughly 1000 kilometres, plus a worldwide reputation for cutting-edge research in environment and ecology, the University of Queensland is an exciting place to train future conservationists. In 2013, the Australian university launched a one-year Master of Conservation Biology and an 18-month Master of Conservation

Kristi Foster