Interviews Mid Career February 5, 2018 5 min read

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)

Kathleen Retourne
Interviews Senior Level December 19, 2017 5 min read

What’s it like to work in European fisheries policy?

Amelie Knapp is a Policy Officer at European Commission Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. Here she tells us what it’s like to work on fisheries policy within the European Union, and she shares her career secrets. What work do you do? I work to ensure that EU Member States collect scientific data on their fisheries.

Dr Nick Askew
Interviews Scientist September 12, 2017 5 min read

How to Start a Career in Marine Biology?

Leila Fouda is a marine mammal conservation scientist. She is lucky enough to be able to travel to far flung and beautiful places studying whales, dolphins and other marine mammals for her job. She tells us what it’s like to work as a marine biologist, and provides advice for people looking to work in the

Dr Nick Askew
Interviews Senior Level August 29, 2017 6 min read

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

Kathleen Retourne
Interviews Senior Level August 14, 2017 6 min read

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

Kathleen Retourne
Interviews Celebrating Diversity in Conservation August 12, 2017 3 min read

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
Early Years Interviews July 27, 2017 7 min read

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

Adam Moolna
Interviews Early Years April 17, 2017 7 min read

‘Carrion’ in Conservation! – An Interview with a Raptor Ornithologist

I first met Katherine Smith just over a year ago at a VuPro conference in Hartbeespoort, South Africa. Since interning at VulPro she has achieved fantastic heights in her career, recently being involved in a Parahawking organisation in Nepal, dedicated to creating awareness about the plight of endangered vulture species across the world. Parahawking you

Emma Ackerley
Interviews Senior Level August 3, 2016 5 min read

What’s your Global Vision?

When was the last time something turned your world view upside-down? Maybe it happened during a meal with a homestay family or while talking to a stranger amidst luggage and chickens on a packed local bus. Maybe it happened in the middle of a moving documentary, when you glimpsed an animal in its last remaining

Kristi Foster
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 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
Interviews Senior Level May 5, 2016 6 min read

Living Seas: From dolphins to dredging with Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s Abby Crosby

Abby Crosby is the Marine Conservation Officer for Cornwall Wildlife Trust, working within their Living Seas department which focuses on Cornwall’s diverse marine life, all the way from corals to basking sharks. The Living Seas aim is to collect data, create awareness of threats to marine wildlife, and campaign for better protection of Cornish marine

Kaitlin Flood
Scientist Interviews December 31, 2015 5 min read

Nothing but the horizon, and plastic pollution

Conservation Careers Blogger Stella Diamant shares her recent work as a research scientist onboard one of The Ocean Cleanup’s ‘Mega Expedition’ vessels in the Pacific. She documents the plastic pollution in the Pacific Ocean, and it’s impact on wildlife. After 3 months spent working 24/7 in Hawaii to coordinate the ‘largest ocean research expedition in

Stella Diamant
Interviews Senior Level December 31, 2015 1 min read

What’s it like to work for Birdwatch Ireland?

How do you become a conservation officer? Alex is Senior Conservation Officer for BirdWatch Ireland – a voluntary conservation organisation in the Republic of Ireland, devoted to the conservation and protection of its wild birds and their habitats. It was formerly known as the Irish Wildbird Conservancy. WHY DO YOU HAVE A CONSERVATION JOB? Initially, because

Dr Nick Askew
Interviews Senior Level December 31, 2015 7 min read

Sharing indigenous knowledge for a more sustainable world

From edible wild fruits to traditional land management systems, ethnobotanist and ethnoecologist Dr Nancy Turner’s work centres on the relationships between people, plants and environment. Focusing on work with indigenous plant experts of northwestern North America, the Distinguished Professor studies traditional knowledge and resource management systems that can help inform modern sustainability. Her words remind us all to take

Kristi Foster
Interviews Mid Career December 31, 2015 1 min read

What’s it like to work for Butterfly Conservation?

Zoë Randle: The Butterfly (and Moth) Effect Butterfly Conservation Survey Officer Zoë Randle talks to Conservation Careers Blogger Charlotte Rixon about why moths and butterflies matter, meeting Sir David Attenborough and dispelling those jumper-munching myths. How did you get into conservation?  I got into conservation by lucky accident. I’d never wanted to go to university,

Dr Nick Askew
Interviews Mid Career December 31, 2015 1 min read

What’s it like to work for Action for Trout?

Action for Trout Conservation with John Zablocki John is the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout Conservation Coordinator for Trout Unlimited.  Trout Unlimited is a USA based NGO with about 180 professional staff and 150,000 grassroots members whose mission is to conserve, protect and restore North America’s trout and salmon fisheries and their watersheds. Why do you work

Dr Nick Askew
Interviews Volunteer & Internships December 31, 2015 1 min read

What’s it like to work for Save the Rhino?

Save the Rhino International – Interview with Rory Harding, Michael Hearn Intern 2013 Save the Rhino International are now looking for applicants to be the ninth Michael Hearn Intern at Save the Rhino, a one year fixed contract, paid internship based in London. Here we speak with the outgoing Intern Rory Harding about his experiences and

Dr Nick Askew
Interviews Animal Welfare December 31, 2015 7 min read

Ten questions with Zoo Education Curator Rick LoBello

Conservation Careers Blogger Naima Montacer was excited to speak to her friend and former boss Rick LoBello about his past. Rick LoBello is Education Curator at the El Paso Zoo. He has also worked in several National Parks including Big Bend, Yellowstone, Guadalupe Mountains, Carlsbad Caverns and now is the current Education Curator at the

Naima Montacer
Interviews Senior Level December 31, 2015 5 min read

Sustainable tourism ecopreneurs: transforming the way the world travels

Tourism and conservation might seem at odds, but with more than 1.1 billion tourists travelling every year and a growing demand for environmentally and culturally responsible tourism, the sector is poised to have a positive impact on nature – if the right people get involved. According to Leonie Bowles, Corporate Partnerships Officer with Conservation Volunteers

Kristi Foster
Interviews Mid Career December 31, 2015 2 min read

Nikita Shiel-Rolle – creating change one wave at a time!

Nikita Shiel-Rolle is the founder and Director of the Young Marine Explorers in The Bahamas. She completed her Undergraduate degree at University of Miami and is currently working on a Masters of Science at the University of Edinburgh. Here she tell us about her conservation career so far… Why do you work in conservation? I

Dr Nick Askew
Interviews Early Years December 31, 2015 1 min read

What’s it like to work for Froglife?

It’s a Frog’s Life with Paul Furnborough Paul Furnborough is a Conservation Officer with Froglife where he works as a reserve warden on the Hampton Nature Reserve – home to 30,000 great crested newts – and coordinates volunteers and manages projects. He is now studying for a Masters by Research, and his dream conservation job

Dr Nick Askew
Interviews Animal Welfare December 31, 2015 6 min read

The Road Leading to Manx BirdLife – an interview with CEO Dora Querido

James Walker is currently employed as a summer bird surveyor for Manx BirdLife, so for his first assignment as a Conservation Careers Blogger he decided to interview their new CEO Dora Querido. Dora originally hails from Portugal and has worked on conservation projects in several countries. Why did you choose conservation as a career? It is actually quite

James Walker
Interviews Volunteer & Internships December 31, 2015 5 min read

A career helping whales and dolphins with Catarina Fonseca

Catarina Fonseca is the Researcher and Volunteer Coordinator for AIMM – Associação para Investigação do Meio Marinho / Marine Environment Research Association – in Portugal. Here she tells Conservation Careers her watery story… Why do you work in conservation? Since I was a child I’ve dreamed about working with dolphins. I started studying Biology after

Dr Nick Askew