How to stay connected with the impact of our work?
As conservationists, we all want to know that our efforts are making a difference. We want to feel confident that our work is helping to save species and restore habitats.
In the early stages of our conservation careers, this sense of purpose often drives us. It’s usually easy to see a direct link between our work and the positive outcomes for nature.
When I first started out, my job was to conduct surveys for Barn Owls in the Lower Derwent Valley near York in northern England. This involved locating previously overlooked pairs of these charismatic birds and building and installing nesting boxes.
Through these efforts, I helped find and conserve nearly 100 pairs of Barn Owls. I could clearly see the impact of my actions. Simply put, when I built a nest box and Barn Owls made it their home, I knew that I had personally made a difference for a species I cared deeply about.
I was directly connected to the results of my work—I could see and feel the impact.
As my career progressed, I found myself in a new role as a Communications Officer at BirdLife International. My job was to write news stories and press releases about bird species of global conservation importance. I was tasked with bringing attention to the challenges these species face and highlighting the work of the BirdLife Partnership in conserving them worldwide.
In my first week at BirdLife, we received thrilling news: a long-lost population of Beck’s Petrel, a seabird not seen for 80 years, had been rediscovered in Papua New Guinea. I quickly drafted a press release, gathered images and quotes from various sources, and began sharing the news with press offices globally in the hope of raising awareness for this Critically Endangered species.
The story was a success, being published in hundreds of newspapers and websites worldwide. An NBC news story about it is still live today.
However, despite the excitement, I found myself wondering—what real impact did it have? Yes, thousands of people read or heard about Beck’s Petrel and the important work BirdLife International was doing. But what tangible difference did it make?
When we work on a larger scale, and when we are many steps removed from the actual impact, it can be hard to determine whether our work is making a difference. What “butterfly effects” might we be creating now or in the future?
I believe this is a common challenge for many conservationists as they advance in their careers. Often, we transition from fieldwork to managing teams or programmes, which can feel removed from the hands-on, impactful work being done on the ground.
So, how can we maintain a clear connection to our impact, especially when our roles become more removed from it?
If we can do that, we are more likely to stay motivated, positive, and effective throughout our careers.
Here are a few suggestions from my experience, and I’d love to hear your suggestions also.
1. Celebrate the Wins and Recognize Your Role
Conservation work is often delivered through projects and programmes, where teamwork is key. When good news comes in, take time to celebrate it and recognise the role you played in making it happen. For example, as a fundraiser, I celebrated every successful proposal. I knew that the project successes we saw, even years later, were partly due to my efforts in securing the initial funding.
2. Stay Connected to the Field
As back-office staff, it’s easy to feel disconnected from the on-the-ground conservation work. Some of the highlights of my career have been visiting projects, meeting staff, and gaining a deeper understanding of what’s happening in the field. Most importantly, these visits allowed me to see how my work was contributing to those efforts. If you have the chance—or can create opportunities—to visit the field, do it. It’s like rocket fuel for your motivation.
3. See the Bigger Picture
In our job application training sessions, we often encourage people to ask, “So what?” when describing their work. This simple question helps connect their efforts to a broader context and clarifies the importance of their actions. For example, at BirdLife, I helped launch a blog platform where partners could write and publish their own news. So what? This gave partners a global platform to share their stories. So what? This helped partners feel more connected to the BirdLife family, fostering stronger collaboration towards global conservation goals. So what? You get the idea. Every action, no matter how small, contributes to something bigger and more impactful.
Reflecting on these broader outcomes is essential. Hiring managers might not remember the blog I created, but they might remember the stronger sense of unity within the conservation partnership that it helped to build.
The same is true for us. Once we identify the bigger contexts our work serves, our motivation often increases and stays high.
If you’re feeling disconnected from the impact of your work, maybe it’s time to reconnect with the bigger picture, visit the field, and take a moment to celebrate the wins you’ve helped create.
Go you!