In this opening episode of the Conservation Careers Podcast, Nick Askew speaks with Patricia Zurita, CEO of BirdLife International. BirdLife is the biggest conservation partnership on the planet, with charities in 120 countries working from local-to-global to conserve birds and biodiversity. In this episode Patricia shares her career story so far, and how she got from
It’s mid-June and, in Chinko National Park, deep in the heart of the Central African Republic (CAR), the wet season is approaching. The atmosphere is hot and humid. The air black with thick swarms of mosquitoes and tsetse flies, their thirst for blood insatiable. Andrew Russell is just one month into his placement here. He has
I spoke with James Lowen. Nature Lover, Author, Wildlife Photographer, Travel Guide amongst other things. I asked him about his love of nature and where it all began, his writing and photography and what advice he could give people… What first got you interested in nature and did you consider when you were younger that
Dr Kerry Kriger is the Founder and Executive Director of Save The Frogs. This USA based charity is on a mission to protect amphibian populations and promote a society that respects and appreciates nature and wildlife. For the last 10 years, their staff and volunteers have created over 2000 educational programs in 57 countries. They
Sarah Morgan studied ecology at Cardiff University, now she is a free-lance science communicator running her own business; Eco-explore education. Her business provides science workshops to schools, community groups and for events, specialising in making science accessible for children with additional needs. I spoke to her about her experiences and what it’s like to be
For more than two decades Dr Iain Staniland has worked for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), carrying out research on Antarctic wildlife and producing numerous scientific publications. He created the blog – Antarctic Dad and has spent a combined total of four years living in the great white south… Keep reading, we may be some
Hayley Blackwell is the Scientific Officer for Elephants for Africa (EfA), originally from the UK, but has been living and working in the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, Botswana since 2016. Initially joining EfA as a volunteer research assistant for one year, Hayley was offered the position of Scientific Officer, an opportunity she couldn’t refuse… What
South Africa is home to an abundance of frogs and toads (~130 species) and Dr Jeanne Tarrant is taking a lead to be the saviour for these ‘little’ guys. As the manager of the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Threatened Amphibian Programme (TAP), she and her team aim to address a growing need for the involvement of
It takes courage to ask for help. Even more so when that person is a stranger. Harder still to ask for expensive equipment, or request accommodation and travel expenses. But, by doing just that, filmmaker and photographer Lacy Wittman managed to turn her passion for elephants into an ongoing adventure and part-time career, at little
Breaking into the field of Marine Biology as a recent grad can be daunting and you’ll likely encounter many rejections. “Sorry you don’t have enough experience” is an over-used phrase that will hold you back on getting your lucky first job. But how do you break the cycle of need experience to get a job, but need a job
WWF have 58 offices around the globe and around 6,203 staff. Mary Ellen Swenson is a Human Resources Coordinator at WWF and is based at the headquarters in Gland, Switzerland. Her role involves a lot of work in social media, promoting vacancies, shortlisting and doing interviewing. In an interview with Conservation Careers she describes what
Conservation Careers has teamed up with Bushwise to provide professional Field Guide Training in South Africa. With over 10 years’ experience in training field guides for the lodge, safari and conservation industry in South Africa, Bushwise is a leading Field Guides Association of Southern Africa (FGASA) field guide training provider. “95% of Bushwise students are being
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
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
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
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.
Jenny MacKay is Reserves Officer for The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. The Trust manages 128 nature reserves (covering 2,400 hectares of land) for the benefit of people and wildlife in the UK. It also works to make these wildlife havens bigger, better and more joined-up – vital to help wildlife to adapt to a
Jules Howard started out his early career at Froglife, a charity committed to conserving the UK’s native amphibians and reptiles. Two published books and plenty of stories later, he’s come full circle and has re-joined the organisation, as a patron. His work for the Guardian and BBC Wildlife is both novel an engaging, whilst his
David Bevan didn’t fully realise is passion for plants until he was 40 years old. Now aged 75, he has devoted the last 35 years of his life to studying botany, caring for local green spaces and inspiring a love for nature in others. A retired natural history teacher and former Conservation Officer for the
This is a short version of the article. To gain a more in depth insight into how the project was designed and the science behind the research, in addition to photographs of wildcats from the first formal project field survey, please read the full version here. Scottish Wildcat Action is an ambitious conservation project launched
So you’ve graduated with your degree in biological or environmental sciences and were expecting an instant pay-off for all that hard work? But you’ve seen no such thing as of yet. If you’re nodding your head – welcome, friend. Graduating can be a difficult and confusing time, especially if you’ve never been out of education
Dr. Marcus Barber spent a year living in a tent, tore his knee in a footy match, chopped up a pelican for dinner and directed an impromptu documentary, all in support of Indigenous water rights. Here the environmental anthropologist with Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, shares the challenges, lessons and life-changing experiences of more than
It is estimated that in Australia alone there are a quarter of a million species of fungi. As our understanding of the largely undiscovered and often overlooked world of fungi grows, volunteers and researchers in mycology continue to make new and interesting discoveries that have huge impacts on conservation. One such researcher is Pam Catcheside.
Conservation Careers Blogger Christine Pereira interviews Aaron Weil – Federal Conservation Advocate for Environment America – about his fascinating career story… Why do you work in conservation? As a child, I didn’t really have much opportunity to enjoy nature as I would have liked, so I spent many of my summers at a camp where I was in
Andrew Snyder is a conservationist and photographer currently working on his PhD in Biology in the U.S. He has been doing field work in tropical rainforests for several years, focusing on amphibians and reptiles, and is involved with Operation Wallacea, a conservation research organization that gives young people the opportunity to do volunteering in tropical
Julia Marton-Lefèvre is the Director-General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world’s largest conservation membership organization, which brings together states, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, scientists and experts in a unique worldwide partnership. She is the longest serving Director General, and has led the organization for over 7 years. Julia shares with us
One of the best ways to start a career in conservation – or just to find out if you really want to pursue a career in this sector – is to volunteer on one of the many interesting projects worldwide. How would you know which one to choose? Here are 8 key considerations… 1)
Ecotourism is a fast growing branch of the tourism industry. It focuses on showing people the natural world and its wildlife. It has also been acclaimed as the best solution for attaining the often conflicting goals of conserving our planet´s habitats and creatures, and improving people´s quality of life through economic development of a region.
Joan Kawaka is a Marine Research Scientist working with CORDIO East Africa (www.cordioea.net) and a proud mother of two. She has over six years of experience working with East African coastal communities and in the marine ecosystems of the Western Indian Ocean. Conservation Careers Blogger Michael Murunga interviewed her to hear her fascinating story. How
Pablo Elizondo partners up with local communities to protect endemic species in Costa Rica. Conservation Careers Blogger and former Costa Rica Bird Observatories volunteer Stella Diamant speaks with Pablo about his daily work, the importance of reaching out to local people and why budding conservationists should not give up. What is CRBO? CRBO stands for
