Stella Diamant initially wanted to be a vet until she realised that killing lab mice and being indoors weren’t for her. A trip to Madagascar as part of WWF’s Young Volunteer Programme combined with a passion for marine megafauna seeded a love for the country, its people and wildlife which led her to set up the Madagascar Whale
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Naima Montacer is an environmentalist adventurer. She strives to be as “green” as she can and encourages others to do their little bit. Her journey is full of thoughts, wildlife, food, conservation and adventures. Here she shares her advice for young conservationists of the future! I love skyping with students from all over the country.
Twenty seconds. That’s all the time you’ve got to impress a potential employer. You can’t even boil an egg in that time – not even close. And even if you could, it almost certainly wouldn’t help. Research shows that if employers don’t like your application in that kind of timeframe then you’ve had it. With
Professor Bill Sutherland, British Ecological Society President, kicked off their recent Ecological Careers Conference by getting attendees to think about what skills they’d need for a career in ecology and how they could go about obtaining those skills and experiences. Using the advice from this session, and other FAQs and speakers’ tips from throughout the day,
Looking for a job? Everyone knows how important your LinkedIn profile is. There’re no prizes for realising that I’m afraid. Not everyone knows how to write one though. That’s the hard bit. There’s no such thing as the perfect LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is constantly evolving and so is the way people use it – but
Ed Drewitt is a naturalist, author, broadcaster, tour leader, birder, photographer, public speaker, bird ringer, zoologist, diver, feather expert, and Peregrin researcher. Here Ed kindly shares his conservation careers advice… Why do you work in conservation? I´ve always been interested in wildlife, particularly birds, since I was six or seven – and was encouraged by my family
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
Rebecca Williams – Talent Acquisition Manager at WWF International – shares her secrets to writing a great CV. When it comes to finding a new job, there are many factors to consider but one of the most difficult hurdles to tackle is writing your CV (or Résumé as they call it in the US). If
Today we meet Lindsey West, Director of marine conservation organisation Sea Sense. The NGO, initially established in Mafia Island, Tanzania, in 2001, works closely with coastal communities in Tanzania to conserve and protect endangered species, including sea turtles, dugongs, whales, dolphins, and whale sharks. Lindsey is also a member of the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist
Rebecca Williams – Head, People & Culture Europe & Recruitment at WWF International – shares her secrets for writing cover letters. To bother or not to bother ?…that is the question. This dilemma struck me recently at a meeting of senior HR professionals, all of whom categorically stated that they never read candidate cover letters,
Have you ever wondered if you could be a wildlife journalist but not known where to begin? Conservation Careers Blogger, Charlotte Rixon, shares the wisdom of six successful but very different nature writers. Just like a perfectly captured wildlife photograph, a beautifully crafted piece of nature writing can be thrilling to create or behold. But
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
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
If you want to be a conservation volunteer, there are many different types of experiences available for budding nature enthusiasts. Conservation Careers Blogger Sarashka King reveals some of the main types of voluntary work available in this second in a three-part topic… Residential/working holiday This is a good opportunity to have a holiday where you are trying something new or
If you want to be a conservation volunteer, there are many different types of experiences available for budding nature enthusiasts. Conservation Careers Blogger Sarashka King reveals some of the main types of voluntary work available… Fundraising/ events Sarashka King at local Wildlife Trust stand helping to recruit members at the Cambridge Botanical Gardens Festival of Plants 2014, credit to
Yes. No. Maybe. Well, it depends. A survey done of 146 professional conservationists found that 61% had a master’s degree or higher. Conservation Career Blogger, Naima Montacer, gives us some insight in to figuring out if you need your master’s degree to work in conservation. As a gal with a Master of Science in Biology
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
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 career path to date. What’s your job title? I am the Michael Hearn
On 5 and 6 September 200 young people will come together in Cambridge for the UK’s first ever youth conservation conference. The event, A Vision for Nature, is being run by the youth conservation organisation A Focus on Nature, and is being supported by Conservation Careers. Lucy McRobert, Creative Director of A Focus on Nature,
Have you considered getting into field-based conservation? Choosing the best type of job that suits you can be challenging, but once you have it is useful to get your hands on some skills that will help you when out of the office and in the field. In this blog, Conservation-Careers Blogger, Zehra Zawawi, reveals some
In order for conservation to be effective, we need to engage audiences by using as many tools as we can. This includes writing, photography, and videography. While the written word and still images are extremely powerful, as we continue to move into this new technological age, creative videography will become more important in capturing the
