Conservation Careers Podcast

10 Episodes
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By: Conservation Careers

Nick Askew from Conservation Careers uncovers what it's like to work in wildlife conservation. He explores how to get a conservation job, and discusses the latest industry news, by speaking to professional conservationists who share their career stories and advice. So if you want the inside scoop on the life of a professional conservationist and their industry, are feeling lost in your conservation job hunt and need some direction, or wanting to switch careers into conservation but don't know where to start - this is the podcast for you! Conservation jobs, conservation volunteering, conservation internships, conservation careers, conservation news, conservation...

Cristianne Close | Deputy Global Conservation Director WWF International
#116
03/19/2024

In this episode we’re speaking with the Deputy Global Conservation Director at WWF International, Cristianne Close. 

Cris describes herself as ‘passionate about creating positive change in the world, especially aiming to make the impossible, possible’. 

In this episode, we discuss how she gave up a fast-paced corporate career to follow her purpose and work in conservation.  

Now, as a senior staff member at WWF, Cris explains how her business acumen is helping her tackle one of the most insurmountable problems facing humankind - namely, reversing the loss of nature. 

During the conver...


How to plan for a gap year or career break? Julia Rogers | EnRoute Consulting
#115
03/04/2024

Have you ever felt like escaping the rat race and travelling the world? Seeking impact, adventure and new experiences? Perhaps volunteering for nature conservation organisations, and setting yourself for a career change or education when you return?

But with the world as your playground … where do you start? How do you plan such a trip to ensure your time and money are well spent?

Today we’re speaking with Julia Rogers founder of EnRoute Consulting. As a professional gap year counsellor - a new job title to me - Julia prides herself in understanding the compl...


Biodiversify-ing businesses and beyond with Michael Burgass (Director of Biodiversify)
#114
02/19/2024

Increasingly, the private sector is taking a growing interest in their impact on wildlife, and this could lead to a much-needed step change in conservation efforts.

But why do companies care about nature? How can they assess and minimise their impacts? And what sort of jobs are opening up for conservationists seeking to work in this exciting area of change?

Here to discuss these topics and many more is today's inspiring and thoughtful guest, Michael Burgass, Director at the consultancy Biodiversify.

Biodviersify helps clients to understand and improve their relationship with nature, working...


Lise Aangeenbrug | Chief Program Officer at the National Park Foundation
#113
02/05/2024

How do you raise nearly $100,000,000 per year to protect and conserve America’s 420+ National Park Sites? 

Sites important for recreation, education, and the conservation of endangered landscapes, natural communities and species. 

We discuss this, amongst many other things, with Lise Aangeenbrug. 

Lise is the Chief Program Officer at America’s National Park Foundation, the official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service charged with generating the funding needed to protect the National Park Sites. 

In the podcast we talk about the network of National Park Sites in the US, and how the foun...


Burnout in conservation
#112
01/23/2024

Have you ever felt like you’re energetically exhausted, mentally distant from your job, or less able to produce results at work?

There’s a chance that these symptoms could be related to burnout.

According to The World Health Organization (WHO), burnout is a syndrome “…resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”

As conservationists, our work is our passion, but that passion doesn’t make us immune to burnout. In fact, it might even make us more susceptible.

And the effects of burnout can be dire for conservation...


Patience Thody | Deputy Chief Executive The Wildlife Trusts
#111
01/08/2024

If you’ve spent time in the UK and visited a local nature reserve, then chances are you’ve been to a site managed by one of the 46 individual Wildlife Trusts that collectively represent 2,000 staff, 35,000 volunteers and nearly 1 million members.  

Helping to coordinate this huge force for nature is the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts of which today’s guest is their Deputy Chief Executive. 

Patience Thody left the commercial banking sector and switched her career towards wildlife conservation and the charity sector. 

She’s using her twenty years of HR and Operations Management e...


How important are volunteers in conservation? Rhoda Ludford - Volunteering Development Consultant with the RSPB
#110
12/13/2023

How important are volunteers in conservation? 

What are the different types of work you can do as a volunteer, and how can it benefit your career? 

We answer these and many more questions in discussion with today’s guest Rhoda Ludford. 

Rhoda is the Volunteering Development Consultant with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds - Europe’s largest wildlife conservation organisation with over 2,000 staff, 10,000 volunteers and 1 million members. 

Rhoda has worked for the RSPB for 22 years, mostly in volunteering development and have recently moved into species recovery where she is respo...


Charu Mishra | The world’s foremost expert on snow leopard conservation
#109
12/04/2023

We ran a live event in partnership with Conservation Optimism, to explore and celebrate the work of Dr Charu Mishra - the world’s foremost expert on snow leopard conservation, and double Whitley Gold Award Winner.

Conservation Optimism is a global community dedicated to inspiring people to make a positive difference for nature, and co-hosting the live event with me was Sofia Castelló y Tickell.

 Together we spoke to Charu, who is the Executive Director of the International Snow Leopard Trust and Co-Founder of India’s Nature Conservation Foundation.

He’s spent 25 years working...


Dr Rebecca Jefferson | The power of social science for conservation
#108
11/20/2023

Why should more conservationists learn to study people?  

To better understand them as individuals, communities and societies, alongside their complex behaviours and interactions. 

This is what today’s podcast is all about, and it’s something termed social science. 

Here to discuss the power of social science for conservation is today’s guest Dr Rebecca Jefferson. 

Rebecca runs Human Nature, a social enterprise which seeks to empower conservationists to have a more positive impact on the planet through training, collaboration and support. 

We talk about why social science is important fo...


How to raise more funding for wildlife conservation
#107
11/06/2023

 

What can Coca-Cola teach us about how to better save wildlife, in Australia and beyond? 

And why should more governments set up charitable foundations to protect their national parks and threatened wildlife? 

We discuss these and many other issues with today’s inspiring guest - David Goldman. 

David is the Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer at the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife in Australia. 

A truly innovative model, the FNPW is the Charity Partner of Australia’s Government, with a mission to safeguard their wilderness and wildlife for future generations. 

To date...