The rabbit warren of securing research funding has meant I largely neglected science communication for the past few months. Writing well is hard, writing articles people will actually read is even harder! So it’s wonderful when nice people do a lot of the hard work for you, thanks Dan.

A few weeks ago it was my pleasure to talk all things conservation and optimism with Dan Clarke who runs a great long form podcast series called ‘Escape the Zoo‘. Despite having done a few podcasts recently, I don’t know much about actually presenting and processing a podcast – so I was immediately impressed by the big shiny microphone hanging infront of Dan when we connected in skype. He clearly means business!

It was even more exciting, that after he intereviewd me, Dan spoke to one of my all time heros –Jeremy Hance, of Mongabay fame. If you don’t know what a Solenodon is, then listen to Jeremy first!

If you have an appetite for more, then here’s a link to download my podcast, and many more!

Download the Podcast: HERE

Super Attention to Detail:

It’s also worth noting, just for a moment, how awesomely thoroughly Dan has followed up, and linked to, all of the topics I mentioned. See below! Now, if only more media was like this…

Sources for topics discussed:
Lost and Found Nature: https://bit.ly/2yvnS6C
Joe Rogan Podcast: https://bit.ly/1uyQQHd
Trophy Documentary: http://trophy.film/
Toxoplasma Animation: https://bit.ly/2q3M7nO
Mark Scherz Taxonomist: http://www.markscherz.com/
Chytrid fungus: https://bit.ly/1Hqs2bT
The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert: https://amzn.to/2tIFgTB
Enset Ethiopian crop: https://bit.ly/2dOQPzG
Spris Ethiopian drink: https://bit.ly/2Pgl32Q
Shawn Heinrichs: http://www.shawnheinrichs.com/
Indonesia fishing village success story for manta rays: https://bit.ly/2JGfW6e
Paul Hilton: http://www.paulhiltonphotography.com/
Racing Extinction: https://racingextinction.com/
Coyote Peterson: https://bit.ly/2duLEWI
Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown in Madagascar: https://cnn.it/2OFH4bV
Cheetah Conservation Fund: https://cheetah.org/
Elephant Bee Fences: http://elephantsandbees.com/
Elephant chili dung: https://wwf.to/2ySTjay
Wild Hope by Andrew Balmford: https://bit.ly/2OJ8gXl
End of the Line documentary: https://imdb.to/2R4fzWa
Human Planet BBC: https://bbc.in/2IT57xs
Conservation Optimism: https://conservationoptimism.org/

P. S. The picture of the dude with the tiny chameleon is actually my good pal Lawrence Ball, he’s better looking, but we get mixed up a lot – mainly because we’ve worked together so much that he’s plastered all over this website. Check him out…

A few weeks ago the folks at Save Our Species invited me to answer a few questions for their Newsletter. Here’s what we talked about… but before we leap in, this is a good point to mention that SOS gives away some huge threatened species conservation grants ($25,000 to $800,000)- check them out.

Tell us about yourself and what you do?

My name is James Borrell and I am a research fellow at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England.

My main research interests are in using genetics to guide and support conservation, especially in the context of isolated and fragmented populations, but also in thinking about the potential for organisms to adapt to change.

I have used a series of grants over my career to help fund work in research, conservation and expeditions – all of which I believe are important complementary activities.Early on I won some small grants which were more a vote of confidence, rather than allowing me to do anything substantial. Later, I won a trio of modest grants worth a few thousand pounds (sterling) each that allowed me to pursue my own novel research interests on ‘edge effects’. These helped me in my PhD, which was part of a larger grant, and also as a Post-Doctoral researcher working on an even bigger grant.

People often find it surprising and perhaps confusing to understand how you jump from a small, declining birch tree (the focus of my PhD), to amphibians, to a crop, and so on – I’m also doing a little work on gibbons and rare desert endemics in Oman, at the moment!. But the continuity is much more about techniques and biological questions, rather than the specific study species.

Winning your own grants is key to being able to develop your own research theme, but juggling several at once can be tricky for an individual at least.

What did you do in Madagascar?

I mainly got very wet and muddy trying to catch frogs and chameleons with a great team of scientists! But more importantly, the focus of the research was on edge effects. When we see statistics of the amount of remaining forest in countries like Madagascar, they are alarming enough, but what we don’t think about is all those thousands of miles of ‘edges’ where the forest meets scrub and grassland.

Historically edges would have been a pretty uncommon habitat, with conditions that are often less humid, warmer and sunnier than the deep forest interior. But with deforestation and fragmentation these conditions are now much more common and widespread. My research team was interested in which species can and cannot tolerate these conditions. In a nutshell: are any species (for example, small delicate amphibians) more vulnerable because of these edge effects?

As regards conservation, I think expeditions and fieldwork are hugely important. Research effort is hugely biased towards where facilities and research stations happen to be located. Whilst there’s definitely some advantages to that, working in remoter areas can often throw up some interesting surprises or push you to question assumptions. That’s another important message in conservation – sometimes we don’t even know what we don’t know.

What kinds of challenges might one encounter in being a grantee?

Different grants require a wide range of different reporting standards. Some need very few updates and a report at the end, others require frequent interim reports. It’s important to understand the requirements at the beginning, and even better to build a relationship with a contact at the granting body.

Similarly, and especially in conservation, plans can often change in response to new events or developments. Some grants are very tolerant and flexible, others less so. The moral of the story is to thoroughly and diligently research your proposals – if you win the grant, make sure you can do what you said you’ll do.

What changes are you seeing in the grant-making landscape?

The grants available to you change much more quickly as you progress through your career.

One thing I have noticed is an increasingly prominent focus on ‘Impact’. I think on balance that is a good thing, but many will agree that impact is still a devilishly difficult thing to measure effectively. We all want to achieve it, but are reluctant to be judged by imperfect metrics.

And communications…

Communication is important, and I hugely enjoy it, but for me it’s secondary to the science. That doesn’t mean I don’t do much science communication – quite the contrary – but I can’t give a great talk, write an interesting blog or record a video presentation if I haven’t got great science to talk about.

What are you working on now and how is this relevant to species conservation?

I’m currently working on a crop called Enset, or false banana. Enset is an unusual plant for a number of reasons. First and foremost it’s only ever been domesticated in Ethiopia, where it’s the staple food of 20 million people! Meanwhile outside of Ethiopia almost no one has ever heard of it.

Enset is also remarkable in that it supports some of the highest population densities anywhere in Africa. It’s drought tolerant with excellent yield, stabilises soil, can be harvested any time of year and stores well. All in all it’s a fantastic tool for food security. And where you have food security, in a country where forest loss has been severe for example, then you have an environment that is much more conducive to conservation.

Why did you get involved in conservation and how?

Seeing as we’re living through one of the most precarious times in history for life on earth, I wonder how more people aren’t involved in conservation in some way. My own interest was sparked in Madagascar as a teenager – it is, I think, a microcosm of all our challenges, hopes and opportunities rolled into one beautiful country. After visiting Madagascar, how can you not be inspired to try and do something useful.

I’ve been hiding under a rock writing papers for the past few months, but recently I did emerge to talk to the @Science_ish folks about life, extinction and how far should we intervene in the ebb and flow of other species?

…and of course, in the spirit of science communication, it’s all weaved into the context of the big scary new Jurassic World film.

Welcome to another off season tour episode of A STORM OF SPOILERS!

This week, Neil is back and all three hosts watched two delightfully silly dinosaur movies in the Jurassic Park/Jurrassic World series to discuss. After the usual Storm Chasing segment that brings up Cooking on High, Fortnite, and books, the gang delves into 1997’s The Lost World to prime ourselves for Jurassic sequel territory – the main course – Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. We’re playing it pretty fast and loose with spoilers in the second segment, so jump off at 39 MINUTES IN if you care about dino-spoiling.

As I’ve said many times before (probably to justify why my own PhD took so long!), conservation is really hard. Very smart people have been working away for years, and yet globally, we’re still hemorrhaging biodiversity. If you were to solely focus on the negatives, it might get depressing; but we are making progress.

Now, more than ever, is an exciting time to become a conservationist, and along with the many, many ways into conservation, a PhD is one of the many roads you can take.

Why study for a PhD in conservation?

When I first applied for a PhD, I thought it was at long, long last, an opportunity to earn a small income for doing something I loved. In the UK at least, the stipend is something like £14-16,000 a year, tax free. It’s not a lot, but after paying to study for an undergraduate degree (which more recently is >£9000 a year!) it seems like a big step in the right direction.

I thought being accepted was a validation of all I had learned so far, and that I was, essentially, being employed to do a good job of investigating the conservation genetics of dwarf birch. OK, it wasn’t the most exciting species, and it’s not even that rare, but the approach was cutting edge, and crikey it was something to get stuck into.

But the longer and longer I studied, the more I began to realise that a PhD is not about doing a job. Instead, it’s about continuing to learn. They often say that by the end of your PhD (3-4 years in the UK) you could do it all again in six months. A PhD is about having time to learn – learning how to apply for grants, how to design experiments, how to speak about your work, how to conduct fieldwork and perform analyses, and then how to re-do, but better.

It’s about learning how to accept experimental failure, journal rejection and criticism from peers; how to handle big data, understand new concepts and make your code reproducible. If you have a successful career ahead of you, then as you get busier and busier these are the things that you’re likely to have less and less time to learn in the future. Even in the few years you study for a PhD, the technology changes phenomenally.

PhDs vs Real Jobs

I’ve seen a lot of great aspiring conservationists put off by the idea of committing to continue studying, when you are at least in your early 20s, and perhaps older. Shouldn’t you just get a real job?

In my view, the great thing about PhDs is that your job is to learn and develop new skills. You can treat it as professionally as you like – many folks work more or less 9-5, attend meetings, take career development training courses.

In the UK, you don’t have to pay tax on your stipend, so the pay doesn’t look so shocking after all.

After weighing it all up, if you want it to be, it’s not that different from a conventional job – and if you’re lucky, you’ll have what so few people manage: Work that you enjoy.

Where to Find PhD’s in Conservation Science Advertised

FindaPhD.com – A great first port of call.

NERC DTPs – In the UK, lots of PhDs are now awarded as part of Doctoral Training Partnerships. It’s worth understanding how they work. Lots of universities then advertise their places, here’s UCL as an example.

Jobs.co.uk – Also advertises lot of PhD opportunities

PhD Portal.com – Covering PhDs from further afield, too.

Do You Need a Masters or PhD to Work in Conservation?

Tips for Applying for a Conservation PhD

Above all have a passion for what you study.

Understand that publishing is important.

Types of Funding (and why you probably shouldn’t take a self-funded post)

Aside from the obvious fact that most people couldn’t afford to take a self funded PhD, there’s two even more important reasons to think carefully about taking a self-funded position.

1) To produce good quality research, you not only need a good candidate (you, hopefully), but also need a good project. Project applications are assessed in many of the same ways as candidates and papers – good ones, that are well designed, achievable, and will produce meaningful research get funded. Bad ones (or often ones that are quite good, but not quite good enough), don’t get funded. It’s these latter ones that are sometimes advertised as self funded. So to paraphrase, a PhD that already has funding attached is likely to be a better project – and that will give you a great head start.*

2) Having funding from an organisation like NERC or BBSRC – big UK research councils can be very helpful as it opens up further opportunities. These councils often run heavily subsidized training courses, with students they fund being given priority. Just because you have another funder (or your own funding), doesn’t mean you won’t be able to do training courses, you might just have to work a little harder for it.

3) Lastly, PhD funding isn’t just about money for you – the stipend. It also encompasses all of the money to do your research. Now you definitely don’t need a lot of money to do great research or discover something novel, but, it might improves your chances. So do investigate what level of funding a prospective PhD comes with, and what you might be able to do with that.

*As with everything in science, there are exceptions, but I think this is a useful yardstick.

If you’re not sure about a PhD..

You could try an MRES. What is an MRES?

“Master of Research degrees are relatively new but getting increasingly popular. In contrast to other Master’s programmes such as the Master of Science or Master of Arts, the Master of Research is especially focused on preparing students for doctoral research.

The programme structure is hence usually more flexible and involves a comparably large dissertation based on independent research or a practice-led research project. The Master of Research can be similar to a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) and be awarded to students on the way to / instead of a Ph.D.” – MastersPortal.eu

You can find a list of them, here.

The Importance of Stupidity

Finally, and most importantly, don’t worry if you feel stupid.

“Science makes me feel stupid too. It’s just that I’ve gotten used to it. So used to it, in fact, that I actively seek out new opportunities to feel stupid.” – Martin Schwartz

If you knew what you were doing all the time, it wouldn’t be called research.

As a teenager I read Life of my Choice by Wilfred Thesiger, one of the last great explorers, whose elegant prose painted Abyssinia (as Ethiopia was called then) in a mighty and majestic light. That, together with Bono’s Band Aid, more or less summed up what I knew. But for the past six months I’ve been working on a project out in the South and West of the country, and here’s a few things I’ve learnt since.

1. In Ethiopia it’s currently November 2010 (I’m writing this in February 2018!). You check out the local date and time, here.

2. If the date hasn’t confused you enough, the day starts at 6am, which if you think about it really makes sense. So if you want to meet someone at 9am, then you need to suggest 3 o’clock in the morning.

3. Ethiopia is perhaps the only African country that was never colonised. Yes it was occupied by the Italians for a few years, but they never succeeded in controlling the entire country.

4. Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous country after Nigeria and just ahead of Egypt. Current estimates are around 103 million people.

5. Addis Ababa is the world’s 5th highest capital city at around 2400m. Every now and then if you leap up a few flights of stairs, it’s noticeable!

6. Spend any time in Ethiopia, and you’ll quickly encounter ‘fasting’, which is a key part of Christian culture. As well as every Wednesday and Friday, there a several longer periods including the 55 days of Lent. Fortunately, fasting doesn’t always mean total absinance from food, and as a result there’s some amazing vegetarian creations. Here’s one I encountered in Gurage.

7. Ethiopia is the likely origin not only of humans, but also three important crops: Coffee, Teff and Enset. The last of these, totally unknown outside of Ethiopia, is the staple for 20 million people living in the South and West. It’s what I’ve spent the last six months studying.

8. The African Union is based in Addis Ababa – and they have a very nice new shiny building built by the Chinese.

9. Ethiopia has huge Christian and Muslim populations living together. Just in case you thought it might be – It’s literally, not even a big deal.

10. Ethiopia has fantastic endemic wildlife. From the legendary Ethiopian wolf, the Gelada or Bleeding-heart monkey to around 30 endemic or near-endemic birds.

11. On account of it’s altitude, Ethiopia has a very low incidence of malaria – but this could deteriorate with climate change.

12. Across the country some 88 languages are spoken – which makes fieldwork a little bit tricky. After some work, I can now say hello in four of them, but that’s it!

For more about fieldwork in Ethiopia, follow my Instagram feed.

As much as I enjoyed my PhD, I’ve held off writing this post for the last four years. Better not to count your chickens until they’ve hatched, and I was waiting to hold that weighty thesis in my hands – which I did, finally, last year.

To be clear, you definitely don’t need to be a scientist, doctor, professor or demi-god to work in conservation. In fact, many of the folks that I admire most have only what they learned in the field – and that is often what counts most. But on the other hand, it can be a great way to get into conservation, and so here’s a few things to think about along the way.

Tips for a Conservation PhD

1. Choose a project for the skills, not the species

A PhD is about learning. Not necessarily about the intimate life history of a species (although sometimes that’s the project), but normally a project is built around an approach, technique, idea or theory. Sometimes they use model organisms or long running field sites, established datasets, or something totally new. Whatever the case, you need to be as excited about the idea of lab genetics, bioinformatics, recording phenology, biochemistry etc… as you are about the animal or plant in question.

Sometimes ‘boring’ animals like insects or fish (or perhaps even plants!) are a good choice, because it often means you can get larger sample sizes.

2. Choose your supervisor (as well as the project).

Just as important as a fun sounding project, is a supervisor you can get on with.

A well-known senior academic could be useful, but they are also the busiest, and so it can be hard to get time one-to-one. On the other hand, with an early career academic you might be one of the first PhD students they’ve had. In this situation you’re likely to get a lot more contact and support, but remember you’ll both be learning about the process as you go. Some supervisors are very hands on, others will leave you to get on with it. Which do you prefer?

3. Try and come up with a good way of explaining what you do…

… And don’t worry if it changes every time. Just keep practicing.

It might vary depending on whose asking; a colleague, family, friends, someone at a conference. Whilst it’s useful from a science communication perspective, remember that writing a thesis or paper is also just science communication, but just to a specific audience.

4. Get a publication under your belt, early if you can.

Unfortunately, little else counts in academia if you don’t have publications. Writing a paper is a great way of learning about the game process – which they don’t always teach at university. If the worst should happen – try not to let rejection put you off, papers are invariably better the second (or third!) time around.

5. Everything will take two to seven times longer than you think.

No matter how long you plan for, things will always take longer. In the field, a rogue sheep might eat one of your experiments (it happened to me!). Or in the lab, a chance change in the air conditioning settings might mean a protocol inexplicably stops working (it’s happened!) for a few months.

Plan what you absolutely have to do. Plan what would be nice to do as well. Plan what would be a real bonus, and most importantly, plan when to stop.

6. Don’t rush the end… (if you can avoid it!)

There’s a saying that you do (achieve) more in the last six months, than in the rest of your PhD put together. There’s probably some truth in that, not just from the mad panic of putting together a thesis, but in the level of skill and experience you develop over three to four years.

7. Make a note of all the stuff you do

I guarantee, in two years time, when you reopen that folder to find some data, you won’t remember what all those thoughtful meaningless file names really mean. Keeping a lab journal, or something similar can be a really useful way of managing your time and looking back at old aspects of your project.

8. Make the most of university grant schemes.

There’s often extra money available for fieldwork or conference attendance. Seize the opportunity, your supervisor will be very happy that you’ve found ‘extra’ money, and writing applications for funding is great practice. Beware sometimes you have to apply before your final (4th?) year – so be organised.

9. Go to conferences and present your work

On that note, at any conference you go to, apply for a talk or poster slot. There’s nothing to lose. Don’t worry about nerves, or what precisely you might present until you’ve got a place. You’ll never feel like your research is ready, but the process of forming what you have so far into a talk or poster can often be very useful.

10. Bring something unique to your department

Try to do something – one thing – really well. Perhaps even be the best person at that thing. It might be a particular technique or method that you’re interested in. It could be a computer language that you’re very good at, or fieldwork experience in a particular place. In any case, be the person people think of when that particular thing needs doing.

11. Respect the lab tech.

If you’re lucky enough to have a lab technician in your research group, then worship them. They often have a very broad list of duties, from helping with experiments through to making sure you wear a lab coat or managing lab supplies, so don’t waste their time unecessarily. Crucially,  more-so than many academics, they’ve seen and made all the mistakes there are to make. If something isn’t working, ask the lab tech, it could save weeks of work.

12. Know when to stop.

Folks often begin their PhD with the perception that they’ll work at answering their research question… and then they’ll have the answer! What normally happens is that one question leads to many, a few tantalizing answers reveal themselves, and at the end you’re more confused than when you’re started.

Importantly, know when to stop. Better to do a good job writing up three experiments, than to make a hash of writing up four.

Lastly…

Don’t worry, if you feel like you don’t know what you’re doing. Neither does anyone else!

A while ago I wrote an article about some of the good things zoos do for conservation. Now I hadn’t realized how vehemently some people hated zoos (and sadly, how afraid many great zoos are about sticking up for their work). Suddenly, it became one of my most read articles.

Every time something bad happened, like the gorilla that escaped (but didn’t), journalists call around looking for someone on each side of the argument. Luckily for them, Born Free and PETA are all to happy to point out the negatives. Meanwhile, everyone closely involved with zoo’s seems to keep a low profile, and a little stuck, journalists end up asking me for a comment.

Now, I’ve never worked in a zoo, but I do believe in balance – in seeing both sides of an argument. So I’m very happy to advocate good zoos, and only good zoos from a conservation perspective (my article about the great stuff they do is here). But all that doesn’t mean that zoos can’t improve.

I thought I’d take the chance to highlight some of the things I think they could do better – starting with the very arguments used against them.

Common Problems With Zoos

1. Keeping animals in cages is cruel, and we don’t have the right.

Yep, captivity is certainly cruel to an extent. But for me it depends greatly on scale, and how well you can replicate the natural environment. It’s a lot harder to make a nice environment for a lion, than it is for a critically endangered crayfish or snail that’s extinct in the wild.

I’d definitely like to see bigger zoo enclosures, with fewer, if any, really large animals (I’m thinking lions, tigers, elephants). But at the same time, where a species is seriously endangered – for example the Amur leopard (~200 in captivity), Asiatic Lion (<400), I think there’s a great argument for captivity and captive breeding programmes too.

It depends, I suppose, which you think is worse: captivity or extinction? I believe it’s the latter, but of course I can see how some people feel it’s the former.

2. Zoos are just for entertainment.

I’d agree that some folks go to zoo’s for entertainment, whilst some folks go to learn. But by far the biggest group, is the grey area in between.

Now the difference between the good zoos and bad, is that good zoos work harder and harder towards making those experiences educational – or at least they say they do. What isn’t debated, is the fact that 24 million people visit zoos in the UK every year. So like it or lump it, let’s make those visits worthwhile.

Zoos deliver what the public wants. So the best way to influence the zoo experience is to be a discerning customer. Be fussy, if you don’t agree with them, don’t go. But in the same vein, if there’s parts you do like, then speak about that too.

Here’s how:

• People go to see animals. So the bigger the enclosure, the harder it is for those exhibits to be seen. The public needs to tolerate that much better (how often to you overhear people moaning that an animal isn’t out on display?)
• Big animals draw in visitors. So embrace the little stuff too – that’s arguably where zoos are doing some of their most worthwhile work.
• Don’t read those rubbish alarmist stories about Gorillas that I deliberately havn’t linked to, because if you read them, newspapers will keep writing them.
• And don’t go rushing to a zoo just because it’s had a baby panda/polar bear/tiger. Because it doesn’t help encourage responsible behavior.

3. Zoo keepers are cruel.

This is a weird one, that I don’t agree with. Yet the stories come up again and again. Most people ‘like’ animals and wildlife – especially folks that work at zoos. In my experience, zoo keepers have been some of the most passionate conservationists I know.

4. If you want to see animals, you should go see them in the wild.

Hey, I agree! Great!

Ecotourism, in it’s many flavours – if done right – can be a great force for conservation.

But lots of people can’t, don’t or wont. Perhaps for many, it’s the zoo or not at all? Or maybe if there were no zoos it really would make more of us embark on that once in a lifetime trip to Africa… It’s hard to know.

In any case, when it comes to zoos I’d turn to science, and ask the question: Does seeing animals in a zoo, make you more engaged with conservation in the wild? Fortunately, there’s lots and lots of literature on this, and it seems like they do.

But here’s the most important point: If you want to see the biggest most exciting mammals, then you really should go to the wild – your experience would be all the richer for it. Put it this way, would you rather see a caged tiger a dozen times in your life, or just once, wild, after a long arduous journey in the breathtakingly beautiful Ranthambore wetlands with the birds singing and sun setting. I know which I’d choose.

5. None of the money from zoos goes towards conservation

Here’s my take: I’d like to see more spent on overseas conservation of the species they exhibit. At the same time, I’d like to see a much clearer link between the two. Visiting a zoo should support conservation not just in captivity, but in the wild – and it should be crystal clear. That’s the aspiration.

The good news is that many zoos are doing this already, but perhaps it slips under the radar for the casual visitor. London Zoo work all over the world, Colchester Zoo runs Action for the Wild, I’ve even won a grant to work in Mozambique from WWCT, which run Paignton Zoo.

But is it enough? On this topic, I’d recommend this excellent article. The jist of which is:

“A few years ago Los Angeles Zoo spent $42 million on a new, six-acre enclosure for Asian elephants…” meanwhile… “…at many zoos, Boyle says, only 1 percent of the budget goes to conservation. He says AZA is pushing members to get to 3 percent, but there’s no minimum required donation for AZA accreditation by the association. A boost to 10 percent would send $800 million a year to wildlife”

One more thing…

6. A little note about branding and hypocrisy….

Whilst I often hear people lambasting zoos, animal sanctuaries seem to be the greatest thing since slices bread. But I’d say for many, there’s little difference except branding.

One of the ironic things, is that PETA even has a list of criteria for a ‘good sanctuary’, which funnily enough matches, more or less, the characteristics of a good zoo.

A few more articles on the topic:

• Are Wildlife Sanctuaries Good for Animals?
• How Captivity Helps Conservation
• Introducing the Modern Zoo
• Arguments For and Against Zoos
• When You Walk Into a Zoo, Are You Helping Animals or Hurting Them?

I may be a little late to the party, but this past year I’ve discovered podcasts. As well as getting to grips with well some known science and technology series (e.g. Radiolabs, Freakonomics and TED talks), I’ve also been on the look out for engaging environment and conservation podcasts.

It took a bit of searching, but there’s quite a few that seem to be taking off. Hopefully, if we listen and support we might be rewarded with some more in the future!

Conservation and Environmental Podcasts

1. Wild Voices Project

A cool new project, that has already interviewed some awesome folks (check out episodes with Panthera Chief Scientist Alan Rabinowitz and home grown conservationist Peter Cooper – who guest blogged on this site too).

2. The Modern Explorers

One to watch (a.k.a. not launched yet!). It’s long been promised, and ought to be excellent when finally released – Martin Holland has interviewed all kinds of explorer folks with a strong environmental message running throughout. Stay tuned for updates, here.

3. The Mongabay Newscast

Mongabay is just about the best conservation and environmental news website around – if you havn’t heard of it, where have you been? It’s podcast has been running around a year and a half now. If a little dry to start with, it’s getting better and better and is a great way to keep up with conservation news. Here’s a round up of their best stories – and here’s how to subscribe.

4. Eyes on Conservation Podcast

A series bringing you ‘engaging conversations about a vast array of wildlife conservation issues from all across the globe’. All available here.

You might also like ‘From Field Biologist to Filmmaker’ – it’s a five part series from the folks at EoC specifically about transitioning to wildlife film making. Well worth a listen.

5. Defender Radio

A little ‘animal rights’ flavoured, for my tastes. Perhaps the fact that it’s run by ‘The Association for the Protection of Fur-bearing Animals’ gives it away? But nevertheless, it covers a wide variety of interesting topics, with a new episode nearly every week. Download episodes here.

6. Nature’s Voice Podcast

With a back catalog of 100 episodes, this is the official podcast of the RSPB. They bring you “features, interviews and news of birds and wildlife, from back gardens to the Sumatran rainforest.” Download them all here.

7. BBC Radio 4: Costing the Earth

A programme looking at man’s effect on the environment and how the environment reacts, questioning accepted truths, challenging those in charge and reporting on progress towards improving the world. Subscribe here.

8. Conservation Matters Podcast

In interesting (largely US focused) series hosted by conservationist Shane Mahoney. I really enjoy that he covers controversial topics ranging from trophy hunting, cats v birds, and the trade in rhino horn.

9. HumaNature Podcast

Stories where humans and habitats meet, from Wyoming Public Media. Here’s a quote from Outside Magazine – “If you’re interested by the absurd, scary, and fascinating ways in which people interact with the natural world, this podcast deserves your ear.”

10. Sustainability Defined Podcast

I havn’t tried this one yet, but here’s what it says on the tin: Each episode focuses on a single topic that helps push sustainability forward. We explain each topic with the help of an experienced pro, place it within our organizational tree, and help our listeners define what exactly sustainability is, episode by episode.

Lastly, two of my favourite Radiolabs episodes…

Radiolab – The Rhino Hunter and Galapagos

Here’s a few more that I havn’t had chance to try, feel free to suggest others below:

• Player FM: List of Wildlife Podcasts
• The Guardian: Science Weekly
• The World Land Trust: Controversial Conservation
• Endangered Species International: Field Podcasts
• Living on Earth Podcast

Lastly, if you want to be really brave progressive, then why not listen to something that might challenge conventional conservation views. There is great value, at least, in seeing an opposing perspective, even if we might not agree with it.

What lessons does driving across Africa teach you? Humility; check. Patience; check. But most importantly; that pre-conceptions are almost always wrong.

Beginning this journey I was most nervous about Zimbabwe. We’d heard horror stories of police, bribes and corruption. Aside from the odd officer trying to boost his pay packet (after all, they’re chronically poorly paid), it turned out to be one of our favorite countries. The variety of habitats within its borders is spectacular. Six months later, it has even shaken itself free of Mugabe’s clutches. I can’t wait to see it blossom.

Turn then to Mozambique. As we trundled down Tanzania I was nervous. Were we being brave or foolhardy in trying to drive the stonkingly huge length of Mozambique, especially given recent unrest around the Zambezi. We were confidently reassured by many people we met that a ceasefire was in place and all was well. They were right, we encountered more kindness and hospitality in Mozambique than perhaps anywhere else.

All this reminds me of something Wilfred Thesiger said, whilst travelling amongst the nomads of Arabia. “The harder the life, the finer the people”. And given the challenges facing many African countries, I think that rings true.

As for success stories… The one that sticks with me the strongest is the guard dogs (who think they’re sheep) at the Cheetah Conservation Fund. The best solutions are often the simplest, and that project is simply genius – do give it a read. And if I could go back in a heartbeat, it would be to the Blue Mountain overlooking the mighty Niassa reserve in Northern Mozambique. That view had us in awe for three days straight, and perhaps we would have never left if it wasn’t for the sweat bees!

I write this final installment from a train trundling through London’s suburbs. It’s perhaps as far removed from the African bush as it’s possible to be. I think sometimes that the goal of travelling is to experience some sort of epiphany. If only I could draw some profound conclusions from all we saw… We will, instead, have to be content in the knowledge that many of you followed our journey – thank you. I hope you have seen a side to Africa and conservation that perhaps you didn’t know existed before.

I’ll sign off with a quote from Henry Miller. He said simply “One’s destination is never a new place, but a new way of seeing things”. I hope we can find a new, more optimistic, way to see conservation, too.

This article is part of series commissioned and published by Tentsile. It follows our overland journey across Southern Africa in search of inspiring and positive conservation stories. You can read the original article on the Tentsile blog, or catch up on the whole series.

A long way from anywhere

We nearly skipped Mozambique altogether. If driving a Landcruiser across Africa wasn’t scary enough, the specter of sporadic violence and unrest lingering on after two decades of civil war was enough to make us just a little nervous. I’m so glad we didn’t, and here’s why.

At three times the size of South Africa’s (already enormous!) Kruger Park, the little known Niassa Game Reserve in Northern Mozambique is one of the largest protected areas in Africa. A big dark, wooded splodge on the map that we dreamed of visiting on our journey. Part of the reason why it has survived is that it is so fantastically remote. Sensible people would fly in, but we had little choice but to drive and at our pace it was some 12 hours from the nearest reasonably sized town.

Niassa, and the region surrounding it is characterised by huge imposing granite outcrops that loom unexpectedly from the plains. Hidden away, and taking much care to avoid humans, are lions, elephant, buffalo and even wild dog. Hidden too are the resident poachers and loggers, a problem which the Niassa Reserve authorities are constantly battling. The elephants here are wise, and rarely seen as a result.

The largest tract of wilderness in Africa?

We dreamed of visiting this region because Niassa lies close to the Selous Game Reserve in Southern Tanzania, and a corridor has recently been designated between them. Added to this is the neighbouring Mikumi NP to the North, the Quirimbas NP to the East, alongside a medley of other game concessions. All told, this could be the largest tract of wilderness left in Africa, and it’s close to being protected and treated as one – at least on paper. Standing on the ‘Blue Mountain’, a granite outcrop near the park HQ, with a magnificent wooded vista before you; you can’t help but get the feeling that one day this could be the beating heart of conservation in Africa.

Heading South our next goal was Gorongosa. Nervously we crossed the Zambezi River, stopping at regular police checkpoints and avoiding potholes that could swallow a small family car. Once one of Africa’s most iconic safari destinations, years of civil war rendered Gorongosa an empty Eden. A great green expanse, devoid of large animals. Now, thanks to the bold intervention of the Carr Foundation, Gorongosa is emerging from the ashes, ready to rival the likes of South Luangwa in Zambia or Mana Pools in Zimbabwe. The park was buzzing with activity, tourists, researchers, rangers – it’s a remarkable success story that would have been unimaginable a few decades ago.

Empowering communities

Mozambique has an impressive 2,500Km of coastline, and so no journey would be complete without searching out a deserted beach and exploring it’s diverse marine life. And so we set out for the legendary Bazaruto archipelago, rolled off the side of a boat and descended beneath the waves. Words can’t do justice to the profusion of marine life, from devil rays to sea turtles and monster moray eels to a passing dugong.

Had we listened to our fears we might have avoided Mozambique, and we would be all the poorer for it. Conservation in Mozambique is like a phoenix rising from the ashes of civil war. The moral of this story is not to judge a country by the things you hear in the media. There’s wildlife all around the world, stuck in the middle of conflict – and striving to recover just like the human population after these conflicts end. Where it’s safe to do so, responsible tourism can help not only conservation, but people too.

This is part seven of the Tentsile Africa Overland Series, read more, here.