On Thursday 26th May at 19:30-21:00 BST we held a special online seminar to shine a spotlight on some of the aspiring conservationists in our Evolving Conservation Leaders programme.
We aim to support and develop conservation leaders from an array of backgrounds and we’d love for you to meet some of these inspiring people and learn more about what they do!
Jane Murphy: Characterising Plant Phenology on Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles
Why is monitoring plants important, and what broader lessons can we apply for effective conservation? I’ll be talking about my MSc project on monitoring plant phenology responses to climate change in Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles. I’ll also apply this more broadly to highlight the role of research-based, adaptive management for bridging the barriers towards effective conservation.
Seb Haggett: Rewilding at Wild Woodbury
Come and hear about my role as a Ranger working on the Dorset Wildlife Trust’s first rewilding Project, Wild Woodbury. I will give a very brief overview of why we need rewilding and what we are hoping to achieve in the project, before having a closer look at the site and how we think it is going to change over the coming years.
Abigail Mustard: Rutland Water Nature Reserve
I currently work on the Rutland Osprey Project for the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, where my main role is engaging with a wide range of audiences, providing information about the Rutland Ospreys and the reintroduction project. I have always been enthusiastic about conservation, and I’ve been lucky to know from an early stage it was a career path I wanted to follow, so I hope to get across in this talk how I ended up where I am and a bit about where I would foresee myself in the future.
Bethan Mason: Primate Conservation and the Hidden World of Parasites
I’ll be taking you through my journey of becoming a parasite-focused primatologist, from veterinary laboratories in the Czech Republic to volcanic foothills in Rwanda. Understanding the parasitic diseases of primates can be a useful tool to aid their conservation. I’ll be introducing the threat parasites pose to wildlife, explaining how we monitor these parasites in the wild and discussing what we can do to minimise this threat.