Meetings are a core part of our working lives, and yet studies have found that 50% of time spent in meetings is often wasted. When viewed as a whole that's often billions, if not trillions, of dollars wasted annually, which could be put to much better use. But why do we spend so much of our precious lives clogged up in a confetti of mediocre meetings?! With calendars full back-to-back often borne as a badge of importance, rather than being seen as a problem to tackle. Here to talk about...

Have you considered going back to university and doing a Master's Degree in order to become more employable within the sector?   Perhaps you’ve looked at many programmes and wondered if they are tooling you up with the right skills employers value.   In today’s podcast, we’re speaking with Dr Stephen Green who’s the course leader for an exciting new Master's programme, designed and delivered in partnership with Conservation Careers, to train you in the core skills used by...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

  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...

Why is communications so important for conservationists? What communications skills are employers are looking for? And how can you start developing these skills, today? We answer these questions and more in this special edition of the Conservation Careers Podcast. Sir David Attenborough said that "Conservation is now a communications challenge". Awareness of this challenge is growing rapidly and it's something we keep coming back to in conversations with podcast guests and in our...

    What role do schoolchildren play in conservation efforts?   Why target them specifically, and how do you successfully establish and grow a conservation enterprise from scratch - now empowering over 13,000 young people to help tackle climate change and wildlife conservation.  That’s what today’s inspiring guest - Laura Dempsey - has achieved with Volunteers for Future.  Volunteers for Future harness the power of collaboration, bringing together passionate volunteers, young...

How do people and nature interact? How does nature benefit people? Which interactions have the greatest impacts, and how can research into these questions help tackle some of the biggest issues facing wildlife today?  These are some of the questions which today’s guest has dedicated his career to tackling.  Kevin Gaston is a Professor of Biodiversity and Conservation at the University of Exeter.  His work ranges from characterising people’s personalised ecologies to identifying priority...

In conservation, some issues tend to get a lot of attention from the donors when other, equally important issues, can be ignored.  What do you do in this situation to raise the profile, and much-needed funding, to conserve the overlooked species, sites and ecosystems?  To discuss this and more we’re speaking with Nina Seale from Synchronicity Earth.  Synchronicity Earth aims to be a different kind of conservation organisation. They are research-driven, raising and distributing donor...

Have you ever had a BIG idea that grabbed your attention and got you excited? And if you have, did you know how to start turning your idea into reality? Todays’ guest is a career switcher doing just this.  Tara Phillips is a Ted-X speaker coach who is developing an exciting idea to start an inspiring physical space where people can learn, convene and campaign about soil and soil-related issues. Called The Soil Centre, she hopes it will lead to action being taken to conserve and regenerate...

Many of us will have visited aquariums and marvelled at the marine life on display. But what role can an Aquarium have in supporting conservation efforts?  Here to discuss this and other topics is today’s guest Elizabeth Stephenson.  Elizabeth is the Program Director of the New England Aquarium’s Marine Conservation Action Fund - a grants programme that provides support for community-based and locally-managed marine conservation projects in low- and middle-income countries around the...

In this special conversation we're celebrating the 100th episode of the Conservation Careers Podcast! The CC Podcast was launched on 21st June 2018, and over the past five years we've talked to so many different people within the conservation sector, played with the format and enjoyed the ride.  We're proud to say that we've had 152,136 unique podcast downloads and a typical episode gets 1,500 to 2,000 listeners. We also have a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts and we're the top conservation...

Our guest in this episode is a good friend and someone I’ve wanted to get on the show since day one.   Described as the real-life Indiana Jones, Niall McCann is a TV Presenter, Explorer, and Biologist.  Niall has travelled the planet on biological expeditions in some of the most remote parts of the globe, and joins the show today to discuss his role as Director of Conservation for National Park Rescue.  National Park Rescue is a direct-action conservation organisation that focuses...

In this very special episode of the podcast, we take you behind the scenes of our NEW Conservation Pathway Programme. The Conservation Pathway Programme is designed to help career switchers like you discover how to confidently switch your career to conservation with expert guidance and support. In this episode I'm joined by Starlight Mundy, Business Growth Strategist and Community Accelerator, who's working with us to take our community programmes to the next level. I'm also joined by...

How do you switch careers from something entirely unrelated to wildlife and start to carve out a role for yourself in the conservation sector? How do you find your purpose, network effectively, get training support and secure high-quality experiences which can transform your work? In this episode, guest Edward Sanders discusses how he overcame these challenges and more. Ed has worked in the UK, Far East, Southern Africa, Middle East and Australasia in properly development and management for...

Can you picture yourself rescuing, rehabilitating or even releasing individuals from a Critically Endangered species in the wild? Or translocating wolves from Canada to be released in Yellowstone National Park in the US? Those are just two examples of the work of Dr. Malcolm McAdie, a Canadian wildlife veterinarian who’s worked with species such as wolves, snakes, Bald Eagle and Critically Endangered Vancouver Island Marmots. As a wildlife vet, Malcolm works with the Marmot Recovery...

What role do zoos play in conservation, why is diversity important and how can you get upskilled to have more impact?  We discuss these topics in front of an audience from within our CC Pro community on today’s podcast with Dr Helen Gath from the Durrell Conservation Academy.  Helen is a conservation ecologist passionate about enthusing others to protect the natural world. She holds a PhD on the Mauritius Echo parakeet and in her role as Conservation Training Officer enjoys...