Are you excited to start a new decade and new year? 2020 is going to be amazing for so many reasons. To start of the new year and Season 2 I wanted to share a little bit about conservation project management, what is this nondescript role, why do you need a conservation project manager, and how do you find one for your project. A lot of people have asked me these questions over the past year - so I thought I would start the year answering the questions and generating an online conversation...

This week is the last official episode of 2019 and Season 1. As a listener you know by now that all projects have a beginning and an end. Season 1 is finishing one giant project before we set off on Season 2. Like all good project managers, we need to finalize the first season with a proper celebration and review lessons learned. This episode features a mix of celebration, lessons learned, storytelling, and what to expect for season 2. The Projects For Wildlife Podcast is part of the Speak...

Rachel Henry she is a U.S. fish and wildlife biologist. One of her primary roles is working with private landowners to achieve California tiger salamander recovery in Santa Barbara County. The Santa Barbara County distinct population segment of the California tiger salamander is a federally endangered species. Rachel is working to prevent the loss and destruction of habitat that represents the primary threat to the salamanders. At the crux of her work is a balance between species conservation...

Dr. Elizabeth McHuron works with pinnipeds, including seals and sea lions, for the past 10 years. She has a PhD from University of California Santa Cruz where she researched California Sea Lions energetics and foraging behavior. Her research interests lies in helping make conservation management decisions.

Dr. Nathan Walworth is an entrepreneurial scientist - who is on a mission to take action for our planet. He is co-founding various business and working with global partnerships to create innovative spaces for building solutions to some of our biggest environmental problems. Today we talk about his ocean microbial research and a company he co-founded called OceanSOS. This organization hosts global summits and connects people from all industries to take action for the ocean.

From the Wallace's Giant bee and the Rusty-Patched bumble bee, Clay Bolt has used art to bring awareness to some of the worlds most important animals and how we can help protect them.

National Geographic Explorer Sandesh Kadur is a Wildlife Film Maker and Conservation Photographer known for his contributions to Planet Earth II. In this episode we talk about his projects, the techniques he uses to plan a wildlife conservation project, and how to communicate the message to the right people to implement change.

Dr. Jennifer Brandon has a PhD in Biological Oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Through her research in microplastic pollution, she became passionate about teaching the world that our daily choices have lasting impacts. We talk about new technology to reduce microfiber and micro plastic pollution along with her research and how she developed innovative ways to study the smallest plastics in the world. This episode is full of innovation and inspiration

Doug is a professional conservation, wildlife and animal welfare photojournalist, whose clients include National Geographic Creative, BBC Wildlife, Australian Geographic, The New York Times, and the Australian Conservation Foundation. We talk about his work with platypus, flying fox, and penguins that live in Melbourne, Australia. His hope is that the images, information and skills he shares, will help engage people to care more, and so behave differently, towards the world around them.

South African penguins are using man made nests and loving them. Help the penguins by sponsoring a nest. This keeps them out of the hot sun and helps protect their chicks from predators.

As a project manager goals help you move in the direction you want to go. Setting goals is taking control of your life - kinda. We actually don’t have exact control of the outcome. The goal setting process starts with careful consideration of what you really want to achieve and ends with hard work to achieve it. This is why many people have trouble succeeding. In this episode I help make it simple and hopefully you will be motivated to start working on your 2020 goals!

A stakeholder in a wildlife conservation project can be practical or financial supporter. They can be advocates or researchers, a large nonprofit, farmers or a cooperative of farmers, hunting organizations, government agencies, sanctuary or wildlife refuges leadership teams, or general community members. These are the people you will work with to get buy-in for your project or the project you are managing.

Dr LoraKim Joyner is a wildlife veterinarian working with avian species. She helps lead the efforts to protect the Scarlet Macaw Parrot in Honduras. We talk about the current human-wildlife conflicts, poaching, and international trafficking. She shares the conservation success created by the Mosikito people in Honduras. She promotes the health of humans, for without the flourishing of people the parrots don’t stand a chance.

Dr. Nathan Robinson is a sea turtle researcher and storyteller. He connects people to the ocean and its wildlife through adventure and stories. He was the researcher who pulled the straw from the sea turtle's nose and its created a global ban on straws. "Ever since I can remember, I was always fascinated by two things: the ocean and dinosaurs. It is therefore fitting that I eventually began working with sea turtles"

This is the fifth and final episode in a project management series I set up to help leaders like you with the terminology and applications of project management for conservation research and projects.

This episode is dedicated to the implementation phase of the project management lifecycle. There are four phases to the lifecycle, initiation, planning, implementing, and closure.

Mitch Silverstein is the Chapter Manager for the Surfrider Foundation San Diego Chapter. Mitch is a native Californian with a love for all things ocean, wave & beach-related. As an activist, he strives to raise awareness of how our everyday choices affect the ocean & planet, and advocates for sensible environmental policy at a local level. His ultimate goal is to see good environmental stewardship become mainstream, even “cool.”

“Project management”, then, is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements. It has always been practiced informally, but began to emerge as a distinct profession in the mid-20th century. Project management processes fall into five groups and in this episode we focus on Phase 3 Execution!

Dr. Manuel Varela is a microbiology professor at Eastern New Mexico University located in the small ranch town of Portales, NM. He is the co-author of two books “The inventions and discoveries of the World Most famous scientists and “enter the world of microbiology: interviews of the world's most famous microbiologists.

I launched the Projects for Wildlife podcast was specifically to discuss human-wildlife conflict, what it is, why it exists, and how we can coexist with wildlife. Most importantly how do we set up projects that will create benefits for humans and wildlife? With climate change, loss of habitat, the expanding human population there will be more biodiversity conflicts and challenges - this means more human-wildlife conflict.

William Colaw and Cara Loeb the Founders Critter Facts a business that started as an app. Critter fact's mission is to spread knowledge, create curiosity, inspire appreciation, and foster engagement for wildlife and our environment. They promote wildlife welfare and support conservation efforts. These two critter loving folks found a creative way to educate children and adults with a critter fact sent each day. Let’s get into the details on how Critter Facts came into existence.

Joe Pietersen is a famous South African rugby player that is passionate about connecting people with rhino and painted dog conservation. He started Nkombe Rhino with partners to help rhinos and painted dogs, but also to give people a sustainable eco-tourism experience in the field. Through education and field work people from all over the world come to love and experience the wildlife he grew up with.

Dr. Emily Young is the executive director of The Nonprofit Institute. She has spent more than 20 years in various positions in philanthropy, as well as higher education. Prior to the University of San Diego, she served as vice president of community impact at The San Diego Foundation, where she was first hired to build its Environment Program in 2000.

Dr. Greg Rouse, a professor of marine biology at Scripps Institution of Oceanography focuses on Animal phylogeny, biodiversity and taxonomy, particularly annelids and echinoderms. He is also the Curator of the Scripps collections. In this episode he shares details about his research, finding a project team, and what it takes to get involved in marine invertebrate research.

This episode is about the Planning phase of project management. A review of the lifecycle phase of project management to tackle wildlife conflict and use recommendations and scientific solutions to protect wildlife. In the following case study I review all of the these recommendations and explore ideas from a project management perspective to resolve the human-lion conflict. You can use this concept to start planning your wildlife project.