Written by Amy Tobin In 2022, I travelled to Indonesia on my third trip to see orangutans in the wild, but this trip was different. On this trip, I attended with my work colleagues and visited places where my work was supporting the restoration of habitat in Borneo through donations from our kind and conservationist supporters. This trip, like a lot of my journeys, gave me time to reflect, and it guided me to question many things. – I’ve thought a lot about what I’d write for a Lonely Conservationist Blog and I’ve been wanting to share my story here for a long time, after reading the guest post blogs,…

Written by Aaizah Tahir Vampyroteuthis infernalis (the vampire squid) is my favourite cephalopod. It is incredibly cool and mysterious but also a bit silly with its movement like a vampire cape flowing behind it, its eerie appearance especially when you first notice it in the depths of the sea, and its weirdly long filaments with which it collects marine snow to feed on. Also, it lived among the dinosaurs – how cool is that? It is the first animal I learned the scientific name for (and I am very proud of the fact). You see, I’m an aspiring marine scientist and will be studying marine science at university soon. But…

Written by Kashmir Flint It’s a Friday night, and I am sat, alone, in my bedroom, browsing the Lonely Conservationist blogs to try and find a story that resonates with me. This situation feels all too familiar because it is one that I was in around six months ago.   When my most recent seasonal contract ended, many of my colleagues and other workers within the organisation would ask with kind smiles, ‘So, what next for you?’ I hated that question, cringing at my answer of ‘Well, I’ll be moving back to my parents and starting again’. To some people, I’d admit that I was embarrassed about my situation, living back…

Written by Hezy Anholt I’ve always found freedom and fascination in wild places. Between semesters at university, I planted seedling conifers in remote Northern regions for the Canadian forestry industry, and I found a sense of peace in heavy manual labour amongst those ancient trees and sharp young mountains. I became perfectly comfortable in those wild spaces, and I fell in love with wildlife. The very moment I finished veterinary school, I moved to Nigeria to work for a conservation project trying to save endangered monkeys and chimpanzees from extinction. The NGO had been formed in the 80’s by a young American couple driving through Nigeria on a transit visa.  Due to…

Written by Jax Bath Hi, my name is Jax and I’m a lonely conservationist. I grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa and have only ever wanted to be two things: a singer, or a conservationist. I can’t tell you when my love of nature started, it has always been intrinsic to me, spurred on by the nanny who raised me and the way I grew up. I was a shy, introverted yet eccentric child and nature has always provided solace and a sort of “company” that I rarely find in people. From saving bees from naughty boys at school, to questioning the fishing practices on a Mozambique holiday, to being…

Written by Isna Windi Astari Since I was a teenager, I have loved reading and keeping up with news and information through National Geographic magazine. My interest in nature is getting stronger as I get older. I started to join the youth community concerned about the environment and build relationships with people who share the same interest in environmental issues. Meanwhile, my study background is in library science. Even though my study background is not related to natural sciences, this has not discouraged me from studying the biodiversity that exists in nature. Entering the early days of college, I followed the agenda of a non-governmental organization in Indonesia. In the…

Written by Nisha Bhakat Content warning: Childhood Abuse In front of our house in Baharampur town, there used to be two large trees. One sprawling Delonix regia with its boisterous scarlet blooms, and one lightning struck shell of a Cassia javanica. Despite this, the Cassia tree continued to host interesting birds. It’s where I saw a barbet drill its nest for the first time. It was a Coppersmith Barbet, a determined little thing with its plumage a striking green against the dead bark. I didn’t have a great view from our ground-floor balcony so I climbed a few steps up the caged railing with my small camera in hand. That…

Written by Gareth Davies As the ever optimistic Dory from Finding Nemo says – “Just keep swimming” For as long as I can remember I have been passionate and fascinated by nature and as a young child for many years was the proud adoptee of a duck at the local reserve. It has now dawned on me that many species I have had the great fortune to see and sometimes interact with, might not be around in the near future for my children and for further generations. For them not to be able to have the same opportunities and experiences, but to see ecological balances collapsing is almost incomprehensible. As…

Written by Svenja Tornow Growing up in a European capital city could have provided me with all the benefits of an urban environment. I am now 26 and could not guide someone through my home city. Rather I would roam around the neighboring fields and forests, would lose myself in the moving clouds and take photos of everything around me. My name is Svenja and I have spent most of my childhood in the outdoors where dreams of a better world would grow and not burst by the laughter and disbelief of ‘the adults’. For as long as I can remember I was interested in and amazed by rhinos. I…

Written by Anagha S I am Anagha S, a life science postgraduate, from Mysuru, Karnataka, India. I grew up in Bangalore, Karnataka, India utill I was 11 years old before moving to Mysuru, Karnataka, India, where in both cities I have been to wildlife sanctuaries. My older cousin is a highly involved cat conservationist, he inspired my father to take me to a few sanctuaries nearby many times. In bangalore, there is Bannerghatta National Park, and near Mysuru there is Bandipur National Park and Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary where every summer my family members, including me, have enjoyed watching birds and boating there in the Kaveri River. My high school teacher V. Ganesh…

Written by Tania Roa One article. That’s all it took. One article on the sixth mass extinction underway convinced me to take action. After learning about the countless lives lost due to human development and other activities, and irreplaceable species going extinct, I knew I would never forgive myself if I didn’t get into the field of conservation. It seemed ridiculous to do anything else – as if I would be contributing to all those deaths if I didn’t get involved. It was the first time I felt a true calling, but I had no idea how to go about it.               When I was young, people thought I would…

Written by Gareth Davies Hi, I’m Gareth and originally from Gloucester, a semi-rural part of the southwest of the UK, now living and working in New Zealand. I have been interested in nature and also photography from a young age, including my first ever adoption of a duck called Parker (I’m a huge Thunderbirds fan) from a nearby wildlife trust. I used to borrow my grandparent’s Kodak 126 camera to record some of my early travels around the UK as a child and have always had an avid interest in both photography and wildlife ever since. When I left school, I joined the Royal Air Force as a darkroom tech,…

Written by Renuka Kulkarni A few weeks ago, I had a breakdown. Anxiety, a sense of futility and hopelessness about what I do, loneliness; you get it. I reached out to a friend, telling him how starting a PhD all over again felt so tough. This man is blunt, and he told me, mincing no words, that doing a PhD is a full-time job and he doesn’t know anyone who did it part-time while working 40 hours a week elsewhere.  So yeah, PhD is a full-time job; what do you do if you have two such jobs?  It’s a choice that feels like walking a knife-edge. I work remotely for…

Written by Praneetha M Trigger warning: Suicidal themes As I sat back to write this piece and tell the world about some of my darkest, weakest moments, I had intended to focus on just one particular incident. However, I soon realized that it was a cumulative turn of events and my efforts towards them that had led me to a complete and utter burnout 15 years since I started working for animals and the environment. I was 6 when I first knew I wanted to work with animals; 10 when I decided to dedicate my life to the protection and preservation of the environment and planet for good. So, my…

Written by Audrey Keen In 2017, I began my college career at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. A classic freshman, waiting to meet the stranger I was going to live with in a shoebox-sized room and nervous for what my new life would entail. I never had a huge dream of going to college and getting a specific degree for a specific job. I kind of thought I wanted to go to NC State, but got deferred and chose a school close to home. All kinds of aimless decisions were made back then.  During my first year at UNCC, I felt out of place. Lonely, and still aimless…

Written by Rosie Miles When your job involves flying in helicopters, putting collars on darted lions and walking with wild cheetahs it’s hard to convince people that my job is not the most interesting thing about me.  For the most part, I only have a vague idea about what my friends who are outside of the conservation sector do for a living. My decades of working in the field mean my understanding of the real world is limited, so I can’t even begin to imagine what a normal day at work looks like for my friends that work in finance or systems management. This doesn’t mean I find them any…

Written by Astrid Leclézio Nature has always been part of my life. It is my safe place where I have space to think and feel connected to the present moment and the environment. Research has also shown that spending time in nature brings multiple benefits to human wellbeing and mental health. Therefore, after completing an undergraduate degree in Psychology and in need of a break from life’s challenges, I couldn’t think of a better place to restore my mental health and wellbeing than the beautiful, magical Southern African bush. I lived in the bush for an entire year, where I completed a field guide course and volunteered at an organisation…

Written by PJ Beaven I didn’t know what to do. There I was, living my dream, something I had fought so hard to achieve, but all I could think about was quitting. Fifteen years of blood, sweat, and tears (sometimes literally) were about to go down the drain. I had swum with dolphins, introduced guests to belugas, trained polar bears, played with sea otters, and moved across the country to work with elephants. Deep down, I knew quitting wasn’t the answer. After all the struggles I went through to get where I was? But quitting was all I could think about. I just didn’t want to be Here anymore. How was that even feasible?…

Written by Madhushri Mudke As conservationists and environmentalists, we feel guilty about our lifestyle choices almost everyday. When we make a choice with the knowledge that we are potentially harming the environment, we feel guilty or unhappy – this feeling is termed ‘Environmental Guilt’. Something as simple as a visit to the market to buy groceries can make or break our day. For example – the unnecessary use of plastic to wrap vegetables at a supermarket vis-à-vis a farmer’s market where vegetables are sold loose. Almost all of us would love to bring home vegetables in reusable cloth bags from the farmer’s market sans plastic. Being environmentally conscious myself, I…

 Written by Kate Stephenson aka Kate on Conservation Back in January 2020, ahead of the most life-changing of events that many of us would ever face — and certainly the most life-changing that we have all faced collectively — an extraordinary thing happened. I entered Terra Incognita’s Travel Writer of the Year competition, centred around ethical tourism — and the judges selected me as a prize winner! To set the scene, I began my media and communications career at the age of 15 – after a year of work experience and maxing out on opportunities for young writers and reporters, I landed my first paid-per-article role, and set the ball…

Written by Merin George “How does your research directly help society?” – is the second most common question I get. I work on forest ants. This question is trickier to answer, especially in my research field, where the effects on society are more indirect. I agree that research, in general, is meant to help society as a whole improve. But not every research is going to directly change society as a whole. Research on diseases, crop improvement and climate change will help millions and significantly improve our society. But research like mine on ant diversity is not going to directly change society as we know it. The world isn’t holding…

Written by Jessica Myers He found me in front of the bookshelf sitting cross-legged, immersed in one of the many dark blue books entitled SHARKS in a bold, red font. When I wanted to turn some pages, I could choose from fine art books, my DK’s children’s encyclopedia, the Silence of the Lambs series, or anything about sharks. My father was responsible for the collection, a physical representation of his fascination. Between the pages, you’d find newspaper clippings – the crudely cut edges of a shark attack stories, softened from years of rereading. I can’t recall what started the conversation, but in my excitement of recounting what I was reading…

Written by Andrea Godoy Mendoza I grew up in a country with a wildly biodiverse and exuberant natural world but where, ironically, starting a conversation about sustainability or conservation will often get you labelled as an idealist or a hippie (at best). I may not have been fully aware of what I was getting myself into when I checked “Biology” as my chosen career path on my university’s admissions form back in 2012, but I am so glad I did. In a country where most of the population struggles to feed themselves three times a day, choosing to pursue a career in conservation can seem almost tone-deaf. I could have…

Written by Gemma Bruno I’m sure like many other aspiring conservationists, we were weird kids. I was particularly weird and extremely creative. I would spend hours making things for animals like houses, dungeons, mazes, fairy gardens, and occasionally the odd outfit for my cats. Although as a kid I probably traumatised them, I always knew I wanted a connection to animals and to work with them one day. However, throughout school, I had quite prevalent learning difficulties. They would continually affect my mindset on being good enough for a biological career so I could work with wildlife.  So my route into conservation was a strange one, I took a BTEC in Animal…

Written by Tamara Kovačič Lonely Conservationists posted a while back that they needed a new photo for their Instagram page. I have quite a few photographs in stock because I am a biologist and have previously had the opportunity to visit many lovely places. So I gave it a go. While browsing through the folders, I came across photos from the 2018 bio camp. Each year, the Biology Students Association from Biotechnical Faculty hosts a biological camp in one of the Balkan countries. The topic is the study of different ecosystems in the Balkans. This means that the leaders divide the students into groups based on their interests, such as…

Written by Nicole Lussier A scarlet macaw screeching overhead, a pink river dolphin chasing your boat, a caiman basking in the sun; the flora and fauna of the Amazon Rainforest are truly incredible. The Amazon is, of course, one of the most biodiverse places on earth, with over 1500 species of birds, 430 mammals, 16,000 species of trees, and 70,000 species of insect per acre. We’ve all heard of the negative impacts that deforestation and habitat fragmentation have on this ecosystem. I’ve learned in several classes how monoculture farms are destroying the biodiversity of the forest, how oil extraction is tearing down hundreds of thousands of trees and destroying the…

Written by Debanngini Ray When people ask me, how did you end up doing what you do? My usual reply is, “In the morning I chase the butterflies and at night I let the fireflies lead the way!” Growing up in a neighbourhood devoid of tall buildings or infrastructure, surrounded by Assam-type houses (type of architecture developed during the late modern period in Assam featuring high ceilings and sloped roofs, leaving plenty of crevices and cosy nooks) in Guwahati, I literally grew up amidst urban wildlife! Add to that, tons of trips to National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries and other Protected Areas as a kid (since my dad worked for the…

Written by Kayla Fratt I was fired, effective immediately. Through tears, I listened as the man who’d scouted and hired me for my dream job explained that because I was being let go within a 6-month probationary period of a position change (despite being at the organization for 18 months), I would not receive any details or explanations on the decision.  My head spun. I was a successful young professional; a highly driven graduate of an elite college. I’d spent blood, sweat, and tears to get into the extremely competitive and specialized field of conservation detection dog work. I had been thinking of buying a house, of advancing in  this…

Written by Jenna Woodford Where are all the disabled conservationists?  Over the last couple of years, I’ve asked myself this question a lot. Like many people, I’ve searched in vain to find representation in the field I so desperately want to dedicate my career to. And I’ve decided that I’m going to do something about it. I took the usual route into conservation – developed a love of nature from a young age, studied for a degree in Natural Sciences, volunteered at a nature reserve for six months and started applying for my first conservation job – but to do that I was wearing mask over mask over mask. I…

Written by Natalie Tyler I grew up in the Ohio suburbs. As an only child of a single parent, I was often asked to entertain myself and to “go play outside”. Fortunate to have a large backyard, swingset, and basketball hoop, I would happily spend hours outside playing either alone or with my neighbourhood friends. Outside always equalled fun, joy, and excitement for me. I loved the feeling of being dirty after having spent hours in the backyard or riding my bike around the neighbourhood.  As a kid, my favourite place to visit was my cousins’ house. They lived just enough outside of the suburbs to where it felt like…

Written by Laura Marsh My last blog You are enough talked about my severe depression from thinking I had to be a perfect conservationist. It’s paralyzing to learn about all the ways we are harming the planet. But then there’s added pressure to act in the most ethical, perfect way to minimize further harm. This way of thinking is exhausting, insanely stressful, and further debilitating for one’s mental health. I realized that when I am so guilty, consumed by each individual action, I can’t use my time and energy to actually do good. Finally, after many years of therapy, I got out of the negative cycle. This freed me up…

Written by Natalie Lynn Lichtenbert Sitting outside on my front porch, I had a coloring book on my table and a huge box of crayons with a multitude of colors to choose from.  The coloring book of choice was of songbirds and the one I was working on that day was of a robin.  Oh, the joy and pleasure of immersing myself in nature, being outside with the birds and other wildlife, while also partaking in really learning about the surrounding world through the use of color. I grew up an only child and yes, at many times, this really bothered me.  At a very early age I was alone…

Written by Julia I’ve been working in conservation for over 10 years, one of those who worked up through the ranks by volunteering after my mostly useless humanities BA and work history in administration. I’ve worked in environmental education, project leading, animal rehab (briefly), and research, and I loved it all, but I always felt I was lacking something essential to really belong in the sector. All of this culminated in deciding to take an MSc course in Conservation, so I could take the next step and be a real person in conservation. I wanted to do field research, be out in the bush, and contribute in some way. It…

Written by Gillian When I was 10 years old, I decided one day that I would no longer be afraid of anything. Spiders no longer meant me harm, heights were just temporary discomfort, and the shadows in the forest should be explored- not feared. All I had to do was just push through my hesitation and just say yes to everything– and it all would be fine. Simple, right? I thought so at the time. My new mentality pushed me away from the painful shyness that had defined my childhood and towards exploring the wilderness in my hometown, pursuing sports, and standing up for myself.  As a thirteen year old,…

Written by Tirth Vaishnav The idea of being alone is not inherently scary for me. The idea of feeling alone, however, is an entirely different beast. Being the youngest in a joint family of seven and having grown up in Mumbai, one of the most crowded cities in the world, getting some alone time seemed like a blessing. I have always cherished solitude. Being by myself gives me a chance to think, have internal dialogue, ponder the deeper meaning of existence (no, seriously), or just be still. It replenishes my energy for another bout of human interactions. Solitude comes naturally to me, so I don’t often feel lonely in day-to-day…

Written by Tanya Jaswal As a child I was always interested in wildlife. I loved birds, animals and insects around me. I was very comfortable around them. To push my interest a little forward I joined WWF (World Wide Fund) and gained knowledge about birds. How to identify birds by their call, by their size and shapes. I became more sensitive towards animals and birds. Every weekend I visit nearby parks, sanctuaries and gardens to observe and document birds and insects, to learn more about them.  While nature was bright and beautiful, on the flipside there was always one thing which disturbed me and that was “WASTE”. Whenever I used…

Written by Phalguni Ranjan My journey to the field of conservation had a pretty clichéd beginning, now that I think about it. The classic Marine Biologist starter pack had some really simple components back then. Take an enthusiastic 11 year old, throw in some Animal Planet, a devout love for water and animals, the desire to do something, and blend it all together. For someone who had never seen the sea, dolphins or reef fish, the prospect of studying them was a huge deal.  Interestingly, as I grew older and with each step I took towards my goal, I realised (almost always belatedly) that I’d thoroughly loved and enjoyed other…

Written by Jose Sandoval I’ve always had quite an intense personality on me, and I’ve always been driven by passion. Growing up I would bounce around from being obsessed about space and the cosmos to obsessing about snakes and reptiles to obsessing about rocks minerals and geology. Then puberty hit and all I could think about girls and I was an awkward mess of hormones. The rise of internet culture and cellular phones (this was back in 2007 or so) didn’t help either. I was a wall punching, shock site browsing, edged weaponed loving kind of middle schooler. Also I was incredibly awkward around people, especially girls. The summer between…

Written by Mel Christi Acceptance. Resignation. Two sides to the same coin. They have different connotations, and yet for me in this context they are the same. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that there are things about me I cannot change, so I must simply accept myself. Like many others before me who have shared their vulnerability here, like a paper daisy unfurling to greet the sun, I too must bloom. It’s taken 25 years to get here, and I am a work in progress.  But why I am here, and why should I share my story? Well, it’s easy to present a shiny surface to the world. It’s…

Written by Jarryd Minahan Ever since I was a kid I was fascinated with the natural world, the outdoors was my thing, camping with my dad in the high country of Victoria and fishing all around Phillip island, where I now live, was I think what started it all. I started surfing in my teens which ingrained my love for Mother Nature, surfing till dark and watching the short tailed shearwaters flying into there burrows in the dune systems on dusk to feed their chicks is incredible, but spending all this time in the water also opened my eyes up to how nature was being completely used and exploited. The…

Written by Jack O’Connor Just north of one Port Phillip Bay, water and eyes an ocean hew; a newborn child took breath that day, his life had begun new. Jack was his name, of Irish line, before a century’s debut; and so we start our steep incline, into a world fresh and new. In youth obsessed with plants and birds, endless novels to purview; ‘Velociraptor’ recorded in first words, cataloguing species ancient and new. Though social tact was… sadly missed, into curiosity I grew; mind set on palaeontologist, parents set on pathways new. See, I lived amongst a clan, with no science or art in view; to them, fossils doom…

Written by Lisa All names in this piece have been altered to protect the identities of the people they are about.  Names are being used for clarity purposes only. I remember accepting my job offer as a sea turtle biologist for the 2020 season. I was jumping with joy over my first paid position working with sea turtles. I had been a paid biotech beforehand, but Sea turtle conservation is my absolute passion. I can’t tell you where it exactly went wrong. But it went sour, fast. I started off working mostly in the office. My responsibilities included sending out turtle patrollers, responding as dispatch, tending to equipment, and being…

Written by David Aborn I just wanted to provide my perspective on the issue of trying to make it as a conservation biologist in the face of meager (if any) pay, since I have been on both sides; the student looking for experience and the researcher trying to give people the opportunities. I think part of the problem is professional and part of it is societal. On the professional side, there has long been the mindset that being a suffering, starving student is part of the experience and that “we did it, so they should have to as well”. The good news on this front is that the mindset is…

Written by Rhian My mental health has defined my life.  It lost me the conservation career I worked so hard for, and yet it’s helped me to grow as a person too.  I only ever tell people parts of my story when I feel overwhelmed, but never the whole thing. So, here goes. As a child, I didn’t have a lot of stability. My dad was in the military and so we moved every few years until I was 11. For every place we lived, I always went to a couple of schools as I could never fit in.  The bullying would get so bad for me that I had…

Written by Renuka Kulkarni “Oh, you’re a wildlife person? But don’t you sit in a library all day?” We all have that one aunt/uncle/extended-family-member-you-don’t-remember who can sniff out weaknesses like a bloodhound, and who just never wants to try to understand what you do for a living. “I’m doing a PhD” is a somewhat acceptable answer, but you’re also praying inside that they don’t find out about your lack of funding. Yes, aunty, my personal black hole agrees with you that I am a burden on my parents: a 27-year-old, unmarried, secretly depressed burden who watches MasterChef Australia (MCAU) reruns to get through days paralysed by self-loathing. I’m Renuka, by…

Written by Alexandra Howard Who else has felt that people don’t really understand the hardships of working in conservation?   Or who else is scared to share their struggles publicly as our social media is biased to only sharing happy moments? Recently I had to make a disclaimer on one of my most liked Instagram posts stating “P.S.A This insta page does not accurately portray the many hours of sweat, blood, bruises, sunburn and sleep deprivation endured during zoological adventures and may perpetuate the misconception of glamorous bushveld lifestyles”.  This stemmed from the fact that I had become tired of being made to feel guilty during the 2020 lockdown period for the…

Written by Fahrizul Ikram Hello Friends of conservation, My Name is Fahrizul Ikram, I came from Sumatra precisely in Aceh, Indonesia. Speaking of conservation, I started a career here in 2019. It is quite young, but my journey knows the world of conservation began since 2014. Where is the difficult times for me to get around the outskirts of the Leuser Ecosystem area of East Coast of Sumatra. Not infrequently I have to walk and ask for a ride to passing vehicles. Sometimes they ignore, there are also not to get to the destination, and at the lucky time I get a ride to my destination. But it’s okay, it’s…

Written by Dolapo Adejumo I grew up in a rural community where I spent the first eight years of my life hearing tales of hunters interacting with local fauna. When I got in front of televisions as well, I’d stay glued to Animal Planet and Natgeo wild. I say my appreciation for the natural world was intrinsic, nothing else was as enchanting at nature for my bright young self.  I found biology the easiest and most interesting of all my subjects in secondary school. I’d stay up at night reading some chapter of a big advanced textbook I’d gotten from my mom. I’d always plant herbs and shrubs, religiously watering…

Written by Hannah Carle This year has been incredibly challenging. The nexus of two impossible things – a PhD and a global pandemic. To start with a caveat – yes, I am fortunate to be living in Australia, where our daily lives have largely returned to ‘normal’ and we have not been marred by widespread death and disease. Despite assertions by the Australian federal government to the contrary, the state governments here have essentially pursued eradication of COVID-19 in the community and succeeded. “As a child of boomers, who raised us on the pretext… that anything was possible – this has been a crushing and fundamental shift.” I also believe…

Written by Stephanie Rowe Conservation to me, has always meant something deeper than what it represents for the environment as such. I truly believe we are connected to nature, in such a way, that it is only a holistic approach that can be used to move forward with it. I want to take this space forward with it being known that I pledge to always take self-conservation seriously. Worldwide, we are going through A WHOLE LOT. Times are really flippin’ tough, meaning it’s more important than ever to take care of your wellbeing. You see where I’m going with this? Without conserving yourself, you won’t be in a position to…

Written by Stella Diamant I guess the intent behind this (first) blog is to guide fellow conservationists about getting your mission out there in a balanced way.  I was lucky to seize a unique opportunity, to build a project from scratch on an emblematic species, the whale shark, without any experience in either project management or whale sharks. I subsequently founded an NGO before I turned 30. In all honesty, I never thought I would ever get there, nor that it would ever challenge me so much. By now I also feel exhausted, and my to-do list is never-ending.  Here I describe my experience, and why we conservationists also need…

Written by Roxanne In my previous blog, Born This Way, I gave a summary on my path in the conservation sector with the rare neurological condition, Chiari Malformation.  I wrote about the difficult aspects of managing a disability in a physically demanding profession, as well as actions to progress in a field I love. What I hadn’t mentioned was the process of overcoming fear and imposter syndrome in being more honest about my health and life experiences with others in conservation, especially when approaching organisations for work and volunteering.  This story is about a change in mindset after taking a “leap of faith,” meeting two new people at a large…

Written by Madhushri Mudke Ten years ago, the dilemma of finding an appropriate career in wildlife that allowed me to ‘work with wildlife’ was a daunting path to take. One begins to ruminate – ‘I love animals’, ‘I love being in the wild’ or ‘We must save wildlife and forests to combat climate change’. Back in 2010, climate change was haunting humans like it is today and biodiversity losses were still alarming. Despite the popularity of NatGeo and Animal Planet, choosing a career that would last a lifetime and allow you to work with wildlife is more difficult than performing a pole vault. The thing with careers in wildlife is…

Written by Jordan Gledhill Ask a conservationist why they work in conservation and most will tell you it is because they care. We care for the natural world and we care that in most cases, it is being destroyed. Yes, we get to enjoy ourselves traveling the world, working in tropical jungles, diving on coral reefs and climbing mountains with our binoculars. But that is not why I got into conservation, I did it because I care. I was lucky enough to be bought up in Bournemouth, a small town on the South coast of England. I spent a lot of my youth, and still today, exploring the coastline, spotting…

Written by Roxanne The Early Years My passion for conservation, like many, has its roots in early childhood.  It was watching the well-known presenters like Steve Irwin and David Attenborough, but before Animal Planet was reality show-centric, there were others I enjoyed and learned from.  They were reptile enthusiast and photographer, Austin Stevens; biologist, Jeff Corwin; and zoologist, Nigel Marven.  I was also a frequent visitor of zoos, wildlife parks and museums. I wasn’t a child of the outdoors who camped and trekked the rainforest of far north Queensland where I grew up.  In fact, I was seriously ill with a Chiari Malformation: a rare congenital defect of the skull…

Written by Manon de Visser Young and maybe a little naïve: that is what makes us great conservationists!   Once, I was at a job interview. I was nicely dressed and felt pretty confident. I had gotten through two rounds and was in the third (and final) round of the application process. The first two times I had met with one of the two directors of the firm in question, an environmental office. She was co-CEO, a polite and friendly woman. This time, however, I would meet the main CEO. My first impression of him was less positive. But… I told myself it was probably just me, so I did what…

Written by Heather Kerrison Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Are you getting there slowly but surely? In the end the conservation industry gives us the opportunity to meet some amazing people, some amazing wildlife and do things that most other people will never do. What is the thing that keeps you going despite all of the hiccups along the way? It is no secret that the world of (paid) conservationists is small and difficult to break into. You have to become the person that stands out amongst plenty of other incredible, educated, like-minded people. Of course, that can be exhausting. It sometimes feels like a…

Written by Jennifer L. Hartman I am coming up on my 15 year marker working in the field of conservation biology, surveying for sensitive species all over the world. The work has been gruelling and gritty and for those of us in this field, it is often a solitary toil. But for me, I have never felt particularly lonely or alone working in the field … until recently. Conducting field work suited my introvertish love of the natural world. I have to admit though, I was not completely alone. There was Max, my “co-woofer” and conservation detection dog. These smart, energetic canines are much more than essential “equipment” in this work…

Written by Michela Fieni There is no worse feeling than seeing all the environmental destruction in the world and wanting to make a positive contribution, but barely having the means to do so. I’m lucky enough to live in Australia, where bush regeneration was basically born. Back in 2015 when the ‘Green Army’ program was still around, I got accepted into a team that was being lead by one of the biggest and most well-known environmental companies in Australia. For context, Green Army was a government funded program that aimed to engage young people in conservation projects around the country. This is what sparked my interest in conservation, where I…

Written by Jamie Sneddon My Name is Jamie and I’m a zoologist/conservationist/field biologist/ecologist/scientist/clueless graduate with a sense of identity crisis. The issue of who/what I am is something that I’ve been struggling with for much of my life and definitely my entire career. People don’t like being pigeonholed but there’s a sense of security to be found in knowing your place in a chaotic world. Being able to define yourself with a solid, irrefutable job title is something that people in other industries maybe take for granted. One of the first things people ask you is “what do you do for a living?”. For most people this question is simple,…

Written by Lisa Clark From Psychology, to Social Work, to… Wildlife and Conservation Biology? I took a bit of a detour to get here, but it’s funny how things work out and you can end up where you thought you would as a child. My first undergraduate degree was a Bachelor of Social Science majoring in Psychology and co-majoring in Sociology. Following that I went to complete a two year Masters in Social Work degree. After all of the studying I was feeling really burnt out and booked myself a one way ticket to the UK to go traveling. It was during this time I realised that since I was…

Written by Isobel Bobbera This one’s rather long, so apologies in advance. I grew up and have spent the 23 years of my so far little life on The Bellarine Peninsula south of Melbourne, Australia. I’ve lived with my family on the same block of land my entire life and wouldn’t change it for anything. I love where I live. It’s home. I grew up on 5 hectares of land surrounded by a variety of beautiful plants, both native and exotic, a veggie patch and an orchard, and plenty of space to run, explore and use my imagination. Our home is positioned on a cliff which looks out over Port…

Written by Nishand Venugopal Trying to stay afloat with unfulfilled wishes, But can’t forget those that went into the drain while washing dishes, Almost a year ago we felt the entire world is in our grasps, In the last few months people are struggling for gasps, A disease that took a toll on nations, And razed down all equations, Not only bodies but minds and economies too suffered, An answer to this crisis remains deferred, Some have given up while some still keep on the fight, But the dividing line is thinning and we can’t find the path that is right, All have to be careful to not make a…

Written by Connie James I have wanted to work in wildlife conservation for as long as I can remember. It’s all I’ve been working towards for years. When I was finishing up my degree I remember thinking to myself ‘no matter how much I am struggling right now, everything will be worth it when I get out there and start working.’ Honestly, I always thought that once I got the kind of job I wanted that my life would feel complete and that nothing else could ever really matter. I was so prepared to give up anything to pursue this career.  This is why when I ended up getting a…

Written by Sapphire Hampshire Photo by Wawan Tarniwan Java, Indonesia. October 2017. You’re on a mountain, a steep mountain, its 4am, you wake to the sound of the call to prayer from the mosques echoing down the mountain. You drift back into a light sleep waking up again later to the revving of scooters as they whiz past the field house towards the farmland. You hear the caged songbirds tweeting, then chitter chatter starts, you hear more revving of scooters. You walk downstairs and greet the cleaning lady and cook “Selamat Pagi Ibu”. As you eat your breakfast you smell rice cooking and hear tofu sizzling in the pan of…

Written by Sophia Neiblum To be honest, I wasn’t sure whether I should write a blog post. I’m in high school and haven’t had nearly as much experience in conservation as many others. But I ultimately decided that my experience, although limited, is unique in some way. My name is Sophia Neiblum, and I’m a 16-year-old living in Pennsylvania, USA. A few years ago, I began to read books about marine life, environmental science, and the climate crisis. Since then, I’ve read many books on the subjects: Beyond Words by Carl Safina, The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery, The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert. These books, more than…

Written by Juan Cruz Mena Translated by Maria Dabrowski  Personally, my official career hasn’t even begun. I have been lucky since I was a child to involve myself in conservation organizations, where I could become a partner and volunteer in other Argentinian provinces. But the downsides of leaving to work for an conservation organization or institution is that for the most part, they prefer to give work to zoology graduates, or people who live and study in the capital, and not to “villagers” like me who don’t have the means to be able to study in the capital, even though the majority of people from the village (like me) have…

Written by Abigail Smyth The idea of home has always been really tough for me. Growing up in South Sudan, where my parents worked rehabilitating refugees, I was very much a ‘free range kid’. Running barefoot across murram roads, splashing in monsoon puddles and sculpting creatures out of clay dug from the earth, I enjoyed the world around me. So you can imagine that moving to Ireland at the age of 6 was a massive cultural shock. Outwardly, this is where I ‘fit in’ best. My parents are both from the UK and I am very much white. People assume I belong here. But as a kid, I really struggled…

Written by Emmi Losasso Firstly, I should say that I can’t ever manage to put things into short words so this will be a long introduction to me and how I got to where I am now. Settle in with a cup of tea on a comfy couch and turn on some songs by Lord Huron and I’ll let you get to know me as a fellow lonely conservationist. The earliest memories I have come from when I was around 3 or 4 in the backyard of the second house I’d ever lived in, located in Westfield Ohio. I vividly remember being in the garden of the house completely engrossed…

Written by Laura Marsh First of all, I’m so glad this community exists. I love that there is a platform where we can post our thoughts and feelings about environmental concerns in a vulnerable, honestly raw way. My story comes from a place of desperation. Desperate for a career I felt passionate about, but also could serve a greater cause. I have always been desperate to live a life of meaning in conservation biology without sacrificing or selling out. Desperate to get paid what I know I’m worth, instead of working for next-to-nothing. My story is in two parts — so buckle up and make yourselves comfy! A bit about…

By Annabel The Beginning My childhood was fairly typical of a privileged conservationist; I grew up surrounded by nature and had the opportunity to pursue my passion with a supportive family and access to a good education. But at seventeen my life changed. I developed chronic pain. My pain started, for some unknown reason, just before my final year of high school, universally considered the most important and most stressful year. The strain of that year on my nerves and muscles caused constant arm pain doing simple tasks like writing or holding a book open. Some days I couldn’t even brush my teeth or button up my shirt without searing…

Written by Phil McNamara It’s interesting to me that, as a child, I came to love spending time in nature as a way to avoid conflict at home and that the same love I have for nature is now forcing me to face my fear of conflict because conflict is everywhere in our efforts as lonely conservationists. When I was very young, my family spent three years in an outback mining town in central-west Queensland. I have wonderful memories of the feel of the remote natural places we visited in our regular travels out of town. The photographs we have of this time are of a happy and connected family…

Written by Matthew Lefoe I wanted to submit a blog to see if it would have some sort of cathartic effect on me as I’ve been feeling quite disheartened about my career progression amidst the craziness of COVID-19. In this industry we are conditioned to be constantly networking/up-skilling/career building in order to be competitive for jobs. Our job pool has always been small, that’s why we feel a constant need to make ourselves the most employable candidate. Those jobs have since dwindled further in response to the economic effect of this global pandemic. But do I regret choosing this career path though? Absolutely not. If I didn’t embark on this…

Written by Chagi Weerasena Hello! My name is Chagi and I’m an ecologist in Brisbane, Australia. My path to becoming an ecologist was not a straight one, it was very much a zig-zig, or a squiggle. I am a first-generation immigrant of Sri Lankan parents. From a young age I was given medical kits to play with, instructed to attend weekend maths classes and place myself in as many extra-curricula after-school activities as possible. All my parents wanted for me was to become a doctor, lawyer or engineer, the classic South Asian dream. They meant well, through their eyes they were only trying to give me the best options to…

Written by Amber Wyard “What made you switch from maths to biology? That’s such a big change!” This is something that has been said to me hundreds of times. I never seem to know how to answer this as wildlife conservation has always been my passion and so for me there’s no surprise that this is where I’ve ended up. I just took a little longer to get there. I grew up in North Wales, surrounded by nature and so predictably have always been obsessed with animals. I feel very lucky to have been able to experience wildlife from a young age. The earliest recollection I have of being completely…

Written by Steph Robertson Hello fellow Lonely Conservationists! My name is Steph, I’m a 25-year old zoology graduate who has just finished up having the literal year-of-my-life! My road to where I am has been a rocky one and as it turns out, it still is! But I have hope, and as my mum always says: ‘there’s many ways to skin a cat (figuratively speaking)’ So I thought I would share my story with you all. As seems to be the case with most other LCs, I grew up loving the natural world. At any opportunity, I would be running barefoot outside to go and collect woodlice to put in…

Written by Emilie Priou My name is Emilie Priou and at 21 I just completed my Wildlife Conservation Bachelor. I lived until I was 18 in the suburbs of Paris, and with my parents and sister I had the chance to travel every year abroad to discover nature worldwide. In high school, like many others, I was extremely stressed out because I did not have any passion or idea of what I wanted to do in life. It was thanks to my first real failure that I learned to take a step back, and realised how young I was, and how I could decide to pursue whatever I wanted, not…

Written by Jon Kahler I can’t say that I had a very unique upbringing. Raised in suburban Brisbane in an upper middle-class family, there was nothing exceptional about my childhood. My family was never very environmental, and between my ten fingers not one of them were green. However, my parents always placed a strong emphasise on right and wrong, good and bad. Like any child this was instilled in me from a young age. Upon finding out about what was then known simply as global warming, I remember writing a letter to the Prime Minister at the time, John Howard. 7-year-old me had an amazing plan to create a machine…

Written by Jessica Pinder Growing up Green It could be easily said that I became a conservationist because so much of my childhood was spent outdoors. Quite literally. Almost all our family holidays usually involved swimming in crystal clear rivers, hiking through bushland heavy with the sounds of cicadas or cross-country skiing across Victoria’s snowy mountains. My parents even renamed the iconic blundstone boot as ‘Jessie Boots’ because I wore them with everything, even terrible pink and frilly dresses. For as long as I remember, I have always been a proud tom-boy, adventurer and self-professed nature nerd. I mention this because early childhood is a completely fascinating and influential period…

Written by Elena Chaboteaux  Hi, my name is Elena Chaboteaux and I’m a 24 years old conservationist from Italy. As far as I remember I’ve always been obsessed with plants and wildlife. I grew up camping with my mum looking for “treasures” in the forest and I’m so grateful my passion has now developed into my dream job. My current research involves the conservation of a giant sentinel of the Amazon rainforest: the Iron wood tree (Dipteryx micrantha), or Shihuahuaco, as locals use to call it. This species is fastly disappearing, being cut down at high rates due to intense illegal logging activities; a tree older than 1.000 years, destroyed…

Written by James Lee It is obviously a time of unease in America with regards to treatment of racial minorities. Whether it be a young jogger shot like a dog in the street in Georgia, or a man having his neck crushed by a police officer in Minneapolis, or a birder having the cops called on him after simply politely asking someone to put their dog on a leash, these recent events have laid bare the vast disparity in the amount of fairness and justice afforded to black people and and other POCs (or in their case, the lack thereof) that white Americans have long taken for granted. It is…

Written by Taylor Tvede I’ve wanted to work with animals since I was a kid, but in my mind that always meant something like dolphin trainer or the person at the zoo who did the bird shows and got to teach everyone neat things about cool animals. Being a vet was an option I had thought about. Hell I took part in a veterinary mentorship program my senior year of high school, but most of my vet school friends basically walked out of the womb wanting to be veterinarians. That wasn’t me. When I went off to college I really started learning more about wild animals and their plight to…

Written by Ana Willett I think out of anyone, I understand impostor syndrome on such a deeply profound level it’s disturbing. My name is Ana Willett, and I am a marine conservation policy contractor. There…for lack of better phrasing, is not a lot of work in this field in the D.C. area. You either have to have a PhD (I don’t, I have a Master’s), or you have to know someone. It leaves a lot to be desired when all you want to do is make an impact and save our seas. It makes it difficult, with such a desire to protect, to feel stuck and unable to do much…

Written by Rhys Abbott As many of you know too well, conservation can feel like an uphill battle; often lonely, and without community support, it can be overwhelmingly deflating. But would you ever give up? Heck no. It is without a doubt a massive challenge to overcome the environmental pressures that humanity places on nature every day, but it is a challenge that we can, and we will overcome. HELLO! I am Rhys, and I am relatively new to the conservation scene, would you believe I was a ‘footy lad’? I grew up in sleepy Adelaide, Australia. I was blessed with camping adventures growing up but there was never a…

Written by Macie Edwards A friend recently sent me an article about an online community called Lonely Conservationists, a group that I was surprised to have never heard of before, as the name itself was immediately relatable. I read this article with a tight throat, choking back tears. It is so reflective of what I have been dealing with in this field and the challenges that I am still facing. And while it is relieving and encouraging to know that I am not alone in this deepening state of loneliness and frustration, it does not change the reality. I decided on this career path in high school. I had a…

Written by Gabrielle DiVello My name is Gabrielle DiVello. I am 23 years old and I was born and raised in Southern New Jersey surrounded by the beaches, mountains, and the city -which is why New Jersey is called the “Armpit State.” My family has owned a vacation house in Maine, outside of Bar Harbour on a beautiful lake for about 16 years. I was always surrounded by nature and wildlife and through the years I truly learned to have a strong passion and appreciation for wildlife. I pretty much grew up in Maine as well since we would go several times out of the year there and still do…

Written by Drew Seiler There it was, Phidippus audax, the Bold Jumper, zig-zagging its way across the handrail of our backyard deck. Its movements were jittery, mesmerising, and any movement on my own behalf caused the little male to spin and look up at me with his two large eyes beset three other pairs. His aqua-green chelicerae tapped in curiosity as we stared at one another, and his white-marked opisthosoma wiggled back and forth. Then, a colony of Pavement Ants, Tetramorium caespitum, marched across a sidewalk. They ran to and from the nest, preparing their sisters for the arrival of their newest quarry, a common bush cricket. It was dispatched…

Written by Nicholas Horne I started this blog nearly 6 months ago, I really wanted to contribute to the Lonely Conservationists as I feel it’s an exceptional idea that can promote so much positivity. However, it has been extremely difficult to write about my past experiences. So why did am I back writing this blog? Because I am struggling. I thought that providing myself with some reflection on when I was mentally very low may help me gain perspective on how far I have come. Hopefully this may help others do the same. So, here is the time I hit rock bottom. I had just handed in my masters thesis…

Written by Katy Keighley I wasn’t initially going to submit a blog as my story is only just beginning. However, I thought that there’s no harm in sharing the first drafts of life. My name is Katy and I’m a 20 year old BSci Animal Biology and Conservation undergrad, graduating in June this year!! I grew up in very quiet part of Wales, and didn’t live close to any of my school friends. This meant that playing out with them after school was a bit of a no-go. My parents realised this and so made huge amounts of effort to keep my sister and I entertained despite their busy work…

Written by Lucy Hodson Who am I? My name’s Lucy, I’m 28 and a self-confessed hardcore nature nerd. I work full-time in communications for a large wildlife and conservation charity in the UK, and run a wildlife & nature insta-blog on the side. The nature thing… I’m sure many of you’ll agree that when you work with wildlife, you’re often asked how you got into it. For me, there was no choice. I’ve had ‘the nature thing’ for as long as I can remember. Call it an interest, obsession or, perhaps mostly aptly, a ‘bug’ – it’s been with me since I was old enough to hold a fistful of…

Written by Jillian Drury My story may be a little different than many of the other stories I have read on this blog simply because for a while, I gave up my dream of being a conservationist. My childhood was very similar to a lot of my fellow Lonely Conservationists, it was full of love and curiosity for animals and the natural world. I would watch Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest on repeat and try to emulate Bob Ross every Saturday afternoon in the summer on my homemade easel outside painting happy little trees. I had a subscription to Ranger Rick, watched Jack Hanna’s Animal Adventures and Steve Irwin’s The…

Written by David De Angelis The word ‘obsession’ gets thrown around a bit, but maybe understandably, true obsession seems to frighten most people. Conscious of the other (impostor) syndrome that many lonely conservationists have talked about, I still feel the need to point out the difference between having an obsession with natural history, and necessarily having expertise in ecology or wildlife conservation! Few people seem to have clear memories of their time in kindergarten, but some of mine are still vivid. Social introversion and an OCD-like repulsion of human ‘mess’ kept me from regularly interacting with more than a couple of the other children. Yet I was the only one…

Written by Jake Lammi As I lay on a large expanse of granite trying to warm up after an exceptionally cold swim in a glacier-fed alpine lake, I look over at my coworker, Ranger, savouring the life-giving sunshine and cool mountain breeze. I can’t help but reminisce on just how far the two of us have come together over the past three years. At first glance, Ranger might seem just like any other coworker. He is supremely focused on getting work done, loves to hike long distances, and always brings a positive attitude to the “office.” However, if you take a closer look you might notice a few distinctions. He…

Written by Laura Perry Conservation can be a dream career. Certainly, the stories from my day-to-day life sound good at dinner parties. But is it as good as it is cracked up to be? Objectively, I’m a fairly successful conservation biologist. I have relationships with National Geographic, the WWF, and the Explorer’s Club, to name a few. I am attached to the world’s leading carnivore conservation group, WildCRU, at the University of Oxford. And I currently work on two amazing projects: one in the Chyulu Hills, in Kenya, and one in Niassa National Reserve, in Mozambique. But in conservation – perhaps as in all careers – success can look better…

Written by Ella Thomas Hi everyone, my name is Ella and I’m a 22 year old Education Officer at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS). Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is located on the Gold Coast, which is on the east coast of Queensland, Australia. Ever since anyone in my family can remember (including me) I’ve been absolutely obsessed with wildlife. I hogged the TV as a child and watched documentary after documentary… much to my sister’s displeasure (she just wanted to watch cartoons or Disney channel). I remember being asked in second grade what I wanted to do when I grew up, and I remember answering, “Follow in Steve Irwin’s footsteps.” Little did…

Written by Pamela Greet A kerosene tin of cane-toads was one of the things my grandfather carried with him from Babinda in Queensland when he moved his young family to the Burdekin to start his own farm in 1920-something. They had to clear flood plains to plant their first crops and for maybe ten years, there were koalas living in the uncleared paddock in front of the little two roomed house my grandfather built from timber milled locally. By the time I was born in 1957 that paddock, too, had been cleared. My parents together with my Mum’s brother and his wife, leased it to grow a crop of tomatoes.…