How to survive academia (& enjoy it!)

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 meetings and their untapped potential for productivity and transformation is today's guest, Dr Carrie Goucher. Carrie is founder of Fewer, Faster, Bolder, an organisation which believes that meetings are a huge, wide space for improvement, and understands that they matter so much, because people spend so much time in them. In today's inspiring chat, we discuss the problems with meeting culture at the moment, and how we got to where we are. We also discuss what incredible meetings can look like, and how to create ones for yourself. Including practical steps on how to invite people, how to start a meeting, and how to capture what's discussed, agreed and parked up. As a successful entrepreneur herself, Carrie also kindly shares her advice for budding ecopreneurs: people with a passion and an idea that could deliver profit and purpose in the world. It's a meeting-transforming and impact-creating podchat.  Enjoy.

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 professionals day-to-day.   We discuss who the new MSc Conservation Project Management at Newquay University Center is for. We also chat about the emphasis on core conservation skills - such as project management, communications and fundraising - and finally explore the programme's flexibility; allowing students to pursue various conservation paths and receive career development support.  Stephen then discusses his career journey with us, explaining what it’s like to be a lecturer in zoology and course leader within a University, and how he got there.  Finally he shares his career advice for people like you who might be seeking to follow in his footsteps.   It’s a Master’s musing, snake studying and employment enhancing podchat.   Enjoy.  

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 the most insurmountable problems facing humankind - namely, reversing the loss of nature.  During the conversation, we discuss her work at WWF and her career switch into the sector.   We also talk about the skills increasingly valued within conservation, and Cris shares her top careers advice for aspiring conservationists seeking to follow in her footsteps.  Finally, we discuss Earth Hour; a worldwide movement organized by WWF annually to encourage individuals, communities, and businesses to give an hour for Earth. Scheduled for Saturday, March 23rd at 8:30 pm your local time, we discuss how you can get involved.  It’s a wide-ranging, inspiring and Earth Hour connecting podchat.  Enjoy. 

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 new job title to me - Julia prides herself in understanding the complicated process of planning a meaningful experience whilst travelling. During this episode, we discuss the value a gap year or career break can bring to people in their work, education and lives. We talk about the different types of experiences people can discover, and how to plan for a successful trip. Finally, we also chat about how a Gap Year Counsellor can help if you need support. It’s a globe-trotting, experience-seeking, life-changing episode. Enjoy!

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 Biodiversify. Biodviersify helps clients to understand and improve their relationship with nature, working at the cutting edge of bd sustainability to provide strategic support and provide meaningful outcomes for society, for business and for wildlife. In today's discussion we talk about why the private sector is increasingly aware of the need to build biodiversity into their businesses, and where this drive is coming from. We also discuss if this growth in interest in the private sector will make a significant impact on global conservation efforts, along with the skills needed to take advantage of the opportunities as they open up. Mike also shares his careers advice for people like you who might be seeking to work in the sector, along with his thoughts on what conservationists need to be better at in order to have more impact. It's a biodiversity-businessing, nature-accounting pod-chat. Enjoy.

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 the National Park Sites.  In the podcast we talk about the network of National Park Sites in the US, and how the foundation uses storytelling to raise the profile, and the funding needed, for conservation activities.  We also discuss the diversity of roles within the conservation sector, and what it means to be a Chief Program Officer.  Lise also shares her career path along with her advice for people like you who might be seeking to follow in her footsteps.  It’s a   Wildlife-funding, national-park-storytelling, pod-chat.  Enjoy. 

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 susceptible. And the effects of burnout can be dire for conservationists and their work. The WHO characterises burnout by 1) feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; 2) increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and 3) reduced professional efficacy. In this special episode we discuss burnout in conservation, and why awareness of burnout is so important for conservationists personally and professionally. Joining our host Dr Nick Askew is Dr Fernando (Nando) Mateos-González of Bioblogía and Kristi Foster, Head of Programmes at Conservation Careers. We talk about our own personal experiences with burnout and what contributed to them. We also share some solutions we’ve learnt for avoiding and managing burnout – or even transforming it into healthier ways of working. It’s a very open, real and honest chat. We hope will support other conservationists – whether you’re just starting your career, concerned about burnout or have experienced burnout yourself. Enjoy.

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 conservation and the charity sector.  She’s using her twenty years of HR and Operations Management experience to build, lead and motivate multi-disciplinary teams to deliver nature conservation across the UK.  In this episode, we explore the Wildlife Trust network, its conservation activities and workforce of volunteers and staff.  We also uncover what it means to be a Deputy Chief Executive, the skills Patience uses and values in her role, and what she enjoys and finds challenging in her job.  She also shares her career journey and advice for people like yourself, who might be seeking to follow in her footsteps.  It’s a Wildlife-trusting, career-switching, pod-chat.  Enjoy.

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 RSPB for 22 years, mostly in volunteering development and have recently moved into species recovery where she is responsible for a project that develops and manages volunteer teams doing species recovery work across the UK.  In today’s chat, she shares her experiences of working for the RSPB, her career path and also advice about how to connect with and make the most out of their volunteer opportunities.  It’s a wide-ranging, volunteer-actioning, species-conserving chat.  Enjoy.  

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 Trust and Co-Founder of India’s Nature Conservation Foundation. He’s spent 25 years working to increase protection for snow leopards across all 12 of their range countries, with the vital support of local people, and has won the Whitley Gold Award in 2005 and in 2022. As a world expert on snow leopard conservation he has pioneered the community-based conservation approach to enable harmonious co-existence between people and wildlife. Sofia and I talked to Charu about his work as Executive Director of the International Snow Leopard Trust, and his approach to community-based conservation. We also explore his career path, his careers advice for aspiring conservationists, and also what keeps him optimistic about the future. Finally, we also discuss the importance of ethics in wildlife conservation and the Ethical Conservation Alliance which he launched recently at the Whitley Fund for Nature, People for Planet Summit. Towards the end of the recording, we also open up to our audience where they get the opportunity to ask their questions of Charu. It’s a wide-ranging, snow-leopard-conservationing, and humbly-inspiring pod-chat. Enjoy.