Green Jobs Network’s Post

🦋 🌳 🏵 Bottom-up conservation 🦆 🦅 🐟 I recently created a biodiversity action plan for my local tidy towns and natural heritage groups. There is a lot of funding available today for community groups to develop biodiversity projects (e.g., LEADER, local authority grants, Heritage Council, LAWPRO, NPWS Small Recorders Grant, private funding, etc.). In my experience, when a new fund opens the question of 'what will we apply for?' often pops up. To maximise the impact of local projects, communities need to be aware of what habitats and species occur in their locality, what pressures they face, and what they can do to help. I made this plan voluntarily, but received a huge amount of personal satisfaction knowing that this plan could really help local biodiversity and my community. There is probably more detail in it than is required for a community biodiversity action plan but it really was a labour of love! I would encourage any fellow ecologists who want to make an impact at a local level to reach out to their local TidyTowns groups and see if they would like some help. Businesses wishing to support conservation in their areas should also consult local groups like this as part of their CSR. Having a biodiversity action plan with actions agreed upon by the community, should ensure that CSR projects are truly appreciated by the community as opposed to just looking good on the company's annual report (we've all seen the pretty bug hotels on neatly manicured lawns). Wherever you are in Ireland, there is biodiversity that needs help; whether that is the Swift population of a concrete jungle, or the management of invasive species on our mountains and woodlands. Wherever you are in Ireland, there is also a network of community leaders in our TidyTowns, biodiversity and local heritage groups. Let's give them all the support they deserve! Think global, act local! 🌍

Biodiversity Conservation: Is Funding Falling Short? 🌱💳 I love connecting with fascinating individuals on LinkedIn and never hesitate to engage with them via private messages. Through these conversations, I’ve discovered that many highly motivated people in the nature conservation sector suffer from a lack of project funding. It breaks my heart to hear that passionate individuals are considering quitting to take up jobs that suit them less simply because of financial constraints. No money, no work! For instance, one person I know has implemented UNESCO programmes, created nature reserves, and rehabilitated several wildlife species, yet still struggles to earn a living. This is not right! From my conversations, I gather the following: 👉 Large-scale conservation programmes take a long time to build. 👉 Raising the necessary funds for these programmes takes an enormous amount of time, during which project coordinators often cannot pay themselves. 👉 Tourist trips highlighting conservation and biodiversity for the general public do not generate enough income to support the teams living out their passion. 👉 Given the diversity of organisations involved with various species, reserves, landscapes, etc., nature conservation becomes almost indecipherable for a donor. Not everything can be funded, and choices have to be made. There is still much awareness-raising and structuring to be done to move forward. There are incredible organisations and individuals in the world of nature conservation, and today I want to salute 👏🏻 their courage, dedication, and passion! If I can help by bringing my experience and skills to serve nature conservation, please feel free to contact me via private message. 📩

Same story of positive developments in climate reaching the same skills bottleneck: this time it's Biodiversity. 🟢 Good news As of this month, England has become the first country in the world to implement mandatory biodiversity net gain (BNG) regulations for housing developments.      Project developers will need to increase biodiversity by at least 10%, either onsite or by buying credits at other sites. 🔴 Bad news The skills gap rears its head again: "Regulators lack the staff to check the pledged habitat benefits actually materialise... There are also concerns that there are too few ecologists to oversee habitats or score them correctly." We should celebrate these policies, but without a major uplift in skills it's like a space program with no rocket scientists. 👩🔬🔭🚀 https://lnkd.in/gmhcXVXk

🌿 Hey Connections! Check Out My New Mini Project! 🚀 Exciting news to share with all of you! I've just launched a passion project close to my heart, and I can't wait for you to see it. Introducing Biodiversity Conservation Hub , a platform aimed at spreading awareness about biodiversity conservation and inspiring action. 🌎 🔗 Explore the website: https://lnkd.in/gja6Bhmd 🌱 What's Inside: 1. **Informative Content**: Dive into articles, quizzes, and multimedia resources to learn about biodiversity and its importance. 2. **Get Involved**: Discover ongoing conservation initiatives and find out how you can contribute to protecting our planet's biodiversity. 3. **Join the Community**: Connect with fellow enthusiasts, share ideas, and collaborate on conservation efforts. 4. **Take Action**: Practical tips and suggestions to make a positive impact on biodiversity conservation in your daily life. 🌍 Why It Matters: Biodiversity is the heartbeat of our planet, and it's up to us to ensure its survival. Through Biodiversity Conservation Hub, we aim to raise awareness and mobilize action to preserve the incredible diversity of life on Earth. 🌿 Let's Make a Difference Together: Whether you're a seasoned environmental advocate or just beginning your journey in conservation, I invite you to join us. Together, we can amplify our impact and create a brighter future for biodiversity. 💬 I'd love to hear your thoughts! Take a tour of the website, share your feedback, and let's continue this important conversation. #Biodiversity #Conservation #Sustainability #EnvironmentalAwareness #MiniProject #JoinTheMovement #

 My role as the project officer for a CSO requires me to work with partner cooperatives. This enables me to move around the protected areas of the Bakossi national park of Cameroon a lot. There is an area with lots of Bats. There are other areas with almost the same features and elements but you won't find Bats there.  For some reasons, Some areas supply the requirements for the survival of certain biodiversity more than others. If more research projects are carried out to acertain the biodiversity survival requirements for as many species as possible within protected areas and natural forests, and the results are used to classify and make a map of the said area, it will foster conservation endeavors. It will be easy to determine which focused project to fund and in which area. IUCNThe Nature ConservancyWWFUN Biodiversity

Happy to share our new open-access paper, now out in Biological Conservation! https://lnkd.in/dpsBzRMB We addressed the social dimensions of the proposed reintroduction of hen harriers to southern England in the context of chronic conflicts surrounding the conservation of this species in the UK. 1.     The perspectives of local participants were overall positive, especially on the return of hen harriers 2.     The local socio-ecological context was perceived as suitable for the reintroduction 3.     Pre-release engagement led to positive social outcomes despite the conflictual national context 4.     Types of activities, timing, multi-sector team composition and open approach were key engagement elements 5.     The project holds bottom-up transformative potential for hen harriers and conflict management As always, thanks to all my co-authors Dave Hodgson Nell Williams Foley Robbie McDonald Sarah L Crowley I'm now working on publishing the results of my PhD research on the movement ecology of hen harriers. Looking forward to that! University of Exeter | Graduate School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Exeter | University of Exeter Centre for Ecology and Conservation #conservation #translocations #socialdimensions #stakeholders #engagement #henharrier #reintroduction #wildlife #birdsofprey #raptors

In an effort to help demystify the university job application process, here are some tips related to this research and teaching position at the Institute for Integrative Conservation. - Pay careful attention to the required and preferred qualifications and the responsibilities listed in the position summary: https://lnkd.in/eijd5pQD - Write a cover letter that explains how you meet these qualifications and how you envision meeting the position responsibilities. - Prepare a one-page statement for how you imagine expressing the values of the IIC while in this position: https://lnkd.in/exZ-i8eT - Submit a CV along with the cover letter and values statement to the job link above. - Feel free to email me (jpswad@wm.edu) if you have questions. We will begin review of applications in early September with the goal of creating a longish list of candidates that we will Zoom interview in October. We will give instructions for those interviews and share the question topics ahead of time. From those Zoom interviews, we will select 3-4 people for campus interviews in November or December. On campus, finalists will meet with all IIC personnel, groups of students, and some IIC faculty affiliates. They will also meet with a university administrator. The finalists will give a seminar talk and we’ll give detailed instructions for our expectations for that presentation. In all, each campus visit usually runs over two consecutive days. We hope to extend a job offer in late December or early January. As I mentioned before, I am happy to answer questions (jpswad@wm.edu). Please share this with anyone you think might be interested in a teaching/research position associated with human dimensions of wildlife science and conservation of biodiversity. In particular, we’d love to hear from people who would be excited to inspire and mentor the next generation of diverse conservation leaders. #biodiversity #conservation #wildlife #humandimensions #teaching #research #environmentaljustice

🌟 Exciting new research 🌟 : A recently published meta-analysis helps illustrate the positive impact of well-designed / -implemented conservation and restoration projects around the world. In addition to identifying an "overall" positive and statistically significant impact in projects ranging from invasive species control to the estabishment and management of protected areas, the study also identified a rapid increase 📈 in the amount of research on the subject in the past two decades. As the article concludes, "Although the state of biodiversity is declining across the globe in absolute terms, conservation actions work most of the time—the challenge now is to expand these to the scale necessary to reverse the global biodiversity crisis. That is, conservation interventions are working but there are simply not enough conservation actions implemented or in the right places...Such an increase in conservation action and associated outcomes will require expanded implementation and significant additional investment across many sectors of society, particularly beyond the traditional conservation sector." At Open Landscape Network we are committed to supporting this challenge by providing advanced technical infrastructure to projects and their partners to incorporate best practices, support collaboration within and between communities, and scaling-up of their impact. 👏 to Penny Langhammer of Re:wild and coauthors for contributing to a vitally important evidence-base. https://lnkd.in/dHvrsSXi