Recent conservation biology grad here, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed about how to work my way up to a high paying conservation career. I'm doing a year long conservation americorps service, and one of my co workers said she has been doing seasonal work for the past 5 years, which stresses me out because I don't really want to do that. So for those who have an established career in this field, how did you get there (education, jobs, volunteering, networking, etc)? I'm interested in aquatic science the most, especially with wetlands.

Has anyone here done GVI’s Professional Apprenticeship? Is it a good way to start a career in conservation work? Any experiences or advice would be appreciated!

I’m trying to do some research into professional ocean conservation and wasn’t sure where to look. If you could point me to further readings that would also be greatly appreciated!

https://groundtruth.app/global-mapping-of-oil-palm-planting-year-from-1990-to-2021/#OilPalm

Explore global oil palm mapping from 1990 to 2021. Using advanced satellite imagery and deep learning, this research provides crucial insights into the extent and age of oil palm plantations worldwide.

Land trusts and similar orgs rely on private property, through conservation easements or direct ownership, to achieve their organizational objective of protecting land. However, in doing so they are effectively perpetuating the western notion of private property that is not in line with many indigenous cultures. So given the that these two notions are inherently at odds with each other, how can a land trust truly decolonize or otherwise incorporate this perspective?

I had an interesting conversation the other day and wanted to hear your thoughts, and ideally examples or case studies if you have them.

I’m moving back home after 5 years in the military, and I’m planning a project of restoring my grandparents property back to all natives. At the moment, it’s being over run mostly by honeysuckle bush and Russian olive. I plan on using controlled burns after I cut the big ones by hand. For the area where my grandpa is trying to grow a papaw grove I plan on using goats.

Once I have the invasives cleared, I’ll be replacing them with natives like Saskatoon Serviceberry, Chickasaw Plum, American Plum, Persimmon trees, Wood Lilly, Pink Azaleas, and whatever other flora I can think of. I’d love to be able to forage from the property once everything is established. (It is only 12 acres though)

My main project though is the pond, our family’s favorite heirloom. The edge of the pond is lined with thickets of young trees and invasive bushes. The dam is also overgrown with small trees. The water level is dropping year after year. We think it’s because the dam is leaking and the trees are soaking up it all up. (That’s what we think.) For the dam, I plan to controlled burn it all, and replace it with native grasses.

Here are the grasses I plan to use for the dam so far. (These will be planted on the downhill portion. The top or peak of the dam is used for fishing.)

Muhlenbergia capillaris, Hairawn Muhly https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/factsheet/pdf/fs_muca2.pdf

Eragrostis spectabilis, Purple Love Grass https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/eragrostis-spectabilis/

Schizachyrium scoparium, Little Blue Stem https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/schizachyrium-scoparium/

Panicum virgatum, Switch Grass https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/switch-grass-panicum-virgatum/

I really like the idea of so many colored in the foliage as you’d look down the dam. The dam is only about 30 feet tall and maybe 60 feet wide. A small area, but I’m very excited to transform it.

For the area around the pond, to reduce the number of trees encroaching on the pond and filling it with leaves, I might replace all the trees with more native grass. Probably Big Blue Stem and Indian Yellow Grass.

The only problem with all this grass is that we’ll see so much more snakes. My grandma reacts to snakes with a shotgun, and there’s also a lot of human traffic at the pond. I would love it if I can somehow guarantee that we won’t have venomous snakes coming home via through camp, but I can’t really. I’ll be creating the prime real estate for them, so I could use some solutions if you have them.

And if you’re wondering “Why grass instead of letting the trees take over” it’s because my grandpa is afraid that the roots are breaking the seal of the dam. The way he explains it is that the roots seek out the water from the pond via the dam, and the water seeps in along the roots. Then the water slowly erodes away at the hole. If it doesn’t work like that, then great. But I still would rather some small grasses that aren’t so dam thirsty.

So.

I have one year left of my Mbiol at Oxford for Biology, in which I’ll be doing a research project (HWC and Bears in Japan). I’ve done a few internships, I’ve looked around for experience etc.

Im planning what to do next - I think I’ll apply for a PhD, but I want to take a year (or a few) to do some practical work abroad. Something conservation/ecology related, somewhere outdoors. I am more than happy to relocate indefinitely, I just want to spend more time outdoors and experience more. I’m young and have so much to give before diving straight back into academia (if that’s even what I’ll end up doing)

Issue is that online, most of the opportunities I come across are those paid courses that seem like cash grabs - I’m searching for an actual job somewhere, anywhere (currently based in the UK) where I can live and work for some time. I’ve looked at work in US nature reserves and they look great, but are often only available to citizens.

If anybody has guidance on where I can search for opportunities, I’d be indebted. Moreover, is my search naive? perhaps this sort of plan is unlikely to succeed. Any advice is SO welcome

Thank you !