Conservation Realist Podcast Real Conversations for Better Conservation

Oh hello! I'm back - in Southeast Asia (for now), and also to posting new episodes! Starting with these thoughts:
* Being able to travel to other countries to conduct research is a privilege - and this needs to be appreciated mindfully, and matched with responsibilities
* Making a meaningful impact is more possible than we often assume
* Contributing to a thriving community of colleagues is one of the most important things we can do in conservation
* How can those of us who are relatively privileged better fulfill our responsibilities as researchers and as humans? (sorry, I have no definitive answer, but things I would love for more people to think about)


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit conservationrealist.substack.com

This is the last episode of Conservation Realist for this first season (whatever it is I mean by “season”). I’d hoped to feature a chat with my brother, nonspeaking autistic advocate and writer Danny Whitty, but he has been really struggling recently and is needing to focus on getting himself rested and feeling okay again. Instead, I share how my work in conservation has been shaped by my experiences with him, and how my time in the field has shaped me into being a better support person and ally for Danny and other nonspeakers. I aim to build training courses to teach the skills and perspectives I've picked up in these experiences, connected with Season 2 of the podcast in 2024. I'm so proud to have finished Season 1, and I am so thankful you've joined!


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit conservationrealist.substack.com

I am very glad to bring you this episode, episode 18 - it is a special compilation from most of the interviews conducted over this first season. It features my guests’ responses to these three rapid fire questions:
(1)  What is one thing that would improve how conservation functions or what is one thing that would make your day-to-day work in conservation easier?
(2)  What is an unsung idea that you'd like to see get more recognition in the field, or who is an unsung hero you'd like to see get more recognition in the field?
(3) What is one of your top pieces of advice for aspiring or younger conservationists?
Now, anyone of the guests probably could have given a whole talk on each of these questions, but it was a really nice way to wrap up each conversation, just having a quick summary of their thoughts on these issues.
I think it's nice to get kind of a cross-section of the people who were featured in this first season. It seemed like a nice way to kind of wrap up the season and revisit the voices that we've heard from.
And I so very sincerely appreciate the time, energy and wisdom shared with me by each and every one of these guests during this first season!


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit conservationrealist.substack.com

A conversation with a good friend, Mark de la Paz! One of the most (too) humble people working in dolphin conservation, he's run a long-term research and conservation project for Irrawaddy dolphins in the Philippines - only to face threats to their critical habitat (and his own safety) with plans for a major bridge across the Guimaras Strait. He shares how he's processing this difficult experience, and more of his perspectives from his work there and in his PhD research on finless porpoises in Japan. Thank you, Mark!
KEY POINTS:
* Long-term work with communities on Irrawaddy dolphin conservation in Negros Occidental, Philippines
* And how that work was threatened – and paused out of safety concerns – due to big infrastructure development plans
* The serious risks of working in environmental activism in the Philippines
* Processing the difficulties of conservation work and still remaining hopeful
* The vastly different conservation contexts between Philippines and Japan
* The move from one frustrating species (Irrawaddy dolphins) to an even more frustrating species (Finless porpoises)


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit conservationrealist.substack.com

A truly energizing chat with Dr. Rishi Sugla, Frontline Community Climate Resilience Scientist at UW's Climate Impacts Group, where we dive into:
* How universities can (need to) work in solidarity with communities on environmental justice
* Working with frontline communities on climate adaptation through true co-creation
* Bringing community organizing expertise to academia’s approach to working with communities
* Mutual aid versus charity
* Again, because it’s so important: decolonizing conservation and research!
* Basically: academia needs regular reality checks
* Going from a mindset of separate lanes to a “dance party to make the world better”


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit conservationrealist.substack.com

A very spooky, haunted hellooooo to you all - it's a special Halloween episode of Conservation Realist! I realize it will be past Halloween by the time most of you listen to this, but hey, let's keep the celebrations going, along with the heavily discounted candies.
Though it would be super fun to feature stories of eerie happenings in the field, or otherworldly spiritual or mythical creatures from around the world, I'm really going to focus today on the sort of uncomfortable shadows in conservation. The hard truths and complicated questions that lurk around us, but that we - unlike imprudent horror film characters - often don't care to investigate.
And then I'll have some more entertaining snippets at the end!
What's motivating this episode? Well, I've been learning more and more about my Irish heritage, including from some cousins over there who are very attuned to the spiritual traditions of Ireland. That's how I've learned that Halloween actually originated in Ireland, as the Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced Sauin). It's a celebration and observance of the darker time of year, a time where the veil between this world and the Otherworld is lifted and spirits - including ancestors - can move between the realms more easily.
This might remind you a bit of Dia de los Muertos, the embracing of death and connecting with ancestors. For me, really, the first time I was exposed to this notion of this time of year as a time of connection was in 2011, when I was in Manila during Halloween and All Saint's Day. I visited a cemetery as families gathered to pay respects to their departed loved ones, and it was beautiful. It was festive, with stalls selling food and light-up gadgets and candles, yet also respectful and profound. And I've increasingly grown captivated with this idea of death, darkness, and the afterlife or otherworld or underworld not as something to try to avoid or hide from, but something to accept and even embrace as part of our experience in this universe.
So, I thought it would be fitting to make this little episode to share space with some of the dark or uncomfortable questions and issues in conservation. Let's get cozy, light some metaphorical candles (or even a bonfire) as we open our minds to some of the truths that we might perhaps shy away from otherwise. Because these shadowy truths and questions will never be addressed until we learn to get comfortable facing them and engaging with them!
First question to ponder: How much are you actually willing to change in your own life to "save the world"? And how does this compare to the adjustments you expect other people to make? When you envision a "conservation solution" that requires alteration or adaptation in how communities live, are those things that you yourself would actually be okay doing?
If someone knocked on your door tomorrow and said, "So, you're going to need to stop taking flights for fieldwork, for conferences, for workshops, because it contributes to climate change," how would you react? (As a note: I fully appreciate the value of in-person interactions. And I also admit that I am not willing to stop flying, and I will not give some sort of wobbly excuse like "the things I do whe n I travel help save the world through research and sharing ideas" - and I have to accept that this is me being selfish).
For those of us in the Global North, what would you change to reduce your disproportionate impact on the planet? What privileges would you relinquish? Like, really - what would you ACTUALLY do? And what's stopping you from doing it?
On a related note: What would those of us in a position of relative privilege do to make conservation truly more inclusive? Beyond stated commitments to "diversity" and increasing travel grants to a somewhat-less-but-still-wholly inadequate level? Beyond "well, we looked into decreasing the cost of this conference for Global South participants, but it's just hard"?
And: peer-reviewed publishing. Oh my goodness, is this