Hello Everyone,
I am very excited about joining this wide-ranging and practical network. I have been working in the conservation field since 1996 in a range of roles including grant fundraising, grant management, network co-ordination and communications. In 2001 I got an MSc from the Durrell Institute of Conservation Ecology, with fieldwork and thesis on the Mallorcan midwife toad. However, much of my work has involved projects and campaigns relating to elephants and great apes, in both Africa and Asia.
I love the ecology side of conservation and I am fascinated by rewilding, but I am also passionate about community and indigenous rights and finding ways that they can be more deeply embedded in conservation approaches. (I am currently involved in a project looking at this from a donor perspective, so if any grant-makers out there want to know more, please drop me a line.) Having spent much of my career working in offices in the UK to support small organisations in the field overseas, I have immense respect for people who do this work and I am always happy when I can help out.
I am currently working for a travel consultancy called ANOMINDIAL, based in Brighton, UK, that advises the industry on issues of animal welfare, biodiversity protection and Nature Positive Tourism. I manage our Animal Protection Network … I’ll post more about that soon. I am also a freelance writer, working on anything from blogs to reports to science articles. I am really looking forward to finding opportunities to collaborate, share perspectives and support the conservation community through this inspiring platform.
All the best,
David
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Hi David, a warm welcome to WildHub and thanks for sharing your inspiring introduction! My curiosity got the best of me so one question that came up for me straight away, why the name "Mallorcan midwife toad"? :)
It's named after a cool reproductive behaviour. The females lay eggs in strings, like most toads, but rather than leaving them in a pond or pool the male toad wraps the strings around his legs and looks after the eggs until they hatch. So, the fathers are actually the 'midwives' to the babies. Another lovely thing about them is their call. It is just a short single-note whistle, but they all do it at a slightly different pitch and the cumulative effect is quite enchanting. (There's a good field recording on Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/colin-hunter/common-midwife-toads-lorraine-france).
Amazing! Thanks for sharing this brilliant fact about the Mallorcan midwife toad David and that sound file is mesmerising (good to fall asleep with :)
Welcome David, good to have you join us.
Welcome aboard! Your job sounds very interesting. As someone who is currently searching for potential opportunities to continue my conservation career, I'd be interested in talking with you more about what your job with ANOMINDIAL entails. I haven't heard of many travel agencies with that focus in mind. You also may have my dream job as I would love to get into project management on international conservation projects. :)
Hi Anne, it sounds like you are doing lots of volunteering, which is how I made the connections that got me my first role in project management. As for the travel sector, it is mostly Adventure Travel companies that are really engaged with local conservation work, but many of the larger companies have sustainability programmes and sometimes these include biodiversity elements (although we are trying to encourage this much more). You are more than welcome to drop me a line in Conversations to ask more about my experiences ...
Welcome to the wildhub community David!
Your introduction is very inspiring. I hope you have a great time here.