I was born in Kenya and have lived i the UK for 42 years now. My many years of working with small businesses and running various events to raise the profile of the businesses, has landed me a post for fundraiser Trustee for a UK wildlife Hospital. The founders of the hospital are very seasoned friends of mine and their dedication to saving every wildlife animal bird that comes through their door, is simply inspirational.  Therefore, I want to learn more about writing funding applications and grant applications. I also want to share my experiences of what has worked for us and what has not. Hopefully, we can all become better at doing what we do, through skill sharing. 

My background is mainly in species conservation, education and capacity exchange. I researched mother-young interactions in gorillas and chimpanzees, in captivity and the wild. After that, I worked for three years in Indonesia, where I developed and implemented youth ambassador and community engagement programmes on local and regional scales. I co-founded WildHub, a community of nature conservation professionals, in 2020 and work as their Community Lead. I am furthermore on the Advisory Board of the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) at the University of Kent where I obtained my PhD on capacity development for conservation in 2022. 

A large part of my role is keeping track of ongoing projects (e.g. residentials, online workshops, training programmes, to name a few), which can become very complex. This course could be the best insight into how to effectively manage projects year-round, and provide me with suggestions and extensive resources. New teachings could also expand the work BTO Youth does and bring with it new project planning ideas. WildHub also sounds fantastic! It feels great being a part of an online community and comes with so many benefits and opportunities. Look forward to connecting with many of you! Feel free to check out more about me here: https://www.bto.org/about-bto/our-staff/rachael-griffiths

 Hello there I am a Donor relations specialist and grant writer learner eager to learn more about conservation organizations and the grant writing process that supports writing winning project proposals for conservation projects and non-conservation projects in Africa, particularly Zambia with a focus on biodiversity conservation, wildlife conservation health and community development projects

I am a passionate conservationist with six years of experience in the field. Currently, I am pursuing a Master's degree in Biodiversity Conservation at Chinhoyi University of Technology and serve as the Acting Head of the Biodiversity Monitoring and Ecosystem Services Department at My Trees Trust. In this role, I manage conservation projects across our three leased areas: Charara Safari Area, Tsetse Island, and Gache Kanyati Community Conservancy. I have a keen interest in modern conservation technologies, including EarthRanger, SMART, GIS, QGIS, and AI Camera Traps. My primary focus is on integrating traditional conservation practices with these innovative technologies to enhance our conservation efforts and promote sustainable practices.

With experience in Marine Animal Rehab., Rescue and Research coupled with a nerdy love of data, data science and all things technology, my data collection software company, WatchSpotter is the cumulation of my life’s work. From the hallways of the Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center at the University of New England, my affinity for caring for marine animals was fostered and grew. Being tasked with the center’s life support systems and flow thru animal pools further opened my eyes to water quality, fecal coliforms, and bio-loads.  I was the primary research technician in a multiphase study: Protecting the Saco River: Tracking non-point fecal pollution to its species source. Upon leaving UNE, I traveled to the Southern Great Barrier Reef Australia to work on an international research team focusing on population dynamics for three cetacean species. Once back stateside, I sharpened my Software UX skills working as a software consultant for Centersoft Technologies. After a brief stint volunteering for the Dolphin Photo ID program at Florida Atlantic University Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, I was hired to join the team. I split time the first years at FAU HBOI between the Harmful Algal Bloom lab and the Dolphin Population and Assessment Lab. Settling in as a Research Assistant for the latter as well as a first responder for the Marine Mammal Rescue Team. In working with the Dolphin Population and Assessment Primary Researcher, along with other industry collaborators, I soon became the PIs data analyst and was paramount in the creation and development of the programs state of the art cloud-based SQL database platform. I worked as a liaison between the research program and software architects to assure ease of use, maximum data output and advanced analytics. The software is still used by the newly formed team today.  At the end of 2019 it was time for me to branch out on my own.  In the spring of 2022, WatchSpotter was born. My idea was to create a customizable SaaS application that could be used by researchers worldwide. Data is data- scientific questions need to be answered. My contingency was that no matter what the research topic- if the research brings people into the field-whether scientists, volunteers, or citizens, they are there to gather data-to answer questions. I knew that the two biggest challenges facing many environmental research groups were time and money. It would not be feasible for most nonprofits or other environmental institutions to pay for custom software- which often runs in excess of $150K nor do they have the time to wait for such programs to be complete.  These known challenges fueled the customization and simple UX that make up the WatchSpotter platform. When I’m working with Environmental Science or software, I enjoy being outside in the woods or at the beach, volunteering and hanging with family and friends.