My name is VImbainashe Eunick Chitauro, a conservationist from Zimbabwe specializing in Conservation education. From a young age, I have been passionate about working with wildlife, and as I progressed in my career, I have come to understand the crucial link between wildlife and communities. My goal is to educate and equip the next generation with the knowledge and skills to become future custodians of biodiversity, carrying forward the important work already being done. With over 4 years of experience in the conservation field, I have had the privilege of educating over 5000 children and community members on conservation matters. I am eager to connect with conservationists from around the world to make a significant impact together. I believe that through collaboration, we can make a difference in preserving our planet's wildlife and natural resources.

My background is mainly in species conservation, education and capacity development. 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 work as Community Manager at WildHub since 2020, and I am an Associate Member 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. 

 I am an Ecologist by training. My research interests have focused on : Relations between protected areas and local communities; Wildlife conservation; Community Building; Environmental governance ; Conflict management ; Climate change.

Passionate lover of nature

Silto Jaime Cristóvão is a Biodiversity Conservation Specialist and Environmental Activist. He has a degree in Biology teaching with habilitations in Chemistry teaching from the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics of the Pedagogical University of Mozambique (UP-FCNM). Currently he is a Master candidate in Geographic Information Systems and Natural Resources Monitoring at the Catholic University of Mozambique, Faculty of Economics and Management (UCM-FEG), Beira, Sofala and Master candidate in Territorial Planning and Biodiversity Conservation from Zambezi University, Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Natural Resources (UZ-FEARN), Chimoio, Manica. He is also a candidate for a Professional Driver's License. Mr Cristóvão worked as Coordinator of SMART (Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool), Biodiversity Survey and Monitoring in Niassa Lion Project or Niassa Carnivores Project, a Biodiversity Conservation and Environment Protection company based in Niassa Special Reserve. Has experience in biodiversity research, especially carnivores, having participated in the last carnivore research call up edition, in the Niassa Special Reserve in 2018. He also worked as a Research Officer for the Wildlife Conservation Society Mozambique, a non-profit organization that manages the Niassa Special Reserve in partnership with the Government of Mozambique through the National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC). Silto Jaime Cristóvão has a wide experience in Natural Resources Monitoring, Biodiversity Conservation and Environmental Protection acting as Conservation Biologist. He has taught Biology and Chemistry and has experience in the areas of Journalism and Radio Broadcasting with emphasis on radio journalism and voice-over. Skills: Conservation and Law Enforcement in Protected Areas, Research and Monitoring, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Environmental Science, Spatial Analysis, Remote Sensing (RS), Global Positioning System (GPS), Fieldwork and Camera Traps Monitoring, Community Development, Management and Evaluation of Environmental Projects, Ecological Data Management, Carnivore Survey and Call Up, Mapping and Monitoring of Ecosystems, Analysis of Policies and Strategies for Biodiversity Conservation.

My name is Athumani Zuberi. I am 28 years old. I live in Arusha, Tanzania. My lifelong purpose is to contribute to the Global Effort of Building a Better World for the Coming Generations. I am the Founder and President of Mt. Kilimanjaro Life Foundation and Tanzania Wildlife Society    I looked around in my community and saw people having enormous difficulties to contribute to the development of themselves, their families, and their country. I had a wake up call when I realized that more than 3 billion people on our planet live in poverty which prompted me to found Mt. Kilimanjaro Life Foundation    The social mission of Mt KLF is to teach the community higher consciousness entrepreneurs and leadership skills. As Einstein said: “We cannot solve our current problems from the same consciousness that created them.” To begin, we need a shift in the way we think. The world is nothing but a reflection of our mindsets. Before the outer change can come we need an inner transformation.    This new insight completely changed the way I approached my life goal. We cannot make a lasting contribution feeding the poor by hunting for money in a system where money is purposely created in scarcity by a ruling elite. We need to redevelop the system.    Next I asked myself: "What is the system?" Then I realized that WE are the system. So if we change, the world will change. I had never been that excited. I will now dedicate the rest of my life to awaken the people to the power we have inside. It is time to unite and learn! . . .  ! or maybe I should say unlearn!    My vision is a world that works for ALL people!  Through community economic development projects such as Mt. Kilimanjaro Living Classroom, skill training, mentor-mentee matching, entrepreneurship development, and private public partnership programs help to empower women leadership and youth job opportunities as well as improve social infrastructure within each village, communities, and then subsequently towns and cities. This is how we may uplift each other one person, one village, one community at a time!

I lead and deliver a part-theory, part hand-on course in Wildlife, Ecology and Conservation at Kingston Maurward College, on the South Coast of the UK. I have managed Rangers and Engagement staff and overseen species and habitat management for over 20 years, but my passions are around people and conservation. From writing bids for engagement projects/roles to developing the future workforce, I believe the key to a brighter ecological future lies with people. I received the Alumni of the Year Award from Bournemouth University, in 2018, nominated for my work in supporting young people in Conservation, and our team have developed an industry standard placement scheme. I am also the co-host of a Conservation podcast; The Hive.

Highly experienced in supporting policy and decision making through delivering data on marine species, coastal pollution, and water delivery on the local, state, and federal levels. Early in my career I took every opportunity I could to gain experience in marine mammal science from California to Quebec. These opportunities created strong connections eventually guiding me to researching plastic pollution while earning my masters degree. As I finished writing my thesis, I began working with NASA on projects using satellite imagery and big data to investigate drought, this experience immensely strengthened my project management, mapping, and analytical skills. Last year I ventured into conservation writing wanting to build on my science communication skills. I would be happy to feature your project or career journey as a blog post within WildHub, so feel free to reach out to set up a short chat/interview.