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 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.
Daniele Clifford
Marine Futures Intern, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, The Crown Estate, Ørsted and Natural England
I'm currently working with Cumbria Wildlife Trust, The Crown Estate, Ørsted and Natural England as a Marine Futures Intern. I returned to the UK in 2020 after working in Alderney for a year as the Ramsar Officer for Alderney Wildlife Trust, responsible for leading the Ramsar Programme for the island's marine Ramsar site; home to two gannet colonies, breeding puffins, guillemots, gulls and grey seals etc. I was involved in everything from project management, ecological surveys, research (my favourite projects researched the impact of anthropogenic materials (mainly plastic fishing line) on gannets), events and, engaging and advising the government. Prior to this I worked as a Research Assistant in Seville and gained a qualification in European Community Development. I graduated with a BSc in Environmental Science in 2017.
After a decade of training to be a wildlife conservationist, I founded Lonely Conservationists to help conservationists thrive by providing a platform to be heard, employment pathways and a strong community foundation. As well as running Lonely Conservationists, I teach sustainability incursions and excursions to school students in a classroom, forest and marine park environments.
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.