So, what is a 'conservation professional'?

I see myself as a conservation planner who works with partners to apply social research methodologies to collaboratively design, implement, evaluate and improve conservation initiatives. Trained originally as a soil scientist, I have worked in government in NSW and Western Australia as a conservation planner and science manager, held academic positions at Rhodes University and the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa and also Imperial College London in, you guessed it, London.

I am passionate about exploring through research and practice the ways in which transdisciplinarity can be enacted as a form of praxis - the process by which a theory or idea is enacted, embodied or realized (thank Aristotle for that) - to learn how myself and others can become evermore effective at learning how to deliver conservation outcomes.

The foundation of my work lies in understanding the values, attitudes and behaviours of individuals and teams and the planning processes and institutions in which they work. My applied research has included development of quantitative instruments to understand the commitment of landholders to private land conservation initiatives and the tolerance of people to human-wildlife coexistence challenges. Recently, I have applied qualitative systems thinking techniques to diagnose factors limiting the effectiveness of palm oil supply chains and stewardship conservation programs. I have a particular interest in why conservation initiatives fail (including my own!) so that individuals and teams can better understand and positively transform the attitudes and behaviours of all those involved in conservation towards learning from our failures and successes.

I was a Program Director of the Masters in Conservation Science at Imperial College London, and co-established the Transdiscipinary Doctoral Program at the University of Stellenbosch. I believe firmly in the importance of a 'lived' education in conservation science for both students, volunteers, researchers and professionals.

I am interested to discuss potential Masters and PhD research ideas, so contact me if you'd like to do so.