PROTECT THE PLANET
As we all know, with great power comes great responsibility. So if using your
science degree to save the planet just happens to involve travelling to exotic
locations, diving among beautiful corals or exploring the Amazon rainforest,
then who are you to shirk your duties?
Peter Mumby , a professor of marine ecology at the University of Exeter, is doing
his bit for the planet by helping to protect coral reefs from the damaging effects of
climate change and ocean acidification. “The ocean is my lab,” says Mumby, who
spends around four months a year travelling, diving and sailing as part of his work.
“Some of the locations are really remote,” he says, “so you have to hire a boat
and spend weeks sailing around.” On the downside, the weather can get pretty
rough, but he says the underwater scenery makes up for it: “I look up and see
manta rays and sharks swimming past.” How many scientists can say the same of
views from their labs? The amount of travel can be excessive, “but it’s more a way
of life than a regular job”, he explains.
Even if your main motivation for doing a PhD is to go and live somewhere
exciting, you might get hooked on research. That’s what happened to Simon Lewis,
a Royal Society research fellow studying how tropical forests are responding to
global environmental changes. Lewis enjoyed the two years he spent doing
research in the Amazon so much, he now spends a third of the year in Africa
working across 10 countries to initiate tropical forest monitoring projects.
Both Mumby and Lewis work with local communities, which means meeting
different kinds of people and experiencing unfamiliar cultures. “I meet local people
and talk to them about the issues and their priorities,” says Mumby, “then I see it
translate into a reality and that’s really rewarding.”
Budding conservationists should start by getting hands-on experience.
Volunteer your services even if you have to save up and cover your expenses –
few people will turn down free assistance, and you get to build up some invaluable
field experience in return.
Making a difference in conservation doesn’t just happen at the front line. Lucy
Potashnick works for WWF supporting forest and marine conservation work in
Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique. Despite working from a UK office, her support
role is crucial to overseas projects that protect dozens of species, from elephants
to whale sharks. Potashnick’s organisational and time management skills are
essential as she has to manage projects, budgets and consultants, while keeping
up to speed with what’s happening in the field.
However you’re saving the planet, passion is essential, says Lewis, especially
when in the field. “It will see you through those difficult times where you get ill,
have to spend weeks convalescing, then go back out to the forest and carry on.”
And remember, Superman might make saving the planet look easy but
“conservation isn’t successful overnight”, says Potashnick. “It can take years
to achieve your goals.”
Save a child
MOSQUITOES and malaria are usually
best avoided, but if you want to beat them,
sometimes you have to join them. Ruth
Ashton packed her bags and moved to
Ethiopia after completing an MSc in control
of infectious diseases at the London School of
Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. “Adjusting to
a new country can be tough, and however
much you try, you will always stand out,”
she says. “But it’s usually a positive thing.
People are curious to learn about you and
are incredibly hospitable.”
In the capital, Addis Ababa, Ashton
4 | NewScientist | 24 October 2009
works with Malaria Consortium, a non-profit
organisation dedicated to malaria control .
Part of her job involves going into schools to
collect data about malaria, which is used to
inform policy-makers and optimise diseasecontrol
programmes. “There is no typical
day,” she says. “We will visit 200 rural schools
in an area the size of Germany, and test
20,000 children for malaria.”
Working out the logistics for four teams
involves a delicate balance of priorities due to
the seasonality of malaria, the transportation
of all the supplies, equipment and staff, and
keeping to budget. And let’s not forget
negotiating the basic road network – which
can be “gloriously muddy” – and enduring
frequent power cuts.
Nonetheless, Ashton particularly enjoys
this hands-on work – visiting the communities
to collect data, and being able to use her skills
and knowledge to directly benefit others.
“That’s a reward in itself,” she says, “and I
get to see spectacular scenery along the way.”
Ashton gets paid a local rate salary, which
is enough to live on comfortably in Ethiopia,
“but wouldn’t last long in London and won’t
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