Feeling positive about conservation

It had been an early start to get to Oxford by 8 am Tuesday 3rd September. Upon my arrival I was greeted by glorious warm sunshine that reflected back off the magnificent stonework buildings that this world renowned city is famous for.

As I walked past the Sheldonian Theatre my head was full of thoughts of academic history and achievement. It seemed that Oxford was the perfect setting for a conference that seeks to promote ways to communicate the ‘science’ of conservation to a wider audience and to inspire us to care for our beautiful planet.

Having reached the campus of St Catherines College on the outskirts of town the day kicked off with a plenary talk from Alex Deghan from Conservation X Labs, who inspired us with tales of innovation and technology in the conservation world.

Anyone who starts their talk with ’the problem with conservation is that it is filled with conservationists’ is up there in my books – we need fresh perspectives from many disciplines working together to help us in our mission to save Planet Earth.

The afternoon plenary was given by Robin Moore author of ‘In Search of Lost Frogs’ and a true conservation hero. He talked about how to leverage unique and quirky stories to promote conservation issues in a positive and inspiring way.

The day was interspersed with two workshops that covered a wide range of subjects all focussed on the challenge of positively communicating conservation issues and successes.

Combine that with a world class list of speakers and delegates and the 2nd Conservation Optimism Summit was a huge success and everyone who I spoke to came away with a sense of purpose and positivity – see you there next time!