Rewildology

Nepal.

The land of rugged mountains, rich grasslands, and unparalleled biodiversity.

In March 2021, my fellow globetrotting partner, Courtney Gonzalez, and I traveled to Nepal to experience conservation firsthand in this ecologically abundant country.

What we learned blew our minds.

We met with multiple conservationists working tirelessly to protect both wildlife and people in a country that’s experiencing alarmingly high rates of conflict.

And you’re going to meet them, too.

The stories in this series are raw, unfiltered, and not for the faint of heart. They paint a realistic picture of what it’s like to live with very dangerous animals and how difficult it is to protect people from coming into conflict with wildlife, and vice versa, especially during a pandemic and unstable political situations.

With that being said, you’ll also hear hope and determination from some of the most dedicated people I’ve ever met.

Be sure to hit that follow button because you won’t want to miss any moment of this series. 

See full show notes at rewildology.com.
Discover more ways to watch, listen, and interact: https://linktr.ee/Rewildology
Follow Rewildology on Instagram: @Rewildology

A special thanks to Katie Adamson Conservation Fund for their support in this series. You can learn more about KACF by checking out Episode 2 with Dave Johnson. Ep. 2 Show Notes | Finding Your Path with Dave Johnson

This week’s guest, Jesse Weiland, takes me through his rather unique path into becoming a park ranger in the Rocky Mountains, losing three ranger jobs in a row to COVID, and launching an outdoor education company called Rugged Research along with other Rocky Mountain National Park Rangers (@RuggedResearchTV).

If any of you are considering entering the national park service or are currently looking for a role in the conservation field, you will not want to miss this conversation. Jesse’s story is full of hope, determination, and finding a way to monetize his environmental science master’s degree when all other options were lost.

If you’re liking the show, please hit the follow button and share with someone you think would enjoy this episode. Sharing is the best way to help the show grow!

See full show notes at rewildology.com.
Discover more ways to watch, listen, and interact: https://linktr.ee/Rewildology
Follow Rewildology on Instagram: @Rewildology

Hello and welcome back to Rewildology! In this episode, I’m chatting with Kathayoon Khalil, PhD. We explore her experiences growing up in an all-white community, how she discovered her love for wildlife conservation through her many summers at the Oregon Zoo and how she gained her parent’s approval for pursuing a path in conservation.

Kathayoon’s PhD research and career are as fascinating as they are important for furthering the conservation education field, and I’ve provided links to her work in the show notes at rewildology.com. She also gives great advice throughout the entire conversation for anyone considering a PhD and those of you that might be struggling with depression. 

Don’t forget to subscribe and review wherever you’re listening. Sharing is the best way to help the show grow and I know I couldn’t do it without every single one of you.

See full show notes at rewildology.com
Discover more ways to watch, listen, and interact: https://linktr.ee/Rewildology
Follow Rewildology on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rewildology/

No matter how the past year turned out for you, you’re going to relate to this week’s guest, Sheridan Samano. Sheridan is the co-founder and owner of Reefs to Rockies, a boutique travel company that specializes in creating the best nature and wildlife itineraries. Her goal is to give her clients the greatest nature experiences of their life while having as little impact on the environment as possible. I know that you all are well aware that COVID completely crashed the tourism industry, and we explore what it was like for her to almost lose her business.

Sheridan is the perfect example of “embracing the suck” as Brene Brown would say and created something beautiful out of her new situation. Sheridan is an avid birder and in her newfound downtime, she wrote a book called “Best Birding Hikes – Colorado Front Range“ and continued to grow her popular MeetUp group, “Birding and Beers”. Sheridan drops life bombs throughout the whole conversation and I’m sure she’ll impact you just as much as she impacted me.

We met at her favorite birding spot outside of Boulder, Colorado to record this episode. So you’ll hear some lively birds chirping in the background and a few airplanes flying over head. 

If you’re liking the show, please be sure to subscribe so that you can be notified when a new episode drops. I’d really love to hear what you think by leaving a review on wherever you’re listening or commenting on Rewildology’s YouTube channel. I’m also very active on the socials, and you can DM me on Instagram or LinkedIn @rewildology or email at [email protected].

See full show notes at rewildology.com
Discover more ways to watch, listen, and interact: https://linktr.ee/Rewildology
Follow Rewildology on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rewildology/

Today, Anne and I chat in-depth about the 1994 Rwanda genocide. She discovered her passion for the topic when she joined a study abroad trip in undergrad to learn more about the event. She was hooked. It combined her curiosity in human psychology, her love of history, and how to help communities avoid similar atrocities in the future. Don’t worry, there’s a strong conservation undertone throughout the episode. We talk about how human violence affects local wildlife, especially during genocides, and how Rwanda has become a leader in conservation, famous for its local superstar, mountain gorillas.

See full show notes at rewildology.com
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Y6Q9nof-wsU
Discover more ways to watch, listen, and interact: https://linktr.ee/Rewildology
Follow Rewildology on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rewildology/

In this episode, I’m chatting with Eric Schmidt, who is the Executive Director of Wildlife Protection Solutions. WPS’s mission is to use technology to conserve endangered species and ecosystems, and boy are they good at it. Eric and I chat about how WPS came to be, the technology they’ve deployed around the world, and he even shares a few stories about catching poachers in the act. We also talk in-depth about the poaching industry and why it’s not a straightforward issue. And as in most episodes, we discuss the personal struggles he’s had to overcome and how he’s continuing to move forward in this emotional field.

See full show notes at rewildology.com
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5NI6GNVXZKo
Discover more ways to watch, listen, and interact: https://linktr.ee/Rewildology
Follow Rewildology on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rewildology/

In Part 2 of my conversation with Daniella, we explore the struggles she’s encountered throughout her career and what she’s had to overcome to continue moving forward. We also chat about when she thinks she’ll finally have reached success and gives fantastic life advice that you’ll want to hear.

If you’re digging the show, please follow and share wherever you’re listening. Sharing is the best way to help the show grow and I promise to continue bringing on fascinating guests and topics.

See full show notes at rewildology.com
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/FACir1YRC7U
Discover more ways to watch, listen, and interact: https://linktr.ee/Rewildology
Follow Rewildology on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rewildology/

Any comments, suggestions, or just want to say hi? Sweet! Email at [email protected].

In this week’s episodes, I’m chatting with a very interesting researcher, Daniella Chusyd, Ph.D. who is studying elephants to better understand ourselves.

In Part 1, we go back in time and learn about her childhood, international experiences, and opportunities that led her to academia. We go into depth about her current research, and let me tell you, it’s fascinating. From studying elephant mental aging to working with elephant orphanages in Zambia and South Africa to understand how experiencing early life trauma relates to health, behavior, and cognition, Daniella is pioneering a whole new way to learn about us while conserving the world’s largest land animal. I’ve studied elephants a lot over the years and I learned so much from Daniella. I’m sure you will, too!

In tomorrow’s episode, she and I explore her struggles throughout her career and what she’s had to overcome to get to where she is today. She also gives fantastic, applicable advice that you won’t want to miss it!

If you’re liking the show so far, please subscribe and share wherever you’re listening. Sharing is the best way to help the show grow and I promise to continue bringing on fascinating guests and sharing their inspiring stories.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rhWEut3aIl8
Discover more ways to watch, listen, and interact: https://linktr.ee/Rewildology
Follow Rewildology on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rewildology/

Any comments, suggestions, or just want to say hi? Sweet! Email at [email protected].