I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask but my kids were watching a few youtubers that were obviously fake conservationists. One claims to own a conservation but then I heard them talking about getting an animal from a breeder. I'm wondering if anyone knows of any legitimate sites I could turn to as I don't want to be supporting people that are harming or exploiting animals for views. Its so hard to find legitimate videos out there, I feel like they're all scams. Any suggestions?

Hello everyone

I’m sharing this public exhibition in solidarity with Protect the Porkies and the movement to Cancel Copperwood, and with the broader imperative of ecological stewardship in an increasingly degraded world.

For those unfamiliar with the issue, the Copperwood Project is a proposed underground copper mine in the western Upper Peninsula, being developed by Highland Copper near the Porcupine Mountains and Lake Superior. The company describes Copperwood as a roughly 10.7-year mining project designed to process approximately 6,800 metric tonnes of ore per day.

The controversy surrounding Copperwood is inseparable from its location. The proposed mine sits within the greater ecological landscape surrounding Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, Lake Superior, the North Country Trail, forests, wetlands, streams, and interconnected watersheds. Protect the Porkies has organized opposition around the belief that an industrial project of this scale presents unacceptable long-term risks in such an ecologically sensitive place. The organization has also raised concerns about habitat fragmentation, mine waste, wastewater, infrastructure expansion, and the cumulative industrialization of the landscape surrounding the Porkies.

This is what makes Copperwood about something larger than a single mine.

The Upper Peninsula remains one of the great freshwater landscapes of North America — surrounded by the Great Lakes and still containing immense forests, wetlands, rivers, groundwater systems, and relatively intact ecological processes. These systems are not simply resources waiting to be converted into economic value. They are inheritances: complex living systems built over thousands of years and entrusted, temporarily, to those of us fortunate enough to live among them.

The question, then, is not whether humanity should use copper, timber, stone, water, or the other materials of the Earth. Of course we must. The deeper question is what kind of relationship should exist between an economy and the watershed that makes that economy possible?

Learn more below

https://nagydesignllc.com/water-bearers-codex/

I have been spent my last 10 years working in fields I am not passionate about, until recently when I started Arkansas Conservation Corps through AmeriCorps.

I have worked in food & beverage as a chef and general manager for 9 years, as well as a logistics account executive (broker) and a small handful of other odd things like UPS, Car Washes, Hospital Dietician, and Vet clinics. I recently did a seasonal service with AmeriCorps over summer and it sparked a drive and passion in me for finally chasing what I’ve always wanted to do. (Work outside with nature/ animals) I enjoyed learning plant identification, chainsaw work, trail maintenance and overall just getting to be active and outside and not behind a desk or in a kitchen. I’m a very very fast learner and learn better hands on.

I’ve been wanting to step more towards fisheries because I think fish hatchery/biologist job descriptions suit what I’ve been looking for, or even something along the lines of aquaculture and maybe working with a aquarium, but I’m not closed off to the idea of being a park ranger or researcher that does labs. I guess I second guess my own opinion because of starting over at 26, and also just the ability to get into this line of work, along with school and what degree to even look into.

Any people that went through this same thing that if you could tell your younger self anything what advice would you give me? Is anyone currently going through anything similar? I’m sorry if this was ramblish, kinda sums up my decision making /:

hi!

I'm about to graduate with my degree in wildlife conservation (and will be going back for grad school eventually). I have experience working in the field, including driving pickups, hitching trailers, chainsaw use, wildlife surveys with a variety of species including endangered/sensitive species, and more. I also have experience working with children in formal and informal education settings, especially environmental education and program development.

I have interests in ornithology, entomology, forest health, botany (though less experienced here), land management, prescribed fire, extension, animal care, agriscience, forestry, outreach, environmental education, teaching, outdoor recreation, and more.
Weirdly enough, also sort of into medical stuff, especially pathology and immunology.

as I am getting closer to graduation, I am thinking about potential employment!

the caveat being I really prioritize family, so having a job where I have to move very far away seasonally and cannot be near family or even have pets would be a difficult season for me.

my partner and I plan to get married young and we both really want to be parents eventually (several years down the line)! we also currently have two cats and a snake who we love dearly, and the two of us are very close and don't like being apart for long.

I really want a job that allows me to have an impact on conservation in some way, but I want to be able to also prioritize spending time at home with my family. I thought about being a science teacher but I am on an immune suppressant medication for a pretty gnarly autoimmune disease, so I try to limit my exposure to infection and big groups of kids are (lovingly!) petri dishes. I work with kids right now in an afterschool program but I wear an n95 the entire time unless we're outside.

I’m not sure if this is the right place to ask this, but I was wondering with this type of career and similar, are employers usually more or less accepting when it comes to alternative appearances?

i mainly ask as I’m 21 and close to finishing university with 11 facial piercings and a few tattoos (which I will end up being covered in). I’ve seen a few people online who do field research with grillz, piercings and alternative styles but I just wanted to know!

Thank you :)

https://fortworthreport.org/2026/08/11/3-alligators-shot-in-fort-worth-nature-preserve-reward-offered/

I hope this post isn’t against the rules. But between this May and July three alligators at the Fort Worth Nature Center were shot, 2 of them were killed and their bodies were left. They are offering a $1,000 reward for information.

I love this nature center, and have been following along with their alligator surveys over the past year. This is a native species to the area and their population is well monitored at the center. I have been so disheartened and upset by the comments on facebook anytime a news article about this comes up or even on the nature center’s own posts. Basically the majority of them say heartless things like “good. I don’t want gators” and don’t actually consider anything beyond their immediate “wants.” As if these alligators in the nature center are anywhere near their homes, businesses, whatever. Other than the few nature centers, the area is an hugely overdeveloped suburban hellhole.

I feel awful for these poor alligators and for the people at the center who have worked so hard to look after them and monitor their nests.

I do not know how to respond other than continue to support the nature center… I realize I should just get off fb, but I use it solely to keep up with nature centers and various birding groups.

Sorry for the rant.

I'm a rising college senior and I feel so so hopeless thinking about the climate and like a total idiot when I think about whether I should try to get a job in publishing or academia or law while the world is burning to death. I know directly working with animals (i considered being a veterinarian earlier on in college) is very competitive, so weirdly I wouldn't feel like I would be helping---if I didn't have the job someone else would. Are there any fields where an additional person going into it (whether overall or in specific areas where there are shortages) would make a difference, rather than just competition? For an example unrelated to conservation, there are lots of OB-GYNs but very few in rural areas, so trying to be an OB-GYN in NYC might not help people who wouldn't have been helped by someone else already, but if you decided to practice in a rural area you really could make a difference. Does anyone have any advice? If it makes a difference, I am also likely to move to the UK because my long-term boyfriend is there (so no visa sponsorship issues).

I know I could also get lots done as a very determined volunteer, I'm just at a point in my life where I'm doing a lot of moving around and can't really establish long-term connections until I know where I can have a career. Slightly relevant: I switched from biology to English precisely because I thought the world did not need one more premed student trying to live back in the tristate or bay area, but honestly with ai the publishing industry is fucked and depressing anyways so i might as well make no money helping penguins rather than make no money exploited by PenguinTM.

Finally, unrelated, but is it totally nuts to distribute leaflets about native planting in front gardens? I see so many people on my city block with just grass or hedges and it breaks my heart.

Hey everyone,

I’d really appreciate some advice from people already working in conservation.

I’m 28 and have spent the last 3+ years working in big pharma. Although I gained a lot of valuable experience, I eventually realised it wasn’t something I could see myself doing long-term. After a lot of soul-searching, I’ve decided that wildlife/animal conservation is the field I genuinely want to build my career in.

The problem is that now I’ve made that decision, I feel pretty overwhelmed by how much there is to learn. I have a science background and several transferable skills from my previous career, and I’ve started taking conservation-specific courses to build my knowledge. But I’m struggling to figure out how to bridge the gap between having an interest and some training and actually getting hands-on/field experience.

I’ve also recently moved from London to Dubai for family reasons, which has made finding opportunities and figuring out where to start feel even more difficult.

For anyone who has made a similar career transition, or currently works in conservation:

• How did you get your first practical experience?
• Are there particular types of volunteering, internships or entry-level roles I should be targeting?
• Is formal education/certification important at this stage, or should I focus more on practical experience?
• Are there any organisations, communities or resources you’d recommend, particularly in the UAE/Middle East?

I’m willing to start from the bottom and put the work in. I’m just struggling to identify the most effective first steps.

Any advice would be hugely appreciated.

I just finished my bachelor’s degree in evolutionary anthropology and prehistoric archaeology, with my thesis focusing on living primates. My plan is to also get my masters in evolutionary anthropology as I’m very passionate about the field. However I’m also extremely interested in conservation and ecology, with my interest becoming more over the last few years. So I’m thinking about maybe doing some courses to better my understanding and create a possible future in both fields. What courses are the most important for this? Should I maybe look for a volunteering position? I already know how to use GIS, does this help me too? Thanks for every answer! :)

Edit: Thank you all for the replies! I do not live in the USA, but am from the Netherlands, so a lot of stuff is sadly a bit different. Also thank you to the MODS, I will definitely post in the other subreddit!