Voices of Wilderness

If conservation is a long, complex journey, why do we keep trying to tell it as though there's a quick and simple answer?Conservation is rarely a straight path. It takes time, involves countless people, and often asks us to work towards a future we may never see ourselves. Yet we keep looking for quick fixes and simple answers to deeply intricate problems.Aiita calls this the Conservationist’s Dilemma–the subject of his new writing endeavour.In this episode, Jackie meets Aiita Joshua Apamaku, a wildlife biologist, National Geographic Explorer from Uganda, and Co-Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas Wilderness Specialist Group. His work brings together science, storytelling, and more inclusive approaches to conservation.Together, they explore how to bring stories into policy spaces, communicate without losing people in jargon, and embrace conservation as a long-term process rather than a search for quick fixes.What would happen if we started telling a different kind of story?Before listening to the episode, please consider supporting our work at WILD, which allows us to dedicate time to creating these conversations for you.Follow #VoW on Instagram & SubstackHosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

How many people have felt stuck, even afraid, after hearing apocalyptic climate stories and messages over and over again? It’s hard when so much of the media focuses on the doom and gloom.Because what happens when there is so much good work being done for the planet—work that deserves to be seen, work that could bring people together and inspire action—but we don’t know how to make those stories cut through? Especially in a world where our attention spans seem to be getting shorter, and the noise keeps getting louder.In this episode, Jackie meets Tom Lovett. Tom is a communications professional with a background in cultural anthropology and the exploration of human-nature relations. He’s a firm believer in the power of positive storytelling. He doesn’t look away from the weight of today’s interconnected crises, but he’s convinced that real change is already happening—it just needs the right storytellers to find it and share it.Together, in this episode, they dive into how to cut through the noise, how to create hopeful communications, the power of slow storytelling, how to bring people together, and how to tell stories that inspire action. Tom responds to Jackie’s first question:How do we move beyond apocalyptic climate stories?Before listening to the episode, please consider supporting our work at WILD, which allows us to dedicate time to creating these conversations for you.Follow #VoW on Instagram & SubstackHosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

First episode next week!Before listening to the episode, please consider supporting our work at WILD, which allows us to dedicate time to creating these conversations for you.Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Viviana Solange Yanez Gomez is the force behind 18,000 Trees in Ecuador, a country famous for its incredible biodiversity, cities, and landscapes.Although Viviana grew up surrounded by nature–hiking mountains and forests, she simultaneously watched these ecosystems get damaged. That early experience sparked her path toward conservation.After graduation, she worked in environmental education with children on Ecuador’s coast, learning firsthand the power of community-driven solutions.Today, she leads 18000 Trees, 18000 Puembeños, a community-led urban reforestation project in Puembo, Quito. Their goal? To plant 18,000 trees–one for every resident–over six years, restoring ecosystems, creating habitats, reconnecting green spaces, and building climate resilience. By linking parks, ravines, and neighborhoods through bio-corridors, the project boosts biodiversity, cleans air and water, and even cools the city. And it’s all rooted in community work, youth and women engagement, and environmental education.Viviana is also an alum of CoalitionWILD’s EXCELerator FLEX program. With applications for the 2026 EXCELerator program opening on October 27th and running through November 24th, we thought there couldn’t be a better time to sit down and chat with such an inspiring individual. For those who don’t know, the EXCELerator program is a six-month intensive program that trains emerging conservation leaders to turn ideas into real-world action projects.Before listening to the episode, please consider supporting our work at WILD.org, which allows us to dedicate time to creating these conversations for you.Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Gwen Bridge is a member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation from Alberta, Canada, and works in consulting and support for Indigenous nations and their partners across North America.In today’s episode, Gwen joins us to talk about Motion 107 – “Scaling Up Indigenous Leadership in the Protection of Biodiversity and the Sacred” and Motion 96 – “Setting Area-Based Targets on Scientific Evidence and Reversing Historic Injustices.” These motions, submitted by WILD.org and co-sponsors, continue the work that was initiated at the 12th World Wilderness Congress. During the IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC) in Abu Dhabi this October, member organizations will gather in person to debate and vote on these motions live on the floor of the Assembly.If we’re serious today about building more equitable relationships and societies, about bringing different visions together, we need to start with respect–respect for people’s perspectives, cultures, and ways of being. This is where harmony begins. For many Indigenous peoples, that also means recognizing sacred sites and spirituality as essential dimensions of a meaningful life. These sacred relationships matter–not just for culture, but for conservation.In this episode, Gwen talks about centering Indigenous leadership in protecting sacred species and spaces, weaving Indigenous knowledge and wisdom together with scientific conservation models, why protecting Half the planet is neither too ambitious nor unrealistic, and much more.Motion Guides:Motion 096: https://wild.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Motion-096-Marketing-Brief-3.pdfMotion 107: https://wild.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Motion-107-Marketing-Brief.pdfBefore listening to the episode, please consider supporting our work at WILD.org, which allows us to dedicate time to creating these conversations for you.Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.