Featured blog posts
7 stories of optimism this week (27.10.25-03.11.25)
Here is the perfect antidote to Monday blues: a weekly round-up of what went right in the conservation world!
From Trauma to Triumph: The Journey of a Rescued Pangolin
A tip-off sets law enforcement in motion; when they intercept the traffickers, they find a pangolin, curled tight, trembling with fear, stuffed into a battered sack, rolled in an old, disused plastic bucket. To the untrained eye, it may appear as nothing more than a pile of dried leaves, but to the wildlife intelligence officers, it is a life teetering on the edge. This is how most rescues begin: with trauma.
On the ground in Ngorongoro: Protecting wildlife through experience
Green rolling hills under endless skies punctuated by gentle cumulus clouds. I'll never forget the first time I stood at the rim of Ngorongoro Crater. Witnessing the vast sunken landscape below - I couldn't believe how dramatic and different it was from anywhere else I had ever seen. I first travelled to Ngorongoro Crater 11 years ago - on a group safari tour during my first visit to Tanzania. I loved the initial impact it had on me – the sweeping views of the caldera and the great abundance and diversity of animals within the crater: a whole world created by a volcanic eruption that happened millions of years ago. It's very humbling to see the Earth’s power, and how life can spring from ashes.
7 stories of optimism this week (21.10.25-27.10.25)
Here is the perfect antidote to Monday blues: a weekly round-up of what went right in the conservation world!
7 stories of optimism this week (14.10.25-20.10.25)
Here is the perfect antidote to Monday blues: a weekly round-up of what went right in the conservation world!
Interview with Finn Middleton, young Shropshire filmmaker, on his new film at the 2025 Good Natured Film Festival
As we at Conservation Optimism are gearing up for the 2025 Good Natured Conservation Optimism Film Festival, we're excited to spotlight one of our youngest featured filmmakers, Finn Middleton, and his entry for this year's festival: "The Onny's Story: A Fight for the Future." Read on for a short interview about Finn's journey, his sources of inspiration, and reasons for hope as a young person using his creative voice for nature.
Conservation Optimism 2025: Communication for Conservation (PART 3 – Communication for Conservation)
In the final installment of this three-part blog series, hear from our Director, Jon Taylor, on the role of communication in driving conservation action, as well as Conservation Optimism's place in this mission. "...In democracies, the main tools we have for changing attitudes and refocussing values are communication and persuasion. Conservationists will not achieve this goal through reports and graphs, but by mastering the ancient art of understanding and moving an audience, hopefully aided by a modern understanding of how humans react to messaging and communication."
Conservation Optimism 2025: Communication for Conservation (PART 2 – Communication Power Tools)
In the second of this three-part blog series, hear from our Director, Jon Taylor, on the role of communication in driving conservation action, as well as Conservation Optimism's place in this mission. "Many people and organisations use the framing of ‘biodiversity crisis’ or ‘climate emergency’, sometimes because drama appeals to readers, but often also to inspire action of an appropriate scale and speed. What we often don’t consider is that we are using this language to provoke a ‘fight or flight’ response."
Conservation Optimism 2025: Communication for Conservation (PART 1 – Sharing Conservation Optimism)
In the first of this three-part blog series, hear from our Director, Jon Taylor, on the role of communication in driving conservation action, as well as Conservation Optimism's place in this mission. "We do not seek to challenge the existing discourse – we are indeed in a state of ‘crisis’ and ‘emergency’. [...] And yet there is another side to this conversation. Around the world, committed people devote their lives to protecting the natural world, and many of their efforts succeed."