Project manager Seren Nelson reflects on her first few days co-facilitating Earth Skills Network (ESN), a programme held in South Africa which brings together leaders from the worlds of business and protected area management to share knowledge and transfer business skills.

Scared of food waste this Halloween? Worried that the ghosts of pumpkins past might come back to haunt you?

Earthwatch is here to banish that fear: we have collated our top 5 pumpkin recipes so that your pumpkin doesn’t need to be one of the 8 million thrown away uneaten this Halloween.

In the UK, approximately 1 in 4 people suffer from a mental health problem - that could be your mum, your brother, a friend, colleague, or maybe you’ve been suffering. Mental health problems are far more common than most people would think, yet they’re often still dismissed or overlooked. On top of this, recent data has shown children’s happiness is at its lowest point in a decade, with the climate crisis cited as a factor. The fact that problems with mental wellbeing are so common can no longer be ignored.

Improving protected area management through business-skill sharing

Earth Skills Network (ESN) brings leaders from the business world and protected area managers together, in a mentor-mentee relationship, to share knowledge and transfer key business skills with a view to improving the business management in protected areas. Earthwatch have worked with Shell on this programme for over 10 years. In this time 64 Shell business mentors have been partnered with 184 protected area staff from 20 African and 6 Asian countries.

Farouk Dubiure - Park Manager at Mole National Park at Lajuma Research Centre, South Africa

NGO Earthwatch Europe and multi-national Shell work together to conserve leopards and monkeys in South Africa

Across South Africa, conflict between humans and animals is rising due to increased habitat fragmentation caused by farming, commercial activities and government land reforms. In addition, local landowners tend to think of leopards as major killers of their livestock and primates as a major pest species, leading to lethal control measures being used across the region. 

Earthwatch is working with Shell in South Africa to help reduce human-wildlife conflict. Through their collaboration, the NGO and multi-national corporation deliver a results-orientated employee engagement programme – Earthwatch Expeditions – leading to personal and professional development opportunities and increased understanding of global sustainability issues amongst Shell staff, greater engagement with local communities, and direct environmental interventions.