Beta
Threatened species: don't wait, act now
Bruny Island
My mentors have been mainly men - not that I haven't had female mentors as well, but in the early days of nature conservation work and particularly fauna, it was all male dominated. I worked with wonderful men, particularly my first boss at the state government, Peter Brown.
I learned about how to have fun, humour, laughing at a point of crisis, being lost, not losing your cool, being in dangerous situations and going to remote areas where you're totally reliant on the skills of others. I've been looked after by a great community of people.
After I graduated with a PhD at UTAS, my first employment was with state government. I ended up being with the state government for 14 years, eventually managing the threatened species section during that time.
It's like starting as a learner driver and then really honing your skills on how to drive. I learned so much from very skilled staff at the state government, in all walks of life.
When I left state government, I had many years at the Tasmanian Land Conservancy managing their science program and again, it was that same camaraderie and collegiality of a group of people - particularly when you're working in the field for a lot of your time, and you spend long days and nights together.
It's that connection with people that really makes it fun. I'm lucky to have had those experiences and to have seen so much of Tasmania.
So people have always been a really pivotal part of my career and I always try very hard to acknowledge that. It has never been a solo performance. Working in threatened species - it's about many of those relationships and networks.
Threatened species is a very tough gig. You are working with species, plants and animals that are very much at the edge of their conservation life. It's high risk. You have to make decisions and you have to act.
One of the early lessons I learned, which was a bitter pill in government, is: you have to act now. You don't have 30 years to wait. But of course, government is very slow to act. They're very risk averse. In fact, they work at a glacial pace.
And for threatened species, we really wait until something is at a crisis management point before everyone throws their arms up and says "oh, what are we going to do?"
So working in threatened species has taught me to be proactive, it has taught me to think clearly about species' needs and to map out a path forward and act on it; not talk, not plan for another 30 years but to put those actions in place now.
The biggest change I see has been the step up in the private sector and for me, that is so exciting. My years at the Tasmanian Land Conservancy - and I'm still very much involved with that organisation - it told me that people can do anything. They can bypass government, they can raise funds, they can buy land and protect it.
It has been so exciting to see organisations like the Tasmanian Land Conservancy and nationally private organisations really move into the space of conservation and make real change; in fact show leadership, show the government how conservation should be done.
I can see Tasmania being a global leader, in that we are a very small island in many respects. We have a great reserve system thanks to the Tasmanian government and those who agitated for our reserve.
We are a natural island and we still have fantastic values that are left and can be protected. So if ever you had to put a dot on the map and say where can we do conservation - you would have to say Tasmania.
Dr Sally Bryant
My mentors have been mainly men - not that I haven't had female mentors as well, but in the early days of nature conservation work and particularly fauna, it was all male dominated. I worked with wonderful men, particularly my first boss at the state government, Peter Brown.
I learned about how to have fun, humour, laughing at a point of crisis, being lost, not losing your cool, being in dangerous situations and going to remote areas where you're totally reliant on the skills of others. I've been looked after by a great community of people.
After I graduated with a PhD at UTAS, my first employment was with state government. I ended up being with the state government for 14 years, eventually managing the threatened species section during that time.
It's like starting as a learner driver and then really honing your skills on how to drive. I learned so much from very skilled staff at the state government, in all walks of life.
When I left state government, I had many years at the Tasmanian Land Conservancy managing their science program and again, it was that same camaraderie and collegiality of a group of people - particularly when you're working in the field for a lot of your time, and you spend long days and nights together.
It's that connection with people that really makes it fun. I'm lucky to have had those experiences and to have seen so much of Tasmania.
So people have always been a really pivotal part of my career and I always try very hard to acknowledge that. It has never been a solo performance. Working in threatened species - it's about many of those relationships and networks.
Threatened species is a very tough gig. You are working with species, plants and animals that are very much at the edge of their conservation life. It's high risk. You have to make decisions and you have to act.
One of the early lessons I learned, which was a bitter pill in government, is: you have to act now. You don't have 30 years to wait. But of course, government is very slow to act. They're very risk averse. In fact, they work at a glacial pace.
And for threatened species, we really wait until something is at a crisis management point before everyone throws their arms up and says "oh, what are we going to do?"
So working in threatened species has taught me to be proactive, it has taught me to think clearly about species' needs and to map out a path forward and act on it; not talk, not plan for another 30 years but to put those actions in place now.
The biggest change I see has been the step up in the private sector and for me, that is so exciting. My years at the Tasmanian Land Conservancy - and I'm still very much involved with that organisation - it told me that people can do anything. They can bypass government, they can raise funds, they can buy land and protect it.
It has been so exciting to see organisations like the Tasmanian Land Conservancy and nationally private organisations really move into the space of conservation and make real change; in fact show leadership, show the government how conservation should be done.
I can see Tasmania being a global leader, in that we are a very small island in many respects. We have a great reserve system thanks to the Tasmanian government and those who agitated for our reserve.
We are a natural island and we still have fantastic values that are left and can be protected. So if ever you had to put a dot on the map and say where can we do conservation - you would have to say Tasmania.
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