Welcome to our interview series where we speak with purpose-driven and sustainability-focused professionals from around the globe. Every few weeks, we’ll dive into their journeys, learn about their wins and challenges, and the resources they couldn’t do without.
Prepare to be inspired and learn something new!
Today’s guest is Susie Stockwell, wildlife ecologist from Australia.
Please tell us a little bit about who you are, your background, and your current job. What inspired you to start a career in sustainability and what was your journey to where you are
Nice to meet you, my name is Susie. My background is in wildlife ecology but my current role is Learning on Country coordinator in central Arnhem Land, northern Australia.
When I left school I had no clue what I wanted to do – I’d literally never sat down and given it proper thought and so i defaulted to starting nursing. However, an un-suppressible passion for nature and series of serendipitous events found me sitting on the pindan cliffs of James Price Point (north-west Australia), surveying humpback whales, an experience which sparked my passion and showed me that careers in this space were a possibility.
From there, I changed my degree to conservation marine biology and threw myself into building my experience as a volunteer. When the time came to graduate, unsurprisingly I wasn’t inundated by job offers – and while this felt disappointing, it lit a fire under me and I committed to a year on the road, throwing myself into projects with wildlife – until I landed a paid role.
Fortunately, this happened 9 months in – working as a whale shark tour guide on Western Australia’s Ningaloo Reef. And although it felt like cause for celebration at the time, it was just the start of a string of short-term contracts working with government, non-profit organizations and most recently an Aboriginal corporation.
My motivation has always been my passion for nature and what I can only describe as a calling, a goal to do what I can to conserve wildlife and wild spaces.
And although it feels like a sidestep from “pure ecology” and wildlife conservation, I am in love with my current role. For a year now, we’ve been based in Bulman-Weemol Community, central Arnhem Land, working with Mimal Land Management as the Learning on Country Coordinator.
What’s your day-to-day like?
I’m sure everyone says this but the program varies immensely week-to-week! The primary goal is bringing community together – getting old people, kids and rangers out on country together to practice cultural activities, learn traditional skills and pass on knowledge. The other goal for the program is to incorporate local culture and knowledge into the school curriculum. From a practical perspective, this can manifest as anything from on-country trips, practicing languages, helping the rangers with science and land management activities, making traditional hunting tools, artwork and musical instruments as well as overnight camps.
What do you like the most about the work you do?
The community here is just amazing – and I feel so grateful to be working with such an incredible mob! Probably the most fascinating part for me is learning about culture and the links between traditional land management and modern science.
How does your work address societal and/or environmental issues?
I love this question because this job has highlighted to me the close connection between people and country – and consequently, the strong link between environmental issues and socio-economic challenges. I love the way that traditional viewpoints recognize the place for humans within wild places – and the sense of belonging and conservation obligation that traditional culture holds for people in nature. My work is all about working with people to address both social and land management issues through creating space to share knowledge and increase opportunities.
“My motivation has always been my passion for nature and what I can only describe as a calling, a goal to do what I can to conserve wildlife and wild spaces.”
Susie Stockwell, wildlife ecologist
In your opinion, what are the top skills necessary to be successful at a “green job”?
I think the key criteria for success in any ethical role are being compassionate and open-minded. Even when issues feel big and insurmountable, stripping it back to a local level and taking things step by step (breaking it down into bite-sized chunks) can turn the impossible into the possible. I feel like this sounds like very generic advice but having worked remote for many years now, I think compassion in particular and strong communication skills are so often overlooked as key attributes of successful projects.
What green careers/sectors do you see growing the fastest right now and/or will become mainstream within the next 10 years?
This might not be relevant across the board but from my perspective in remote Australia, I think the rise in funding for Aboriginal corporations, local government “green” authorities and the “offset” of mining activities is offering an unprecedented amount of paid, field-based conservation work – which is a wonderful thing!
What are the most common mistakes or misperceptions you have seen when it comes to green careers?
This is another great question! I think the first misconception about green jobs is that they’re hard to come by. While that lack mindset is at the very least unhelpful, it’s also not true and doesn’t account for the fact that you can make any role in any profession “green” by virtue of your passion for nature and the choices you make around sustainability.
The second misconception I’d like to address is that a “green job” is a good job. So often, ethical jobs deliver great outcomes for nature or the business, but can have horrible work conditions, narcissistic management and encourage unhealthy work practices such as volunteer exploitation, imposter syndrome and erosion of work-life balance leading to burnout. Although it’s important to work ethical jobs, green jobs, that align with our morals and values – ultimately, that should never come at the cost of your own health and wellbeing. Taking care of yourself is too often portrayed as selfish but it is the KEY to sustaining your own mental and physical health as a priority, for your own long-term sustainability and impact for nature.
Could you highlight some of the key differences and potential green career paths within industries/sectors you’ve worked with?
I chose the route of wildlife ecologist and I would fully recommend this pathway. This one is widely publicized (and often glamourized) and I would encourage you to look wider if this isn’t your dream as there are many other pathways out there!
As you reflect on your career journey, what challenges would you pinpoint, especially those shared by individuals in similar roles?
Definitely the self-worth and self-sustainability within the industry as you battle to balance aspects of work and life.
And what where the most rewarding moments?
I feel as if this is counterintuitive, but the most rewarding and most impactful moments for me have always involved people and the arrival at a common goal!
Any “lessons learned” or advice you can share with others looking to succeed in their purpose-driven career?
Everyone is on a different journey so it’s certainly not a case of one size fits all when it comes to career advice. However, my top three tips for anyone pursuing a purpose-driven career are as follows:
1. Be intentional
I manage the uncertainty and challenges of this space with intentional ecology or taking back your power by finding what makes you tick, what drives you. To do the same, I would start by:
– Get clear on what you want. Keep a field journal with your thoughts and experiences. Take the time to examine them to discover what you are most passionate about, what drives you.
– Reflect on your own journey – where you’ve come from and where you want to be. Acknowledge your progress and feel gratitude for where you are right now, rather than focusing on what you missed out on or where you haven’t gotten yet.
– Build your self-confidence to feel comfortable in where you’re at in your journey, and acknowledge the skills and experience you have built. This takes practice but is definitely worth doing!
2. Live “as if”
I can’t tell you how much i love living as if! for those of you who haven’t come across it before, the basic premise is to think about how your life would be if you were already working your dream job and take steps today that get you towards that. Focus on what lights you up and DO more of that. Spend time building your skills, expanding your experiences and nurturing your network to fill the gaps between where you’re at and where you want to be… and watch the magic happen!
3. It starts with you
The climate crisis and widespread destruction of our global biodiversity are big and scary topics to discuss but they can feel even bigger and scarier when you’re observing it first hand in the field, on the frontline so to speak. For me, being born within this context has a huge amount of emotion attached to it: anger, resentment, heartbreak, motivation to make change and also hope. Hope that we can help to make nature a greener and more abundant place.
Maybe I’m the only one but does anyone else have these feelings when trying to contextualize the scale of the impact we can make for helping the environment?
Unlike I once thought, you don’t have to wait for a job to make a positive change for nature. After all, doing something, however small is still something – your voice and your actions are powerful.
From my experience, I have three tips to combat your own eco-anxiety, or climate guilt, or whatever else it gets called:
– Appreciate the beauty you see in nature. When we admire the birds on a bird feeder or the insects that come to our flower pots or the beautiful landscapes or wildlife we experience, we feel hope.
– Dedicate yourself to making a difference. Whether this is through a job in conservation or volunteer work, there are so many projects dedicated to improving the story for wildlife that you can be part of.
– Advocate for nature. Be it through conversation, on social media, with your credit card or with your vote you can support nature through the choices you make as an individual – and with your voice, to raise awareness of both issues that need support as well as the good work being done for wildlife.
What inspires you every day to wake up and keep going?
The people, the wildlife and the wild places.
