Dr Julia Newth talks Greta, why science needs women and why young women need passion and a strong belief to succeed
There are three main things I think a young woman needs to flourish and succeed in a science career: confidence, resilience and a passionate belief in something. And you don't need to be good at science to contribute and make a difference.
One of the most exciting projects I’m working on at the moment is called Swan Champions. This is a community-based initiative in the Russian Arctic that engages scientists, hunters and young people with the aim of protecting the Bewick’s swan and other endangered birds from illegal hunting.
Nearly a third of all Bewick’s we monitor arrive at our UK centres with shotgun pellets in their bodies. Although the swans are legally protected across their flyway, illegal shooting is one of the biggest dangers facing Bewick’s along their migratory route. We’re working with remote hunting communities in their breeding grounds in Russia to understand where and why this hunting is taking place and identify ways of reducing illegal shooting. We hope to roll out this approach to other areas where illegal hunting is an issue.
There’s no typical day. One day I might be liaising with the Russian government to arrange helicopter drops to disseminate leaflets to hunters in remote arctic communities. Another day I might be x-raying live swans at WWT’s headquarters at Slimbridge. On yet another day I might be publishing papers about the impacts of lead poisoning on birds.
Science alone doesn't change people's minds.
My work is grounded in the science, but science alone doesn’t change people’s minds. Having strong personal skills, as well as being armed with hard scientific facts, is vital if you want to motivate and persuade people to change their behaviour and stop illegally hunting swans.
The people, the hunters, may be the problem but they’re also the solution. I need to listen to what they are telling us. And be sensitive to cultural differences. Different people manage land differently and indigenous communities traditionally co-exist with nature rather than dominate it. I think we have a lot to learn from these communities. That’s why, with the Swan Champion project we’ve started, we’re involving key people who live up in the arctic who have a wealth of knowledge and that includes the indigenous Nenets reindeer breeders. Traditional knowledge, as it’s now called, is much more recognisable now as invaluable information that should be listened to.
One of the best bits about my job is working with people who are so passionate about what they do. We all have the same aim and despite the challenges we face, it’s the passion that we all share to save these endangered birds and conserve wetlands that drives us all on.
My job is to keep the show on the road. Working with communities in such a remote part of the world, where the weather can quite literally throw anything at you from extreme cold, to storms and flooding, I often have to think on my feet and find creative solutions, to make sure the projects I manage run smoothly.
Different people manage land differently and indigenous communities traditionally co-exist with nature rather than dominate it. I think we have a lot to learn from these communities.
There’s no safe level of lead for a bird. I work to reduce the use of lead shot by the shooting community. All too often discarded shot is left to contaminate the feeding grounds of waterbirds. Once there, it’s easy for the birds to ingest it by mistake when they’re foraging.Our research shows that a third of Bewick’s swans found dead at sites across Britain over the last four decades had died from lead poisoning. Some countries have already phased out lead shot altogether. We’re working to raise awareness of this issue and encourage hunters to use the widely available non-toxic alternatives.
We take blood samples from swans to see what levels of lead they have in their system. I also do research into the effect of lead on birds, but also more recently I am looking at the social dimensions, talking to hunters in the UK to try to understand the barriers they face when transitioning to non-toxic ammunition.
We are making progress. Nine UK shooting organisations have introduced a voluntary ban for their members on using lead shot.
We are going through a time of catastrophic biodiversity loss and our environment is changing. The science has been there a long time, but what we’re seeing now is a coming together of lots of things that is creating a tipping point.
In terms of my overall impact, I want to motivate people to get involved and take action to support wetland conservation. We are going through a time of catastrophic biodiversity loss and our environment is changing. The science has been there a long time, but what we’re seeing now is a coming together of lots of things that is creating a tipping point. We’ve seen this recently with the Blue Planet effect which prompted action to reduce plastic pollution and with warnings from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) which have triggered mass civil movements for positive change. These pulled together the scientific body of evidence with some alarming conclusions that we needed to start doing something in the next decade before it’s too late.
I think Greta Thunberg is quite extraordinary. I think that what she’s been able to do that others haven’t, is to provide leadership at a critical time. She has a really clear vision, she’s very articulate and for me she comes across as very authentic. I think the vitriol that she has faced, really shows her power. She’s really inspiring and I’m sure she’ll have a huge impact on other young women thinking of going into conservation and getting involved in the environmental movement. Because she has demonstrated it is possible for a 17-year-old woman to have a massive impact.
I’ve been lucky since joining WWT to have met and worked alongside some truly inspirational female role models.
There are three main things I think a young woman needs to flourish and succeed. They need a passionate belief in something, like Greta does, confidence and resilience. To make a difference in conservation you don’t have to be good at science, you might be a really good communicator, and be able to contribute by getting involved in fundraising or marketing.
The fire in my belly comes from my passionate belief in conservation and the environment combined with a strong set of values about what is right and wrong. That’s what gives me the drive and confidence to overcome the challenges I face in my work.
It’s a male dominated world particularly with the work I’m doing to stop the illegal hunting of swans and reduce lead poisoning. I work a lot with hunters in the UK and abroad who are typically male. I think sometimes being a woman helps in those situations. I can come across as less threatening and confrontational and so more easily create an open dialogue with these communities.
Young women need more role models to inspire them. Looking back I can’t think of any inspirational women scientists that I knew about growing up. I think when you have that skewed version of history that affects your horizons and outlook. But I’ve been lucky since joining WWT to have met and worked alongside some truly inspirational female role models. Like Sacha Dench who flew one of nature’s greatest migrations, 4,000 miles by paramotor, from the arctic north back to UK to highlight the plight of Bewick’s swans.
I was lucky that I had the chance to grow up in nature. Not everyone has that. It is so important. How can you love something you don’t know?
My mum and nan first sowed the seed for my lifelong love of nature, knowing so much about the natural world. My nan lived in the country and I used to go and visit her and play in the fields near where she lived. I was lucky that I had the chance to grow up in nature. Not everyone has that. It is so important. How can you love something you don’t know?
Science needs women and women need science. I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want to maximise the potential of half the human race, to harness the different approaches, different ways of thinking that women can bring to the workplace. It’s that diversity that pushes boundaries, pushes forward and encourages progress. The fact that we’re in such a state at the moment in terms of the environment, suggests that what we’ve been doing up until now, hasn’t been working, so we need to try new approaches and listen to new voices that haven’t been heard enough until now.
It’s important as a woman to have people around you that empower you. When you are listened to and given responsibility, it empowers you. That’s been really important to me in my career at WWT.
I think there’s been a lot of positive change in the last few years with things like the #MeToo movement. It feels like women have more opportunities now to have a voice and for them to say more confidently what they want and for them to be heard and taken seriously.But I think there’s still a long way to go.
The system has to change. It’s not just up to the individual. I think to encourage more women into the workplace, organisations need to really understand why they are still so male dominated, particularly at senior management level. They need to be more active in looking at what more they can do to reduce unconscious biases in recruitment, promotions, ways in which we interact and work, and to actively encourage the inclusions of women and minorities. You are more likely to get the right person for the job if you cast the net wider.
