Birds of Poole Harbour are delighted to announce the launch of Women in Conservation Dorset, a community for knowledge sharing and connection amongst women and non-binary professionals in Dorset’s nature conservation sector. The group is open to cis women, trans women, and those identifying as female and non-binary of all abilities who are 18 years old and over, and currently work in or aspire to a career in the conservation sector. As a charity, we are incredibly passionate about making the sector accessible and inclusive, and we hope the network will provide opportunity for a community to form, bringing together folk from multiple generations and conservation organisations across the county.

How will the group work?

The group will be free to join and participate in, and its activities will be coordinated by the BoPH team with support from group members. We will host quarterly informal meet-ups including nature and birding walks in accessible locations, plus talks and discussions with inspiring female and non-binary conservationists. Members will stay connected via our mailing list, and our LinkedIn and WhatsApp Community will provide a space for sharing news, knowledge and opportunities.

Our meet-ups (including the launch event) will be purposely scheduled during the middle of the working day rather than outside of work or on weekends, so that members who have child caring or other care responsibilities are not excluded from accessing and benefitting from them. We are therefore asking that employers allow their staff to attend these events as part of their personal development, training or wellbeing time allocation, as we expect all of these areas to be benefited through involvement in the group.

Why is this group needed?

Women and non-binary persons still face many barriers in the conservation world, such as a lack of representation, discrimination and inappropriate behaviour from colleagues, welfare and safety concerns in the field, and a range of gender biases. And whilst representation within the sector has been improving over recent decades, there is still a large imbalance at the top. According to the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), women hold just 23% of senior positions in environmental organisations worldwide. As well as offering a safe space to meet others, the network will create opportunities to discuss these issues, alongside providing a platform for knowledge sharing, collaboration and ambitious working. We want to improve the working culture of the local conservation sector so that it delivers the best results for both nature and the people people protecting it.

Our vision

Empowering female and non-binary conservation leaders in Dorset.

Our mission

To provide a safe community for knowledge sharing and connection amongst women and non-binary professionals in Dorset’s nature conservation sector.

Our values

The group is founded on four core values:

• Kindness
• Community
• Empowerment
• Justice

Our logo 

The Women in Conservation Dorset logo features a European bison (Bison bonasus). Bison are a matriarchal species, which move in female-led herds and share knowledge across generations. They are powerful ecosystem engineers, shaping habitats and creating the conditions needed for whole range of other species to thrive, making them a true keystone species. Bison were once widespread across the UK and much of Europe, but were wiped out centuries ago by human activities. However, we hope to see them once again grazing Dorset’s grasslands and altering our woodlands one day in the not to distant future. They perfectly embody the values which we want to empower female conservation leaders to embody, and their restoration represents the scale of ambitious nature recovery work we want this group to held drive locally.

Launch Event and Sign up

To celebrate the launch of Women in Conservation Dorset we’re hosting a special free launch event on Thursday 29th October. The event will including a Safari Cruise hosted by the BoPH team from 10am-1pm, leaving from Poole Quay, followed by lunch and a roundtable discussion at the nearby LUSH Offices at Dolphin Quays between 1-2:30pm. There are 65 spaces available on the cruise, and up to 90 spaces for the lunch and round table discussion, which will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

To apply for a space on the event please fill out this form and notify us of any allergies, dietary requirements and access needs. We will get in touch in the coming weeks to let you know if you’ve secured a space.

There is an option within the form to join our mailing list and WhatsApp group to stay informed of future events. If you would just like to join the mailing list directly, follow this link to our Google Group, and click ‘Ask to join group’ to the right of the group name at the top of the page below the search bar. Further details about the WhatsApp community will be sent round to the mailing list in the coming weeks.

Finally we’d like to say a huge thank you to our BoPH co-founders Mo and Mark Constantine for sponsoring the launch event for the group.