A Fantastic First Quarter
by Devathi Parashuram and Greta Ann Sam
The small but dedicated Current Conservation team has had a great start to 2021. At the beginning of February, we were all smiles, meeting for the first time in person, after almost a year of working remotely from different cities.
While we were busy with the COVID-delayed printing and distribution of all four issues from last year (Volume 14), we were simultaneously putting together the first issue of this year, which was published recently. We initiated content partnerships with two organizations—India-based Nature in Focus and Africa-centric Maliasili—and look forward to seeing them develop through the year.
March saw the official launch of our partnership with the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) with a panel on ‘science communication for biodiversity conservation’ (you can watch it here). As the largest international membership society for professionals, students, and non-profits, SCB is dedicated to advancing the science and practice of conserving biodiversity. Through this partnership, we seek to create an opportunity for CC and SCB to work together to promote public engagement by the conservation community worldwide, and take our messages out to a larger audience. Dr. Eduardo Gallo-Cajiao, SCB’s Vice-President for Education and Outreach, was a welcome addition to our Editorial Board as an Associate Editor.
Our Instagram handle has, as usual, been bustling with activity. At the end of March, we crossed 12k followers. We are quite thrilled about a new segment targeted at a young audience called Little Wildling, which breaks down concepts from ecology with lots of fun examples and images. Another segment, Words of Birds, explores bird calls with mnemonics and illustrations, and aims to encourage birdwatching and identification. We also recently featured a beautiful video series, Wildlife of Goa, made by a talented bunch of people to highlight what often goes unnoticed here.
We are proud of Dhanya Bharath, who has been working with us as an editorial intern for eight months, for she will soon be setting sail for Europe to pursue an Erasmus Mundus Master’s in Evolutionary Biology. It is with a heavy heart that we bid her farewell, not least because she will be extremely hard to replace.
With a fantastic first quarter behind us, work on the next issue is underway, even as we make plans to expand our social media, reach more readers from non-academic/science backgrounds, expand our team, and create more international collaborations. Stay tuned!