Chris sits down with Dr. Nick Askew, founder and director of Conservation Careers, for a wide-ranging conversation that spans barn owl behavior, international wildlife management, and the future of the conservation workforce.

Nick shares how a career arc that began with childhood fishing trips and a breathtaking first barn owl sighting led him through Birdlife International, fieldwork in the Pacific, and eventually back to the UK to build Conservation Careers — a global platform now serving over 1.2 million visitors annually and listing some 50,000–60,000 jobs per year.

The conversation covers the surprising parallels between barn owl foraging energetics and how we think about habitat corridors, what employers around the world are actually struggling to find in conservation job candidates (hint: it's not technical skills), and why the sector may need to look outside its own ranks to grow its impact. Chris and Nick also dig into leadership development, the value of coaching over training, and why self-awareness might be the most underrated career skill in conservation.

Topics covered:

• How Conservation Careers grew from a side hustle to a global platform
• The barn owl research behind Nick's PhD — and what it teaches us about habitat connectivity
• What the Lower Derwent Valley nature reserve model looks like compared to US public lands
• Why soft skills and professional skills matter more than employers let on
• Bringing non-conservation professionals into the sector — and integrating them well
• The case for entrepreneurial, commercial thinking in NGOs and nonprofits
• Rewilding success stories, including the Knepp Estate and Isabella Tree's book Wilding
• Nick's one piece of advice for aspiring conservation leaders

Resources mentioned:

• Conservation Careers
• Wilding by Isabella Tree
• Birdlife International
• The Knepp Estate rewilding project

About Parks and Restoration Podcast

The Parks and Restoration Podcast is for parks and conservation professionals who want to become better leaders—because better leadership creates better ecosystems, stronger teams, and more meaningful impact.

Learn more at: ParksandRestoration.com