Ranting about retaining people in the conservation world, part two

In the previous post I said something to the extent of  “I don’t have any suggestions,” which, as you might expect, is a bit of a lie. I don’t have a silver bullet but here are some ideas I think would help people stay in the field we (all) love

- Please pay us a livable wage, where we can live in dignity while paying our own rent and school loans. We established already - we are not in the conservation field for the money, but we also would like to feel appreciated. You expect someone with a higher degree and decent experience but are willing to pay us $12/h? Or someone with 7 years of management experience with professional certifications and designations and are willing to pay $40K/year? Really? (and yes those were actual jobs I either saw ads for or interviewed for, or talked to someone in the company about)

- We (as in Royal We - the professionals, academics, managers etc) have to start working with funding agencies and foundations all together. They should see value in retaining and paying for someone’s expertise when they found a project. "The sponsors" should also insist that all employees paid for with a given grant actually make a decent wage

- There should be no unpaid internships in a consulting business, or internships at a consulting, for-profit company that has interns paid by an external foundation. Those students could have been place in a non-profit.  Internships are a vital source of experience but only a limited amount of population can afford a non-paid experience. Although I don't like it, I understand that non-profits with limited budgets might have to defer to this option at times. If so, please do teach the intern the inner workings  of your professions, introduce them to people, take them to meetings and be a good reference afterwards; don't just use them as a work horse.

- We should really press for diversity, in age, gender and race. If you do not see someone who looks like you doing something it is waaay harder for you to imagine yourself doing it. 

- Please do not shut down someone bc they are a non-traditional student, come from the inner city, are changing careers or sound different than what you are used to.

-Managers/Supervisors/Crew Leaders really listen to people’s concerns while working, especially in the first two weeks. Your new employee might have not been exposed to the elements before, or maybe you’re so used to what you do, you are explaining it using jargon. Many of us use assumptions. I remember one person starting a sentence explaining how to use equipment with   “now, I don’t want to insult your intelligence but if you really don’t know this is how this works….” Yeah, not many questions after that.

-Please be flexible if the schedule allows it. If someone is working in the office do they really have to be there 8-5? Maybe earlier time is more convenient to them. Granted, ofcourse, thereare no meetings etc.

- Do invest in employee’s education. And I don’t only mean conferences, although those are great, but do take the time to explain how things work, why a certain person is admired in the community, show them a successful and a failed projects and explain why, etc.

- If you have a valuable employee who is unable to work full time (childcare, parents, disability) do invest the time and effort to allow them to work part time. Believe me, they will be so thankful for the opportunity that will work more hours than you pay them for. Loyalty and appreciation are great things in an employee

-  Do mentor people. It does not have to be something structured, official. Soon you will learn from the other person as they might have different points of view, pick up on something quicker or have other experiences. The lack of experience they have allows them to ask questions which can be very useful and game changing but which you - through all your experience - would not have thought of.

  It is understood business is business but all in all try to be a humane person to your employees. If not because it is the right thing to do, they are your colleagues and one day might be in a position to hire/fire you. 

*The rant is over, a least for now*

Not sure what it says - but now I know where it hides: Foxes in suburban environment

Recently, while on the way to FFF event ( Forced Family Fun) my hubby spotted a fox. I did not believe him because how common are foxes in a large urban areas? I have seen them in woodlands and in prairies, but in a suburb about 3/4 of a mile away from a Forest Preserve? Really? We drove around to double check, while I was frantically changing a lens on my camera.

Yes really! I believe it was a red fox. One thing that gives it away (well duh) is its reddish/orange fur. Another is its habits. Red foxes do much better in open areas, clearings (read: back yards), prairies than their close relatives - the gray fox. What made the spotting even more exceptional is that the clever canine was accompanied by two little kits! How fun!

A suburban red fox encountered near Milwaukee and Lake 

Foxes usually mate some time in January and then have their litter (of anywhere from 2 to 15, depending on species, location and diet) in late March, early April. For the first few weeks they rarely leave their den or other hiding place and the father supplies the food. As they mature they stay with their parents and learn survival to then go their separate ways at the end of summer.

Foxes are canines, although they are the most cat-like ones of their type. They have beautiful long and puffy tails used for balance and to keep warm. Long ago they were valued for their pelts to decorate coat collars - my grandma had a couple that I fascinated and creeped me out at the same time. 

A (presumed) mother fox playing tag with her two kits

Foxes are great adapters - as mostly omnivores their diet ranges from small rodents to frogs, insects and berries. In an urban habitat they are known to occasionally rummage through garbage. Although most perceive foxes to be nocturnal, and they are active during dawn and dusk, especially in urban settings they can be active during the day.

Anyways, it was a wonderful encounter and I am happy I was able to grab a couple of pictures

Attracting talent to conservation world and beyond

*The following are just some observations I have made in the last couple of years hiring, training and working with youth and volunteers. There is also a fair amount if ranting. My observations are, by no means, profound discoveries but they have been stuck in my head a LOT recently, so why not put them on paper (sort of)*

I would venture to say most people in the conservation world are not there for the  money. We (mostly) love our jobs and get real satisfaction out of the fact that at the end of the day we leave this planet (country, state, ecosystem, city, neighborhood) a better place. And that is an important part of our jobs that provides us with purpose, pride, mental health. All these benefits are great but at the end of the day we still have bills to pay and food to put on the table. And retaining talent in our field is hard, especially if working for non-profit organizations.

When we hired people for the summer - mostly college and grad school students and recent grads - we started them off at about $10/h and then I tried to bump them to $12 as soon as possible. This seems not too bad when you work the summer, live locally and just want to earn some money and get experience. I tried to reward good working with trips to remnant sites or good quality restorations. The non-profit I worked for did not offer overtime. Sometimes we did not work due to weather and the crew members did not get paid for those days. The work was also in a sort if remote location - when most seasonals had to commute for at least 45 minutes ( by car of course bc no public transportation was in sight).

My average seasonal, with a couple exceptions, was a fairly well off student, at least middle class, who relied on parents for some financial help. The parental help had many different faces: paying for a car, clothing for most, maybe rent, cell phone, a credit card for gas.

And the thing is the place where I worked actually paid industry standard or slightly above. If you did a similar job for a consulting firm you would work more hours (with overtime), but also might be out of work due to weather etc. You would make a similar hourly wage and maybe not get a chance for as much educational experiences.

Now, take a student who has little to no external financial help, has to work hard during the summer to be able to buy books, pay rent etc during school year where a chance for a full time job not as possible. Will s/he be attracted to a $10-12/h internship or maybe a construction gig? Who will get a better job out if collage? The student who had experience during summers doing something for little pay or someone who had to work other jobs? And with the move for fast food workers to make increased wages (which they should), how will the conservation world attract talent that does not come from a place of at least some privilege and/or mentorship?

Few things got me thinking about that. I remember my job straight out if grad school, where I had some good professional experiences, paying so little that had I not been in a double income household, I would not have afforded to work there (school loans, gas that was $4/gal, long distances, rent, etc).
As I am thinking of rejoining the workforce full time after spending 2 years at home with kids, some interesting jobs seem almost insulting. 35-42K a year for someone with 5-7 years of experience and a professional license? (This is what the job ad states). Really? I mean, i don't expect to make a fortune but if you want a qualified candidate with a graduate degree, 5 yrs of experience are  you really willing to pay them less than an internship for a marketing student just beginning to gain experience?! I realize some organizations are non for profits but do people who work there also have to be? This comes from someone who is middle class, has a spouse with a well paid job, and mostly does not have to worry about covering bills. What about other individuals? Why do we wonder why so many bright people leave this conservation field and use their skills in other fields (and most of us are good with numbers, project management etc).

I offer no solutions, but next time you ask why the conservation field is full of people who look similar and have similar experiences growing up, or does not retain individuals who are passionate, just think about this example i witnessed a couple years ago.

I had a good team of seasonals, most excellent crew members . We were sitting in a shade of the only tree on the prairie eating lunch when two of them started complaining how broke they were. They were both wearing brand name clothing, driving practically new cars their parents paid for and one had a pair of sunglasses that i probably could not have paid for with a week of my earnings. So they sat there complaining how 'broke' they are. Next to them set a very good, thoughtful seasonal, a vet, father soon to be of 3 kids for whom this job was a dream. I knew from some limited stories he shared that money was tight, sometimes his cell phone did not work bc he did not have the money to reload it. He just looked at them, said nothing. Few years have passed since then. Those two seasonals who complained about their cash flow have very good jobs that pay well forking for consulting companies. By all means they deserve them, they are smart and hard working individuals. The veteran though, he switched fields after getting out of college. It was either that or accepting another deployment to sustain his family... All this because working hard in the conservation field he would not be able to sustain a modest living.

This is a lot if ranting but as natural areas play an ever increasing importance in our world we have to think of good ways of sustaining it, and people who are involved in it...