The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries. We’ve lost nearly half of our biodiversity to a maze of human and agricultural landscapes [1]. 40 million birds have disappeared from UK skies since 1970 [2]. The time is now to act the save our world.
But without knowing what the issues are, why they are happening, and how to combat them, we cannot make meaningful change. Science delves into these issues and picks apart why it’s happening and assess what we need to do to change it. But, science is hidden behind complex, inaccessible language and large paywall. To the general public, science is a closed off world.
That is why science communication (scicomm) is vital. By bridging the gap between scientists and non-scientists, be that a government official or a member of the general public, science has a much more tangible impact. At the end of the day, education is key.
With education we can work toward greater understanding of our primate relatives and reducing human/wildlife conflict. Photo by Ronald Woan (via Flickr).
Telling someone we need to conserve wildlife is only effective if we can explain why we need to protect it and to get someone invested in the thing we’re trying to protect. For the vast majority of people, motivation draws from personal feelings [3]. By having an emotional tie you will then take action and fight to save the thing. It’s why we utilise charismatic flagship species to champion particular conservation causes (you can learn more about flagship species with Project Simia’s post here). Emotions are very powerful things!
Scicomm projects do excellent jobs at bridging this gap between science and the wider public. Science communication in general is vast – it can be a scientist talking to the press about their latest research or David Attenborough telling us about rising ocean temperatures in a BBC documentary. The goal of scicomm is to engage audiences and impart knowledge.
Project Simia is a social media based scicomm project. We are living in an increasingly digital world. Nearly everyone uses social media in some capacity in their daily lives and people are increasingly spending more time online than offline. Whilst this can be a negative, I believe it can be spun to be a positive! Project Simia aims to bring a splash of primates to peoples' feeds, so that even in their day to day lives they can learn and (hopefully) fall in love with primates.
A wild juvenile baboon sits in a tree, looking downwards. This was taken during an excursion to Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, Uganda. Photo by myself.
Why do I focus on just primates?
Primates, like the majority of the world’s flora and fauna, are in real danger. Over 60% of species are threatened with extinction, threatened by a myriad of threats in the form of disease, habitat loss, hunting, climate change, and the demand as pets [4]. Primates are essential to their ecosystems, and are part of the balance of life. We desperately need to act now to avoid a bleak future without primates.
The is where Project Simia comes in. By operating chiefly on social media I am reaching audiences from all over. The largest percentage of my audience are in the UK and US, two places that have no native (non-human) primates. So most people’s interactions with primates will be from TV or at a zoo. There was a ripe opportunity for me to create an educational platform that would connect people to the wider world of primates.
Thus, Project Simia was born.
A mother black and white colobus (Colobus guereza) with it's infant. Infants in this species are born all white. Photo taken by myself during a field trip to Uganda.
Admittedly, it’s also a little selfish; primates are the group of mammals I am endlessly fascinated by. I’ve studied them at university, I continue to engage with the primatology field, every day I fall more impassioned to contribute to their conservation and share with people why they are so wonderful. That’s not to say I don’t love other forms of wildlife, but, well, who can resist the cheeky charm of a capuchin? Or the aloofness of a gelada?
Passion is powerful, and I hope my passion for primates proves infectious!
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