Tickets for the Ark; why conservationists needs philosophy. Rebecca Nesbitt

Science and ecology communicator Rebecca Nesbitt explores the underlying, largely invisible, philosophy and values which sit beneath wildlife conservation.

A central dilemma of wildlife conservation is setting priorities to
inform where limited funds are best spent.
Can we be guided by science alone? Or do we also need philosophy to help us protect the natural world?

Rebecca will tell us about her exploration of these questions & the effect it has had on her work on conservation for the benefit of all animals, including humans.

Central to her viewpoint is the realisation that there is no objective
‘correct’ state that the natural world should be in, partly because
historical baselines are morally arbitrary. Conservation often aspires
to recreate population sizes and species distributions that existed at a
chosen point in the past, ignoring the fact that change is the one
constant in nature.
Many other basic questions have not been addressed: should it be
automatically assumed that human influences on nature are harmful,
helpful or even true? When did we decide that humans and nature
are separate? Why are people so keen to save the bees and kill the
wasps? And why does no one campaign to protect the hairworms,
despite their great importance?
Where do living beings fit in a humanist world view as it becomes
increasingly clear that we can no longer assume their role is as slaves
to human whims?

Of her recent book 'Tickets for the Ark' New Scientist said, "This is an ambitious and entertaining book, which foresees a dynamic and creative role for conservation in the future." And Ken Thompson (author of Do We Need Pandas), said "Tickets for the Ark answers crucial questions about conservation that it hadn’t occurred to most of us even to ask.”

Rebecca will be telling us about her journey as a wildlife
conservationist, how philosophy and her understanding of colonialism and patriarchy, both change and redirect her work.

Dr Rebecca Nesbit is author of Tickets for the Ark, which tackles tough
choices in wildlife conservation. Using case studies from around the
world, the book challenges some of our deeply held views about what
the natural world should look like.

Rebecca studied butterfly migration for her PhD, then worked for a
start-up company training honeybees to detect explosives. She now
works in science communication and her projects have ranged from a
citizen science flying ant survey to visiting universities around the
world with Nobel Prize Laureates. Her first popular science book Is
Is That Fish in your Tomato? explores the fact and fiction of GM foods. She has also published two novels. Links to her books, articles
and short stories can be found at https://rebeccanesbit.com.

All are welcome, whether Bristol Humanists member, or not. The event is FREE if you are a member, or £3/£1 if not.