Twenty years ago, Iain Stenhouse was recently out of school and down on his luck in his native Scotland. The economy was in rough shape, and jobs were hard to come by. So he decided to volunteer his time with a local conservation group – a way of keeping busy and outdoors until he found a job. Little did he know at the time that he was setting off on a life path that would include a PhD in ecology, a position as Director of Bird Conservation for Audubon Alaska, and, now, a position as Senior Scientist with the National Audubon Society’s Important Bird Areas program.
Iain may have stumbled almost by accident into the field of conservation, but he is motivated to keep going by an unwavering passion. As he said, “My work in conservation is driven by an inherent understanding of the intrinsic value of our natural world, and a deep-rooted commitment to safeguarding it for the benefit of future generations.”
At Audubon, Iain is responsible for training volunteers and staff members to monitor places that should be conserved because they are vital to birds. Although he is scientist who is used to spending many long hours alone in the wilderness, Iain recognizes the absolute importance of working with people to achieve conservation. As part of his TogetherGreen Conservation Fellowship, he plans to work closely with Audubon chapter staff, volunteers, and other stakeholders to assess the importance of several sites for bird conservation and learn more about the best ways to engage people – so that he can ensure that his trainings are as helpful and effective as possible.