#5 Show Notes | Bugs, Cameras, Ecotourism, Oh My! with Court Whelan, PhD

Hey, friends. Welcome to another episode of Rewildology where we explore conservation, sustainability, travel and leave it all out on the table.

In this episode I’m chatting with Court Whelan, PhD, who is an entomologist and ecotourism expert. We chat about his interesting path into entomology and photography guiding, why he chose a career over entrepreneurship, and the importance of tourism for wildlife conservation. 

This one is a goodie and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Here is my convo with Court:

Ep. 5 | Bugs, Cameras, Ecotourism, Oh My! with Court Whelan, PhD
Ep. 5 | Bugs, Cameras, Ecotourism, Oh My! with Court Whelan, PhD
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Show Notes

  • You’re first and foremost an entomologist. What gave you your love of bugs? Where did that come from? [1:10]
  • So then what were you like as a child? [3:30]
  • Court chats about his early academic career and performing research abroad. [7:36]
  • Court lays the groundwork for his PhD studies and what later gave rise to a potential ecotourism business. [11:21]
  • What do you do in your role as a conservation director at a travel company? [32:40]
  • So where in your story did wildlife photography come into play? Because you’re a scientist, but you’re really good photographer. So how did that happen? [42:45]
  • Court talks about his podcast, The Wild Photographer. [45:34]
  • Can you shed some light on what’s going on with the western Monarch butterfly situation? [49:45]
  • Why do you think, or from your expertise and know-how in the field, why do you think we’re not further along in conservation? [1:01:38]
  • What would you define as success for you and when you feel like you will have achieved it? [1:07:57]
  • What is your final ask of anybody listening? What’s one thing, if you could get everyone listening to do or think about what would that be? [1:14:41]
  • Parting thoughts. [1:19:33]

Download the full transcript below.

Links

Check out other Rewildology episodes.

Ep. 4 Show Notes | The New Face of Conservation with Jawnie Payne

Ep. 3 Show Notes | Let’s Get Real with Corrin LaCombe

Ep. 2 Show Notes | Finding Your Path with Dave Johnson

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Brooke Mitchell-Norman
Brooke Mitchell-Norman

Brooke is a conservation biologist that has traveled the world studying how to balance human activity and healthy wildlife populations. She’s met several inspiring people along the way. These are their stories.

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