This week on Coffee & Conservation, we’re continuing our Women in Conservation series with an episode grounded in firsthand field experience, storytelling, and the realities of frontline wildlife protection.

Coffee & Conservation was created by Mike Veale and Robert Pike as a space for honest, accessible conversations about conservation, ones that go beyond headlines and into the lived experiences of those doing the work. What began as informal discussions over coffee has grown into a platform amplifying voices from across the conservation landscape, from rangers and researchers to journalists, advocates, and community leaders.

As we head into January, the podcast will officially mark five years of conversations, stories, and insight, five years of sharing conservation as it truly happens, both the challenges and the victories.

For this episode, we’re joined by Sophie Bland, a wildlife conservationist, photographer, former zookeeper, trained field guide, rhino rehabber, and one of Global Conservation Force’s newest Field Journalists.

Sophie was recently deployed with GCF in South Africa, embedded directly into active conservation operations. During her assignment, she participated in snare patrols, rhino protection operations, and the Global Conservation Force Annual Community Selection Anti-Poaching Ranger Training, experiences that gave her a raw and unfiltered look at the intensity, commitment, and coordination required to protect wildlife on the ground.

In this episode, Sophie shares what it’s like transitioning from conservation roles behind the scenes to documenting and reporting from the field. We talk about the responsibility of telling these stories accurately, the emotional weight of frontline conservation, and why representation, particularly women in conservation, matters in shaping how these stories are shared with the world.

Coffee & Conservation has always been about bridging the gap between the field and the public, and Sophie’s perspective does exactly that, bringing listeners closer to the realities faced by rangers, communities, and wildlife every day.

Looking ahead, we’re excited to announce that our next guest will be Anna Dimitriadis, Global Conservation Force’s newest Conservation Ambassador and soon-to-be Anti-Poaching Ranger. Anna’s journey into ranger training represents the next generation of conservation leadership, and we’re looking forward to sharing her story in an upcoming episode.

🎙️ Coffee & Conservation
☕ Real conversations. Real conservation.
🌍 Five years of stories and still brewing.