Honouring Dr Kristina Gjerde, dedicated advocate for the ocean
Anna Heath reflects on working with Dr Kristina Gjerde, an extraordinary marine conservationist.
Anna Heath
Stories featuring Anna Heath
Anna Heath
Senior Programmes Manager
Ocean Programme
Programmes
Anna joined Synchronicity Earth in September 2016 as a Junior Research Analyst. She had an international upbringing, spending most of her life in Thailand before moving back to the UK for university. She managed to stay in one place long enough to gain an MSci in Environmental Biology from University College London, but soon headed off to get experience in various forms of field research overseas. This involved freediving with whale sharks in the Philippines, tracking groups of howler monkeys in Mexico, and monitoring small mammal populations in the jungles of Malaysian Borneo. Her experience in the field has given her a broad understanding of both the science and the practicalities behind conservation work, which she enjoys applying to her role at Synchronicity Earth.
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Reflections from the United Nations Ocean Conference
Anna Heath (left) with Camille Rivera from Oceanus Conservation. How to scale up action for the ocean? This was the focus of the 2022 United Nations (UN) Ocean Conference, which opened in Lisbon, Portugal, on 27 June. Our Programme and Partner Manager, Anna Heath, went along to support our partners and add [...]
The new and improved Ocean Programme sets sail
Our High and Deep Seas Programme has been focused on these two overlooked areas of marine conservation for seven years. Building on its success, this programme has now been redeveloped into a broader Ocean Programme, expanding into new areas of critical but underfunded marine conservation. Programme and Partner Manager Anna Heath describes this exciting [...]
The glass slipper of the greenhouse: what is the cost of the orchid trade?
The protection of endangered plants is often overlooked in the world of conservation. But not only is the conservation of plant species vital for overall ecosystem survival, there are also specific threats facing plant species which need to be tackled and protecting them is a far more fascinating endeavour than you might expect. Anna [...]
Painting a new future for a Critically Endangered terrapin
SatuCita Foundation is one of the newest partners in Synchronicity Earth’s Asian Species Programme with a particular focus on one Critically Endangered species: the painted terrapin. Anna Heath writes about the mission of a young Sumatran conservationist to save a remarkable freshwater turtle from extinction. “Someone must do something to [...]
An overlooked ecosystem: seagrass meadows
When we think about important habitats, we often imagine a coral reef, a tropical rainforest or maybe the African savannah. But there are many less celebrated, often overlooked ecosystems that are equally deserving of our attention: these habitats help regulate our climate, stock our food supplies and supply us with clean water, and are also [...]
Funding destruction: we need to talk about fisheries subsidies
Fishing for human consumption is thought to be the biggest driver of biodiversity loss in our oceans, according to the recent Living Planet Report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Zoological Society of London (ZSL). Seafood is an important part of the diet of more than 3 billion people, and fisheries and aquaculture [...]
Home is where the heart is: the true meaning of community conservation
The Mabuwaya Foundation is a conservation organisation based in Isabela province, in Northern Luzon, the Philippines. The organisation was started to build local protection for the Critically Endangered Philippine crocodile, or “bukarot” as it is known locally. The Philippine crocodile has the unwanted label of being the world’s rarest crocodile, and is only known [...]
A crocodile success story (in pictures)
The Philippine Crocodile is one of the rarest and most endangered crocodiles in the world. Once found throughout the Philippines, in 2001 there were only 12 known individuals left in the wild due to habitat loss, pollution and overfishing. However, local people have pulled together to support a strong comeback for their crocodiles, and [...]
Lights, Camera, Heron!
Conservation Research Analyst Anna Heath on how a camera trap set up to capture images of one of the world's most iconic species, the tiger, may help in the battle to save one of the world's least well-known, the White-bellied Heron. Earlier this month, I arrived at work to a flurry of excited [...]