Niki Rust

I’m an environmental social scientist and a science communicator. I’ve been lucky enough to work on a large range of nature conservation projects all over the world, from seabird monitoring in Malta to cheetah conservation in Namibia. With a PhD in Biodiversity Management and a decade of experience as a conservation professional, I’m serious about protecting nature. I am first and foremost a scientist, but use evidence-based data to support my communications. Skilled in strategic verbal and visual communications, I use the power of voice and photos to engage, inspire and inform. My written communication portfolio spans academic publications such as journal articles and book chapters to press articles for the general public and science communication on Twitter. I’m an expert verbal communicator too, where I tailor my message to the desired audience and objective. As a professional spokesperson, I’m trained in delivering succinct conservation messages via TV, radio and print interviews. I’m a big fan of using social science to understand, inform and improve conservation interventions. Having given training workshops, written journal articles and book chapters on the topic, I’m happy to help you with your conservation social science problem. My research interests include sustainable agriculture and diets, socio-ecological systems, human-wildlife conflict, carnivore conservation, community-based conservation, sustainable use and participatory methods. I make sure my research is collaborative so that the end result is useful, applicable and impactful.