In celebration of International Women’s Day, we are excited to share the behind-the-scenes story of some of the women who work to protect biodiversity on the amazing island of St Helena. The work they are doing, funded by the UK Government’s Darwin Plus initiative, highlights the significant contribution of women in conservation. Join the RSPB's Luba Meshkova (International Data Manager) and Harry Marshall (Principal Conservation Scientist) to find out more.
Protecting St Helena’s amazing biodiversitySt Helena is a sub-tropical island in the South Atlantic, located 1,200 miles from the African coastline. As part of the UK’s Overseas Territories, it is a great example of how these territories collectively hold 94% of UK species that are found only in these unique environments. The island is home to over 500 species found nowhere else, including many plants and invertebrates such as the Spiky Yellow Woodlouse. Its coastal areas are important breeding sites for seabirds such as the St Helena Storm Petrel subspecies, while its grassland and scrublands provide a habitat to the St Helena Plover – the national bird of St Helena locally known as the Wirebird.
Spiky Yellow Woodlouse, St Helena. Credit: Ed Thorpe (rspb-images.com).
St Helena Storm Petrel. Credit: Ed Thorpe.
St Helena Plover or ‘Wirebird’. Credit: Luba Meshkova.
The RSPB has a long-standing commitment to support conservation organisations on St Helena. Recently this has included Darwin Plus and UK Government funded projects developing conservation data management, grassland management, seabird monitoring and cloud forest restoration. St Helena’s women are at the forefront of this work, leading the way in protecting the island’s unique wildlife. These are some of their stories.
Meet the women driving change to improve conservation outcomes on St Helena
Rebecca Cairns-WicksRebecca coordinates the St Helena Research Institute and has worked for the conservation of St Helena’s biodiversity for over 30 years. In 2019 she launched the Research Institute, under the auspices of the Education Portfolio, as an organisation to expand research activities and maximise their benefit for St Helena’s community.
Supported by the RSPB, Rebecca has been working to strengthen the Research Institute’s capacity and grow its activities in biological recording and data management. This is an often overlooked but critical aspect of conservation science that is vital to understanding where conservation efforts are most needed.
Credit: Rebecca Cairns-Wicks.
“The centralised biological records system, that we call iRecord St Helena, which is accessible through a web portal and associated App is helping to change the way information about St Helena’s wildlife is recorded; archived; managed; analysed and made available to conservation managers; educators and the public here and overseas. The database is an essential resource that can now be used to interrogate wildlife records to identify trends in change over time. The more wildlife recorders contributing records over time, the more confident we can be in generating valuable datasets. I’m very proud that Selene, our Data Manager, who started with the Institute as an A level school leaver, is now, supported by our current and previous Darwin Initiative funding, leading the management and technical development of iRecord St Helena.” - Rebecca Cairns-Wicks
Helena BennettHelena is the Director of the St Helena National Trust and had worked in tourism development, which led her to conserving St Helena’s biodiversity. The Trust is a long-standing partner of the RSPB on St Helena and the leading organisation for the conservation of bird life.
The RSPB has been supporting the work of the St Helena National Trust for over 20 years, with an initial focus on the recovery of the Wirebird. Through effective research identifying the causes of decline and improving habitat management, the population has steadily increased since 2006 and has stabilised at around 600 birds. Recent land use change, however, has raised concerns for the future of the island’s population and we decided to act before seeing significant population declines. Under Helena’s leadership, the Trust and the RSPB are working together to develop sustainable grassland management strategies that will benefit the Wirebird, invertebrates and local livelihoods. The Trust also monitor and protect the island’s seabird populations to help secure their future.
Credit: Helena Bennett.
“The St Helena National Trust’s mission is to champion the built, cultural and natural heritage of St Helena. This is done through partnerships and collaborations. The recent Darwin-Plus local funded project (DPL00090) is a classic example of different organisations working together to achieve a common goal. By compiling the island’s bird data into the iRecord system we are able to devise strategies to create a sustainable bird diversity for St Helena.” - Helena Bennett
Selene GoughSelene is the Data Manager at the St Helena Research Institute. In 2023, she was awarded a Darwin Plus Fellowship to develop her data management skills in the UK, which she has been using to develop the iRecord St Helena system. Selene is working at the forefront of consolidating St Helena’s biodiversity data into a centralised system.
Recently, this has involved working with the St Helena National Trust and the RSPB on a Darwin-Plus funded project (DPL00090) compiling all of the island’s bird data into the iRecord St Helena database and developing data collection and management skills of conservation staff on St Helena.
Credit: Selene Gough.
“iRecord St Helena was designed to create a lasting impact. By enhancing how data is collected, stored, and used, we’re equipping decision makers with the tools to make informed decisions that safeguard St Helena’s wildlife. Beyond conservation, iRecord St Helena is also an accessible educational resource - one that I hope will inspire future generations to value and protect the island’s unique biodiversity.” - Selene Gough
Working together to strengthen conservation data skills on St HelenaGood quality conservation data is vital to knowing which species or sites are in need of protection. Rebecca, Helena, Selene, and the organisations they run and work for, have been working with the RSPB to improve conservation data skills on St Helena.
As part of the Darwin Plus funded project, RSPB scientists travelled to St Helena in November 2024 to deliver a set of workshops on data processing and analysis. The training attracted more than twenty participants from St Helena NGOs, government and private sector who were looking to develop their technical skills. Through hands-on sessions and guided exercises, attendees gained valuable expertise in data management tools, best practices and how to extract and interpret conservation data statistics. The workshops highlighted a strong commitment to professional skills development and desire to work together, all aimed to protect St Helena’s unique biodiversity through the data-driven decision making approach.
The work of Rebecca, Helena, Selene and many other women is vital in ensuring long-term conservation success on St Helena. The RSPB, alongside initiatives like Darwin Plus, is proud to continue supporting these efforts and we consider it a great privilege to be part of this important work.
Luba Meshkova (RSPB International Data Manager) delivering conservation data training on St Helena. Credit: Harry Marshall.
AcknowledgementsWith thanks to the UK Government for funding biodiversity conservation work on St Helena, particularly through its Darwin Plus Initiative and FCDO ISF Climate Security Programme, and to the St Helena Government for support and partnership in this work.
Find out moreDarwin Initiative, Darwin Plus Initiative - https://www.darwininitiative.org.uk/St Helena Research Institute - https://sthelenaresearch.edu.sh/St Helena National Trust - https://www.trust.org.sh/iRecord St Helena project funding page link - https://darwinplus.org.uk/project/DPL00027/St Helena iRecord page link - https://irecordsthelena.edu.sh/DPL00090 (project about iRecord ) - https://darwinplus.org.uk/project/DPL00090
Continue reading• How cloud forest restoration on St Helena is bringing back wildlife and boosting water security• Sharing knowledge across the waves – how knowledge exchange visits are helping the St Helena Cloud Forest project to protect rare and special species• Light up a cloud forest
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