If you listened to the podcast episode I recorded with the Wild Sheep Society of British Columbia society earlier this year (Talk is Sheep EP 76), you may have heard a teaser about me starting to do some writing for them, and I'm so thrilled to share with you all what that endeavor is! The Society has recently put a ton of time and work into rebranding and redeveloping their quarterly magazine Wild Sheep Forever, and I am joining the team as regular contributor, with a quarterly column on all things wildlife science. The goal of this column is to offer relevant and digestible science communication to members, and provide resources and references for those seeking more information on a particular topic.
Check out the Summer 2022 issue here, and visit pages 16-18 to read my article, Science-based wildlife management: what is it and why does it matter? To get your copy in print, please consider joining the Society as a member, and watch your dollars go directly to conservation projects that benefit wildlife across the province. A special thank-you for this article is due to Laura Balyx for her help with editing and revisions - thanks Laura!
So, what can you expect in future issues of the column? Topics will range from climate change impacts on wild sheep (what we know and what we don't), braiding science and traditional knowledge, the ins and outs of citizen science projects, overviewing how various wildlife surveying methods work, and of course some hot takes on controversial wildlife publications and breaking down new and noteworthy current research. I'm also currently setting up collaborations with other authors to tackle complex and multi-faceted topics (stay tuned for a collaboration coming in the Fall 2022 issue)! If you have any requests for future topics or collaborations, please comment below or get in touch at sydneygoward@uvic.ca.
Living out of wild sheep range puts me a far ways of way from on-the-ground volunteer opportunities, but contributing to the magazine through science communication is just one way I can do my part with this incredible organization. Though I do feel a little out of my league and vulnerable officially writing for a magazine for the first time, I hope you enjoy the content, and what the Science Connections column has to offer. Feedback can be sent to myself of the Society directly (contact information is in the front of the magazine).
Enjoy!
Syd