Danielle - Women in Science
Wildlife bioogist Danielle Fagre discusses how an internship in a national park set her on a track towards conservation and why more women and more diversity are important in the creation of better science.
Video by Olivia Beitelspacher and Lisa Cox / USFWS.
Video transcript:
00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:06,120
So, one of my most formative
00:00:06,120 --> 00:00:11,070
early job experiences: I was an intern with Grand Teton
00:00:11,070 --> 00:00:16,150
National Park and it was a winter internship, and so we were out on cross-country skis tracking
00:00:16,150 --> 00:00:20,490
wolves. And we were out there looking for what they ate, how much of it,
00:00:20,490 --> 00:00:22,340
you know, what species it was and all that
00:00:22,340 --> 00:00:27,360
and then taking data on that. And that kind of started this interest in me of,
00:00:28,430 --> 00:00:32,800
"Oh wow, like, this is really cool to be able to see wildlife all the time and
00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:37,670
I guess I can get paid to do that so that's awesome." That was definitely, like,
00:00:37,670 --> 00:00:43,520
an experience that really set my course in wildlife biology.
00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:48,260
I work under the Endangered Species Act and primarily under section seven which is working with
00:00:48,260 --> 00:00:51,490
other federal agencies and also section ten which
00:00:51,490 --> 00:00:58,060
is private entities to reduce impacts and promote conservation for endangered species.
00:00:58,060 --> 00:01:03,530
I kind of have these two voices in my head and the one voice says, "Wow,
00:01:03,530 --> 00:01:07,980
research is so awesome. Isn't cool that we get to ask
00:01:07,980 --> 00:01:12,920
questions about the natural world and figure out ways to answer
00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:16,560
those questions. And then the other voice in my head says,
00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:21,950
"A lot of the conservation challenges that we face today are not limited
00:01:21,950 --> 00:01:24,920
by data or more research." So what we really
00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:30,170
need is action. And so I think of my job as really heavy in that
00:01:30,170 --> 00:01:35,050
conservation side of things; we use our best available data, best available
00:01:35,050 --> 00:01:40,500
science but we're taking that and putting it into action. We need more
00:01:40,500 --> 00:01:44,660
women in science and one of the major reasons is that it
00:01:44,660 --> 00:01:49,520
makes better science. It makes better science to have a diverse representation
00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:54,290
of people of all backgrounds because those people have different perspectives
00:01:54,290 --> 00:01:58,770
and we might think of a different solution to a problem or a different way
00:01:58,770 --> 00:02:03,740
to approach question. If you're thinking about this as a career path, I can guarantee you
00:02:03,740 --> 00:02:08,660
it's a very rewarding one and it will bring you a lot of
00:02:08,660 --> 00:02:12,970
joy. We need you, please join us.
Danielle - Women in Science
Wildlife bioogist Danielle Fagre discusses how an internship in a national park set her on a track towards conservation and why more women and more diversity are important in the creation of better science.
Video by Olivia Beitelspacher and Lisa Cox / USFWS.
Video transcript:
00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:06,120
So, one of my most formative
00:00:06,120 --> 00:00:11,070
early job experiences: I was an intern with Grand Teton
00:00:11,070 --> 00:00:16,150
National Park and it was a winter internship, and so we were out on cross-country skis tracking
00:00:16,150 --> 00:00:20,490
wolves. And we were out there looking for what they ate, how much of it,
00:00:20,490 --> 00:00:22,340
you know, what species it was and all that
00:00:22,340 --> 00:00:27,360
and then taking data on that. And that kind of started this interest in me of,
00:00:28,430 --> 00:00:32,800
"Oh wow, like, this is really cool to be able to see wildlife all the time and
00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:37,670
I guess I can get paid to do that so that's awesome." That was definitely, like,
00:00:37,670 --> 00:00:43,520
an experience that really set my course in wildlife biology.
00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:48,260
I work under the Endangered Species Act and primarily under section seven which is working with
00:00:48,260 --> 00:00:51,490
other federal agencies and also section ten which
00:00:51,490 --> 00:00:58,060
is private entities to reduce impacts and promote conservation for endangered species.
00:00:58,060 --> 00:01:03,530
I kind of have these two voices in my head and the one voice says, "Wow,
00:01:03,530 --> 00:01:07,980
research is so awesome. Isn't cool that we get to ask
00:01:07,980 --> 00:01:12,920
questions about the natural world and figure out ways to answer
00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:16,560
those questions. And then the other voice in my head says,
00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:21,950
"A lot of the conservation challenges that we face today are not limited
00:01:21,950 --> 00:01:24,920
by data or more research." So what we really
00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:30,170
need is action. And so I think of my job as really heavy in that
00:01:30,170 --> 00:01:35,050
conservation side of things; we use our best available data, best available
00:01:35,050 --> 00:01:40,500
science but we're taking that and putting it into action. We need more
00:01:40,500 --> 00:01:44,660
women in science and one of the major reasons is that it
00:01:44,660 --> 00:01:49,520
makes better science. It makes better science to have a diverse representation
00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:54,290
of people of all backgrounds because those people have different perspectives
00:01:54,290 --> 00:01:58,770
and we might think of a different solution to a problem or a different way
00:01:58,770 --> 00:02:03,740
to approach question. If you're thinking about this as a career path, I can guarantee you
00:02:03,740 --> 00:02:08,660
it's a very rewarding one and it will bring you a lot of
00:02:08,660 --> 00:02:12,970
joy. We need you, please join us.