Angela & Eileen, Co-founders
Angela and Eileen founded the wild postcard project in early 2016. Sitting around in a pub one evening doing artwork (a tradition of theirs), they were discussing ideas for a new project that could combine their mutual loves of biodiversity and artwork. A bit of drawing, a bit of chatting, and a lot of brainstorming…and an idea was born!
(each others’ favourite biodiversity)
Angela has a combined love for the ocean and exploration. That’s part of the reason she fell in love with deeper marine environments! As a marine scientist, she researches these extreme environments using technical deep diving and robots. All this with the goal of understanding how people impact deep-sea and mesophotic communities, and to shed light on how these systems could help mitigate against stresses that shallower habitats face today. Her biodiversity superstars are: of course, her mischievous Filipina puppy, Adoba; the colossal glass sponge reefs of British Columbia; and crinoids (feather stars), which are one of the strangest, but most beautiful and colourful, animals in the ocean.
From the wilds of the Alaskan tundra to the lovely warm sands of the Mediterranean (and a few spots in between!), Eileen has worked in a variety of locations across the world. Linking these is her passion for finding creative ways to communicate science. She initiated the formation of Biodiversity In Our Lives, a project which saw the creation of a set of four beermats providing pub-goers with fun facts about biodiversity; they produced over 50,000 beermats that were distributed to pubs across Ireland and received coverage in The Irish Times, Science magazine, and on RTE radio. She has been an invited speaker at a variety of events including Electric Picnic, TED-x Osnabrück, and the Falling Walls conference. Eileen (who is ‘occasionally’ indecisive) is having trouble picking her favourite bit of Irish biodiversity – she can’t decide between the Siskin (because it rhymes with her last name), the puffin (because they’re totally cute), and her dog Noodle (because dogs are biodiversity too!).
Our Pod
The project would not be possible without our amazing team, who, like a pod of dolphins, exhibit strong team spirit, enthusiasm, and selflessness
Emily grew up in southeast Wisconsin and spent four years living on the shores of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee. After a year in Fairbanks working on her Ph.D., she’s loving every aspect of the frozen northwest including her trace metal research in the Gulf of Alaska. A side-quest of her time in grad school is working to broaden the scope of scientific communication to include policy makers and the public at large. Her favourite biodiversity is the abundance and uniqueness of regional wildflowers from her native phlox in Wisconsin to Alaska’s beautiful, vibrant fireweed.
Born in The Philippines, raised in The Netherlands, and globe trotting has instilled Johanna‘s compassion for people, their different cultures, and passion for biodiversity and its conservation. The habit of connecting dots has made her a born interdisciplinary mediator. She’s currently busy with her Masters in Environmental Sciences from Wageningen University. As an environmental and social science enthusiast she delved deeper into the connections between humans and nature, researching small-scale fishers and sustainability in The Philippines for her Bachelor thesis. Here, she met Angela.. words were spoken and the WPP @Philippines 2017 took off! Owning to her enthusiastic nature and eloquent linguistic skills she had tremendous success in engaging remote communities in small villages and mountainous areas. Her favourite biodiversity range from tiny nudibranchs to gigantic elephants!
Born and raised in North Vancouver, Canada, Josie has now moved up to Alaska to do graduate school studying the impact of groundwater on coastal ecosystems. She has loved everything to do with the Pacific Ocean from a young age – swimming in it, canoeing on it, and now studying it. She is interested in melding science and public outreach. There’s no point in doing the research if you’re not going to share it! Her hobbies include hiking, biking, creative writing, baking and basically any new activity in the outdoors. Her favourite biodiversity is man’s best friend, the dog.
Nessa is a creative entomologist, seeking to reintroduce humans to their natural habitat through colourful encounters with insects: biodiversity surveys for conservation management; prints, paintings, video and sound art with a focus on flora and fauna; and tailor-made bug-centric learning experiences such as participatory video projects and insect outings. She is a member of the Heritage in Schools panel for 2018-2020. That means she can bring her crazy insect workshops to a primary school near you! She has identified thousands of beetles for Trinity College Dublin and nearly as many reptiles and amphibians with SEED Madagascar, where she worked on a conservation programme for over a year. She recently had her first solo exhibition, BUGONIA, at Bí URBAN, featuring work from the Bee Time artist residency. She is one quarter of art collective Soft Blonde Moustache and a member of Discovery Gospel Choir, Ireland’s leading intercultural choir. She enjoys variety, and loves insects the most because no matter how long you study them there will always be something new to learn!
Where would we be without this faithful pack leader, with us since the Project’s inception?! With over a decade of work in biodiversity research and its conservation, from marine to terrestrial habitats, Tadhg brings a wealth of knowledge necessary for the more technical parts of the project. Known for his witty jokes and outgoing personality, it’s safe to say that he is a fan favourite, especially with kids, parents, and teachers at our event ceremonies. It’s not all fun and games though, he’s often found working hard behind the scenes, multitasking in every part of the project to ensure everything (from production, events, communications) go smoothly. Tadhg explores all terrains, but lately he has been leading SCUBA diving projects in every corner of the world, and during these underwater expeditions he strives to find his favourite biodiversity: the John Dory and (all types of) sea turtles, both found in Irish waters.
Victoria formed a strong connection with nature during her childhood in the mythical forests of Saxony, Germany (home of the Grimm’s Fairy Tales), where her grandmother made sure to teach her the names of every single plant and animal they encountered. Since then, she also had the privilege of experiencing the wildlife of Ireland and Japan. Currently, Victoria is in the final stages of a UCD Masters programme in Wildlife Conservation and Management. Hobbies include drawing, adventuring, and exploring hidden gems of the countryside. Favourite biodiversity was hard to pick, but the grey wolf and the peregrine falcon hold a special place in her heart.
Past (fully fledged!) pod members:
Madison Kaplen
Maya Brassard
Our partners:
National Biodiversity Data Centre (NBDC)
National Gallery of Ireland (NGI)
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Supporting organizations (and their favourite biodiversity):
British Columbia, Canada
Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre
Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance
Federation of Mountain Clubs of British Columbia
Galiano Conservancy Association
Marine Life Sanctuaries Society
North Okanagan Naturalists Club
Outdoor Recreation Council of British Columbia
South Coast Conservation Program
Ireland
An Taisce is very fond of the Pine Marten and threatened animals, such as Hen Harrier, Freshwater Pearl Mussel, Lesser Horseshoe Bat, and Arctic Charr. These are amazing animals that don’t get enough publicity.
Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)
Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC) who love the sundew, a carnivorous plant found on bogs, the curlew (one of Ireland’s bog birds), as well as Sphagnum moss – the building block of bogs!
Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG)
Madagascar
Nessa Darcy Creative Entomologist
The Netherlands
Ecosystem Services Partnership
Nationale Databank Flora en Fauna
The Wild Postcard Project 