Liam Taylor

I am currently a student at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. My passion for nature and wildlife has driven me to be involved with conservation. Since I was a small child, I have been fascinated with animals. My range of interests is varied. I grew up picking up shiny beetles to show my friends and spending hours photographing birds. I feel most at home when I am in the savanna listening to lions and hyenas at night, and fish-eagles in the day.

I am involved with various conservation projects. One such project is investigating how habitat fragmentation impacts forest and grassland birds. Another project I am completing is gaining novel insight into how invertebrates respond to a landscape under change. I like linking ecology and nature, with scientific models that are useful for understanding threats to animals.

This baobab project appeals to my love of botany and zoology and I feel like the work we are doing will be important for conserving endangered species. If we stand back and do not stop the damage that humans are causing to the environment, then future generations will not get to experience the joy that we have gotten from nature. That is a sad thought and I will not be part of the problem but rather help where I can to unite human upliftment with the preservation of the environment.

October 2022