A Conversation with Dr. Tabitha Finch: Part 2

From a young age, Dr. Tabitha Finch has been passionate about animals, endlessly watching David Attenborough’s films and other nature documentaries. Early on, she was totally taken by the fact that one could research and study wildlife in their natural habitat. She considered becoming a veterinarian. Instead, she decided to study zoology at university. She recalls loving a course on animal behavior. Little wonder, then, that her PhD studies focused on the ecology and evolution of the African elephant, which she talked about in A Conversation with Dr. Tabitha Finch: Part 1.

Becoming an accomplished writer and public speaker at an early age, Tabitha involved herself in “science outreach education” activities and events while in graduate school. Her efforts were the stuff of legend: using fake elephant dung to prove anyone can learn from elephants through their droppings; running an elementary school science club; publishing a local school district’s weekly science feature called “Ask a Scientist.” She so enjoyed the way these experiences allowed her to be creative and tell funny stories that she decided not to become a teacher tied to rigid curricula and instead looked for a position more akin to her flexible science outreach work.

On a game drive, Tabitha and students try to identify a bird in South Luangwa National Park

Happily, as she puts it, she found “the perfect fit” — Manager of Conservation Education with the Chipembele Wildlife Education Trust. For a quarter century, the Mfuwe-based Chipembele trust has remained true to its mission: “To teach Zambian children the value of wildlife and their environment so they may be conserved for present and future generations.”

What attracted Finch to the nonprofit was that unlike many NGOs that appear for a short time, do their work and leave, the Chipembele trust was based in Zambia and had a good reputation for working alongside the community. As a result, its impact was sustainable.

As expected, Tabitha tackled her managerial role with characteristic inventiveness. Because of her experience during her doctoral studies teaching school groups and the public at a science center, she incorporated many hands-on experiences into her lessons. The teaching was in English. The students were in grades 6-8. Many were new to the Chimpembele program, and Tabitha relished seeing their progress.

Her home for a week on a Nature Nights bush camping trip

Outside the classroom, she took students for game drives in South Luangwa National Park and led a bush camping program for top students that included a walking safari.

Tabitha said this about the knowledge of conservation among those she met at Chipembele: “They are just trying to meet their basic needs. They have a very practical understanding of conservation, beginning with the question of how it benefits them. They point to tourism, and seeing the money that tourism brings to their communities, they understand that they need to protect the park because it supports tourism.”

Tabitha’s time in Zambia was not all work. On weekends, thanks to her eligibility for the local rate at safari lodges, she spent many weekends at more than 10 lodges in the park.

Tabitha’s interest in Africa has never waned. Nor has her commitment to GSGC. She first met Founder Priscilla Plummer while at Chipembele when GSGC supported a girls club there.

She remembers meeting American donor Russell Ford at a GSGC-sponsored event during his five-week stay as artist-in-residence at WayiWayi Art Studio and Gallery in Livingstone, Zambia in 2016. There, Mentor Agness Buya Yombwe and her family-run GSGC-sponsored clubs for girls and boys, and the family and local art community warmly embraced Russell. Tabitha commented that as she had, Russell had the good fortune to be “embedded” in an African setting. The experience provided each with an invaluable window into African life.

Also, Tabitha recently published GSGC’s first White Paper on Empowering Girls, Supporting Conservation, and she is working on another one on climate change.

Compassion underlies these initiatives. In addition to fostering her interest in the African elephant, it awakened and continues to fuel her commitment to “the girl child.” She has come to understand that: “In general, it’s about compassion. That’s why I feel so strongly about wildlife and conservation. It’s the compassion [behind] defending and sticking up for those who don’t have voices or who aren’t heard.”

Tabitha is currently director of Professional Development and Education for the Vermont Biomedical Research Network at the University of Vermont. True to form, she is the driving force behind the development of programs, events and resources that support the network’s research scientists and their student assistants.

— Suzanne Firth, GSGC Volunteer