Beyond the Lecture Hall: Marine Biology Comes to Life

Cross River Gorilla Project and Students Against Species Extinction Blog 

My time as a SNES student ambassador 

Marine Biology students, George, Henry and Calum at Dove Laboratories with SASE & CRGP to help host a United National (UN) livestreamed lecture.

For my work experience in Stage 2 of my Marine Biology undergraduate degree I joined the Cross River Gorilla Project (CRGP). The CRGP interested me as it is a charity that is doing real-world important work to protect and conserve a critically endangered species, The Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli). While I knew that Gorillas in general were endangered, I did not know how critical the situation was for the Cross River Gorilla subspecies in the Lebialem Highlands. Upon finding out that are less than 300 of this amazing charismatic species left I was invested and wanted to hopefully be a useful asset for the project while also learning skills in conservation. As part of this placement, I was part of a group called Students Against Species Extinction (SASE). This was a group of students and mentors from many different backgrounds and disciplines working together to promote conservation. A classmate of mine and I represented the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences and had the goal of using what we have learned about conservation in Marine Biology and applying it to the Cross River Gorilla.  

I had many amazing opportunities as a member of the SASE group, firstly the chance to work with students from media, marketing and sociology. Working with other students that I would not usually get the chance to work with allowed me to learn from their knowledge and skills and improve my communication and listening skills. I also was given the task to create a list highlighting 50 endangered species globally using the IUCN red list. This list was presented in front of around 300 people in Louisiana, in the United States of America. I was elated that something I had helped produce was being used to highlight endangered species to people from the other side of the Atlantic, an opportunity I would never have gotten unless being part of this placement. Students from Nicholls State University also travelled to Newcastle to present to us the threats Louisiana is facing with the Mississippi Delta. This was an eye-opening experience and to see students so enthusiastic and proactive about a serious threat on their doorstep was inspiring.  

The main task I had for the CRGP was to help organise a fundraising event to both raise money and awareness for the Cross River Gorillas. This was a very enjoyable and rewarding experience that made me feel like I was helping the project and learning how much work conservation charities need to put in to raise funds. I was able to use the bar I work in for my part-time job as the venue for the event and that was fun to be able to use that connection to help the CRGP.  

John Daniels from the Cross River Gorilla Project and Kellie Daniels from the SASE group were both amazing mentors. Johns’ passion for wildlife and the need to preserve it was a real inspiration and hearing the stories of his trips to the Lebialem Highlands really got you excited to be part of the project. Kellie was amazing at organising everything and being encouraging throughout the whole placement, also smiling and making it feel like positive experience. I would like to thank them both for their mentorship and support and will always have great admiration for the Cross River Gorilla Project and the Students Against Species Extinction group. I am now extremely invested in the Cross River Gorillas and will always have hope that they can start to recover from their loss of population and habitat. This overall experience has enhanced my passion for conservation, and I will look back on it fondly and hope to stay in touch in the future.  

Calum McKeown

Marine Biology Student Stage 2