Some advocates campaign for big ideas; some work quietly behind the scenes to build smaller projects that can add up to big change. Jon Mobeck is the master of the latter. Jon is the founding executive director of the National Loon Centre and the former executive director of the Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation and the The Murie Centre. He has built a career working to protect biodiversity through community-centred conservation, helping launch projects like CoalitionWILD and WILDCities, ideas that have sought to connect nature to youth and urban communities. Throughout it all, he’s taken a hands-on approach to balancing people and nature, working with wildlife biologists, landowners, government officials and engaged citizens to combine the best of science and citizen science to create solutions that work for wildlife and communities.
We spoke with Jon by Skype to discuss the art of problem solving and why building bridges is the best way to create solutions for nature that endure.
What do you think?
- What did you learn from Jon’s story?
- Does relentless incrementalism work? Is this how we create change that endures?
- How important is it to build solutions that begin at the community level?
- With an issue as urgent as the biodiversity crisis, is there time to patiently build relationships and invest in quiet diplomacy?
- Is it possible to scale community projects, given the different contexts of different regions?
- Does Jon’s story give you pause to rethink how best to brainstorm solutions to a problem?