Bright Oluwatomilola Olunusi (she/her)

How are you using education to build more sustainable and equitable communities? Tell us about your EE work and impact. 

I use education to help people connect environmental issues to their own lives and see where they can take action.

Through the Initiative for Biodiversity Conservation in Sub-Saharan Africa (IBCSSA), I help develop environmental content and programs for young people, including school outreach and Youth Biodiversity Clubs. Collectively, these programs have reached more than 9,000 students and teachers across over 70 public schools in Nigeria. Students continue the work through activities such as tree care, clean-ups, and peer engagement.

I also mentor early-career environmentalists in research, writing, and environmental communication. Some have progressed from having little research experience to publishing articles, contributing to research, and supporting their peers.

My work also includes creating spaces for learning among conservation professionals. As a conference planning lead with the Society for Conservation Biology’s Social Science Working Group, I help organize international events that bring hundreds of participants together to exchange research, experiences, and approaches to the human dimensions of conservation.

My PhD work extends this into communities experiencing human-elephant conflict, where I use participatory approaches to explore decisions around conservation, livelihoods, and land use.

These experiences have shown me that environmental education works best when it reflects the realities and choices people face in their everyday lives.

Tell us about your journey to where you are today. What inspired you? What has your path been like? 

Growing up in Nigeria, I remember environmental science sometimes being treated as a second choice, rather than a field for ambitious students. I chose it anyway.

I studied wildlife and environmental management, initially thinking mostly about animals and ecosystems. But the more I learned, the more interested I became in the people living alongside the environmental problems we were studying. As an undergraduate, I spent time speaking with hunters and bushmeat traders. Those conversations taught me that decisions that may look environmentally “wrong” from the outside can make sense when you understand someone’s livelihood, choices, and constraints.

That realization has followed me. It took me from wildlife conservation into environmental education, teaching, mentoring young environmentalists, and eventually research focused on the human side of conservation. Today, as a PhD candidate in Global Development at Cornell University, I study human-elephant conflict and how environmental change, livelihoods, and human decisions interact.

My path has changed considerably from where I started, but the question underneath it has stayed surprisingly consistent: How do we pursue conservation in ways that make sense for both people and nature?

How can people learn more about or support your work? 

People can learn more about my research and teaching through my Cornell University profile, follow the environmental education work of the Initiative for Biodiversity Conservation in Sub-Saharan Africa (IBCSSA), and connect with me on LinkedIn. I am also involved with the Society for Conservation Biology’s Social Science Working Group (SSWG), where I help create opportunities for international exchange around the human dimensions of conservation.

I welcome connections and collaborations with people working in environmental education, human-wildlife coexistence, community-based conservation, youth engagement, and conservation social science. I am especially interested in work that connects research and education with the realities of communities living with environmental change.

People can also support my work by creating opportunities for the early-career environmentalists I mentor. Research collaborations, training, publishing opportunities, and access to wider professional networks can make a meaningful difference at the beginning of a career.

I am always happy to exchange ideas, learn from what others are doing, and explore opportunities to work together.

A Little More About Me

What is your superpower? Which of your qualities best fuels the work you do?
My curiosity. I ask a lot of questions, especially about why people make the choices they do, and that curiosity has shaped both my research and how I work with communities.

What advice would you give to the next generation of leaders?
Take opportunities even when you do not feel completely ready. Sometimes you grow into an opportunity by saying "yes" first and figuring things out along the way.

What’s your favorite food to celebrate with?
Nigerian Jollof rice. No competition.