Only Men Can Be Adventurers

‘But you don’t look like an adventurer’ was the response I received from a potential sponsor when I explained my campaign for 2015. ‘I’ve had to fire women from expeditions before; they are too distracting’. These examples aren’t even nearly the worst of the sexist remarks that I’ve been subjected to this year. So, I’d like to ask the question, ‘Can only men be adventurers?’
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Let me explain from the beginning. I was the kind of kid who came home from school with frogs in my pockets, muddy tights and bruised elbows. Being outside and climbing trees to see birds’ nest was my happy place and following this passion led me to study zoology and ecology at uni. Classroom learning was always frustrating for me as I just wanted to see, smell and feel all that I was being taught in the wild. So, when the opportunity came up to study bats in Honduras for three months, I jumped at the chance. Never had I felt more fulfilled than when I was trekking through that cloud forest in the middle of the night after taking DNA from bats and heading back to my hammock for a few hours of kip before my howler monkey alarm clock would sound.

It was that expedition that truly made me feel like an adventurer. My career after uni took me into sustainability communication and wildlife film-making but, at every opportunity, I’d take myself to explore the remote places of our vast planet to see wildlife and how the local people interact with it. It was these trips that inspired my campaign for this year. I believe that responsible ecotourism is the best tool we have to protect endangered species as it makes those animals and areas worth more alive than dead.
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My mission was this; inspire one million people to go on an ecoadventure and do something positive with their time off work. In fact, getting people engaged with nature again is what David Attenborough believes to be the single best way to solve all of the planet’s biggest environmental problems. To do this, I picked 12 wildlife hotspots to write about and photograph and created a website where holiday-makers could be motivated to book an ecoadventure rather than stay in a five star, all-inclusive resort.
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What I didn’t expect from running this campaign is an obstacle that I’ve come up against over and over again. I’m not a man! In order to reach my target of one million people, I’ve needed to engage sponsors, partners and media. Many meetings have seen me spend at least 50% of the time trying to be taken seriously by showing footage and images of me swimming with sharks, searching for anacondas, rock climbing with marmosets and setting camera traps for tigers. Yes, a woman can do these things, and yes, other women might like to try these adventurers too. I never even thought of myself as a women who was an ecoadventurer but perhaps this is one sector where what sex you are still matters to be considered a role-model.
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A quick test will show how skewed this area really is towards men. If you put ‘TV Adventurer’ into Google images, see how many pages you need to scroll through to find a female. It’s not like female adventurers aren’t out there, I’ve seen the likes of Sarah Outen and Sophie Radcliffe give incredibly moving speeches. But how many of you can put faces to these names? Never one to be knocked back by a problem, I’m trying to find an opportunity in this barrier. And, I’ll keep on campaigning to disprove that ‘Only men can be adventurers’.

This article was originally published in The Huffington Post

Interview with Cat Capon – Eco-Adventurer

Who are you, what do you do and what did you have for breakfast?

I’m Catherine Capon (Cat) and I’m an ecoadventurer, naturalist and writer.

My job involves promoting ecotourism and wildlife watching holidays as a way to make endangered animals worth more alive than dead. Here’s a short video to explain more:

This morning I had cinnamon quinoa for breakfast, which is unusually healthy for me, but I’ve just come back from an eco-adventure in the arctic where I consumed my body weight in food every day to stay warm!

What did you get up to last Tuesday at work?

Last Tuesday I was in Longyearbyen – the most northerly settlement in the world. I’d just returned ​from a wildlife watching boat tour with Basecamp Explorers and had seen a polar bear for the first time! You can see images from this trip on my Instagram page.

Who or what inspired​ you to do the job you do now?

I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t obsessed with wildlife. I was the kind of kid who came home from school with frogs in my pockets, muddy tights and bruised elbows. Being outside and climbing trees to see birds’ nest was my happy place and following this passion led me to study zoology and ecology at uni. Classroom learning was always frustrating for me as I just wanted to see, smell and feel all that I was being taught in the wild. So, when the opportunity came up to study bats in Honduras for 3 months, I jumped at the chance. Never had I felt more fulfilled than when I was trekking through that cloud forest in the middle of the night after taking DNA from bats and heading back to my hammock for a few hours of kip before my howler monkey alarm clock would sound.

It was that expedition that truly made me feel like an adventurer. My career after uni took me into sustainability communication and wildlife filmmaking but, at every opportunity, I’d take myself to explore the remote places of our vast planet to see wildlife and how the local people interact with it. It was these trips that inspired my campaign for this year. I believe that responsible ecotourism is the best tool we have to protect endangered species and wilderness areas.

Like so many, my absolute hero is Sir David Attenborough.

What is needed to succeed in your career?

Passion, positivity and persistence!

If you could go back and change one thing, what would it be?

As an eternal optimist, I try not to regret anything. I’ve made mistakes and come up against obstacles but, I believe if you’re faced with a challenge, try to see it as a new opportunity so it doesn’t block your path. Doing a job that truly fulfils your passions is far more important in the long run than doing what your parents, partner or bank manager wants you to do.

What is your proudest moment and/or biggest regret?

I’d say my proudest moment was when I took a huge risk. I moved back in with my parents and took a job with a significant pay cut. I felt I had nothing to lose and found a career path that truly excited me.

Also, the day that my website CatherineCapon.com launched, I felt that many years of hard work had finally come to something!

What is your favourite quote?

  1. Make a list of things that make you happy
  2. Make a list of things you do every day
  3. Compare the lists
  4. Adjust accordingly

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This article was originally posted on GlobalNomadic.com