Relational Conservation Research

Relational Conservation:

A Field of Quiet Reverence

Across the world, some are stepping beyond the bounds of conventional conservation to listen more deeply. They are not gathering data to serve human interests, but entering into relationship with the wild — learning through reverent attention, without harm or imposition.

This is a different kind of knowing. It doesn’t come through cutting into trees, dissecting nests, tagging wings, or altering habitats for measurable outcomes. Instead, it arises in the spaces where human presence is soft, where curiosity is matched by humility, and where the wild ones remain free to be themselves — unmanipulated, untrapped, and unstudied in the traditional scientific sense.

We call this relational conservation research.

In South Africa, Jenny Cullinan, wild bee researcher and co-founder of Ujubee, has dedicated years to learning from wild bees without disturbance. Her practice involves deep sensory attunement, stillness, and respect — never capturing bees, extracting honey or opening hives; never interfering for the sake of understanding. She learns through presence and trust, and in doing so, discovers insights that scientific instruments could never detect.

In Botswana, Tebogo Monnaaphuthego, a Bayei conservationist, listens to the river, to birds, to trees. His understanding of ecological relationships comes not from academic articles alone but from ancestral knowledge, careful observation, and a lived relationship with the land. His conservation work flows from the question: What does Nature need from me now?

This way of knowing is not against science — but it asks science to loosen its grip. It reminds us that true understanding does not always require intervention. It can come from stillness. From reverence. From choosing not to disturb.

It is this approach — quiet, respectful, and attuned — that we wish to uplift. Here, we gather stories that honor the more-than-human world on its own terms, without forcing it into frameworks designed for human benefit.

We invite others to feel into this field. To see how differently things can be done — not only in theory, but in practice, by real people walking gently with the Earth.