From Trapping Tassie Devils to Nature Tech Founder - Camille Goldstone-Henry is Channeling Constructive Pain

Camille Goldstone-Henry is today's guest, and her story as a conservation biologist turned nature tech founder and CEO holds lessons for all of us. An upbringing characterised by the normalcy of self sufficiency and localisation  before her tertiary training in conservation biology followed by beginning her career working on the frontlines of species protection and loss.Like we've been hearing increasingly from the climate scientist community regarding their fears, grief and disdain for the seemingly intractable and repetitious political battles, Camille had her own analogous experience in coming to know intimately the gloomy and despairing statistics and issues facing many of Australia's most threatened species. In this chat we speak to this painful experience and how it acted as the catalyst to look outside her comfort zone and usual environments to enter business school in the hope she could elevate her own skills and capabilities within the conservation and animal preservation sector. From there, and five years later, Camille has founded and is the CEO of Xylo Systems - an exciting and growing Sydney-based nature tech business that is helping address one of the most common barriers to both any form of action and action that is effective - the disjointed landscape of wildlife, species and ecology data.In this chat we get into more detail about Xylo Systems, its mission and how it offers tangible and accessible ways for basically any business and decision maker to get into action and play a role in reprising and restoring native flora and fauna. We also explore her experience as a female entrepreneur and the subtle yet insane ways by which gender stereotypes and contextual cultural factors remain prevalent on a day to day basis for Camille and her team, the cognitive dissonance that exists between everyday nature loving quiet Australians and the prevailing apartness of our relationship with nature and the progressive decay in ecological and biodiversity indicators both here in Australia and abroad, and the power that we all have in playing a role in reversing this - from our own apartment balcony planting decisions through to corporate asset landscaping protocols like Google's no lawn approach and efforts to provide habitat for the monarch butterflies on their remarkable voyage across North America.This chat with Camille highlights her and Xylo Systems' approach to nature and species preservation, conservation and rejuvenation being based on the principle that progress matters over perfection, a reminder that that every decision holds within in it the power to positively or negatively affect nature. To move beyond the paralysis and helplessness of feeling a lack of agency in this problem and remembering that there is the potential for the stacking and accumulation of positive decisions, that over time build resilience, vibrancy and health back into all environments where biodiversity exists and can flourish.Getting to know Camille through this conversation I related to her experience of despair and disappointment as a conservation biologist, and reminded that for most of us most of the time, change is only possible when pain is present. It's a difficult and inconvenient lesson, but as Camille demonstrates, change becomes available when the pain of the circumstances exceed the fear of change.Today's show is delivered with Gilay Estate. Add Finding Nature to your booking reservation for a free dinner and breakfast for each night you stay. Today's show is also delivered with Souling. Head to Souling.au and add FindingNature to the checkout code for 10% off. Send me a messageThanks for listening. Follow Finding Nature on Instagram