For our people and our wildlife
A life for the wild.
A life for the wild
Hey! I’m Mireia Villalonga (Mia), and my journey in conservation began a few years ago in the heart of Tanzania. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside diverse stakeholders across a range of projects, co-creating and coordinating initiatives that protect both nature and the people who depend on it. From fostering tolerance for wildlife and celebrating traditional ecological knowledge to supporting conservation teams in the field, monitoring improved livelihoods, and bringing together stakeholders around shared conservation goals, I’m driven by a deep love for our last wild places—and a commitment to keeping them wild.
The future of wildlife in Africa depends on the empowerment of local people and their ability to make decisions for their environment.
Richard Leakey
Bridging fields for impact
The first job I got when I moved to Tanzania was in Public Health. During that period, I was trained by experts in Zambia and Bangladesh to lead a nationwide behavioural change programme that used my background in Communications and enhanced it with social and behavioural sciences. Soon I recognised the potential to migrate these sciences I was learning to conservation and so, the journey began!
Later, on a trip to Manyara National Park I discovered the transformative power of storytelling through documentary filmmaking. From that thrip came the opportunity to work on the Serengeti film—which followed in the footsteps of Hugo van Lawick’s Serengeti Diary and Bernhard Grzimek’s Serengeti Shall Not Die. That experience was a turning point, revealing how stories can inspire action.
Today, I draw on impact thinking and behavioural science to shape my conservation work and, whenever possible, use storytelling as a tool to enhance behavioural change and protect our great wilderness.