Episode Description – Coffee & Conservation with Rita Santas

In this episode of Coffee & Conservation, Mike sits down with Rita Santas, conservation K9 handler and founder-owner of Dogs for Nature in Portugal.

Rita shares her journey into the world of working dogs for conservation—how she got started, what inspired her to build Dogs for Nature, and what it really takes to train and deploy K9s for wildlife protection, research, and environmental monitoring.

They dive into what conservation K9 work looks like on the ground, from field deployments to training methodologies, and the realities of building capacity in a growing but still under-resourced field. Mike and Rita also unpack the challenges facing conservation K9 programs globally—funding gaps, operational hurdles, misconceptions about working dogs, and the broader challenges facing conservation practitioners today.

Expect honest insights, practical lessons, and plenty of banter between two people passionate about dogs, conservation, and building more effective tools to protect wildlife and wild places.

Grab a coffee and join the conversation.

In this episode of Coffee & Conservation, host Mike Veale sits down with Global Conservation Force instructor Amanda Smith — whose decades-long career in UK law enforcement took an unexpected turn after hearing the powerful story of Thandi the rhino and the lifesaving work of Dr. William Fowlds. Inspired, Amanda made the bold decision to leave everything familiar behind and work her way into wildlife conservation.

Mike and Amanda talk about how her law enforcement background shaped her approach to ranger training, integrity in the field, and leadership under pressure — and how everyday people can chart their own path into meaningful conservation work. It’s an inspiring look at courage, purpose, and the ripple effect one story can have.

This week on Coffee & Conservation, we sit down with BAFTA-nominated wildlife filmmaker and GCF Conservation Ambassador Anna Dimitriadis. With credits on major series such as Big Cats 24/7 for BBC2 and PBS, and field experience spanning Antarctic ice dives, Patagonian mountains, and the Okavango Delta, Anna has built a career telling powerful wildlife stories through camera, drone, and underwater work. In this episode, she shares the moments that shaped her path, how storytelling drives real conservation impact, and why she chose to partner with GCF. A thoughtful, inspiring conversation about action, representation, and showing up for our planet.