MY JOURNEY AS CONSERVATOR HAS BEEN SHAPED BY CAREER EXPERIENCE AND ACADEMIC EXPOSURE THAT NURTURE MY CURIOSITY ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PEOPLE AND NATURE. GROWING UP IN TANZANIA, I OBSERVED FIRSTHAND THE DEEP DEPENDENCE OF COMMUNITIES ON NATURAL RESOURCES ALONGSIDE THE CHALLENGES POSED BY URBANIZATION AND UNSUSTAINABLE LAND USE. THIS EARLY EXPOSURE SPARKED MY INTEREST IN THE DELICATE BALANCE BETWEEN DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY. MY ACADEMIC PATH DURING UNDERGRADUATE YEARS WAS FOCUS ON CONSERVATION BIOLOGY AND NOW AM PURSUING A MASTER DEGREE IN BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT AT THE NELSON MANDELA AFRICAN INSTITUTION OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, MUCH INTERESTED ON URBAN ECOLOGY, REINFORCED MY COMMITMENT TO UNDERSTANDING HOW BIODIVERSITY SUPPORTS HUMAN WELL-BEING, ESPECIALLY WITHIN RAPIDLY GROWING CITIES LIKE DAR ES SALAAM. MY CURRENT RESEARCH CENTERS ON URBAN GREEN SPACES, POLLINATOR DIVERSITY, AND THEIR COMBINED BENEFITS FOR ECOSYSTEMS AND HUMAN HEALTH. BY INTEGRATING ECOLOGICAL FIELD METHODS WITH SOCIAL SCIENCE APPROACHES AND PARTICIPATORY ENGAGEMENT, I AIM TO DEVELOP CONSERVATION SOLUTIONS THAT REFLECT BOTH SCIENTIFIC INSIGHTS AND COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVES. DESPITE CHALLENGES SUCH AS LIMITED RESEARCH RESOURCES AND NAVIGATING INTERDISCIPLINARY BOUNDARIES, I AM DEDICATED TO ADVANCING URBAN BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN AFRICAN CITIES, INFLUENCING GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE POLICY, AND EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES AS ACTIVE STEWARDS OF THEIR ENVIRONMENTS.