Conservationist Ruth Singen came to Cambridge in 2022 – part of our very first cohort of Mastercard Foundation Scholars. Ruth tells us about those early days in Cambridge and reflects on the remarkable journey that has brought her ‘right where she’s meant to be’.
Conservation is clearly a vocation for you! How did your early life experiences set you on a path to what you’re doing now?
For me it always boils down to my early years. My grandmother, Tina Singen, was a herbalist. She lived in the Mau forest and used to teach me about trees and the various medicines that come from them in Nandi.
Then, studying Environmental Science at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, I started to see some of the things she told me about in a new light.
When I finished my undergraduate degree in 2019, my friends and I started an organisation called Kang4Nature, using our own resources to plant and grow trees. Before long, we would get close to 100 people volunteer for a day’s tree planting!
After a few months, I reached out to my former lecturer, Dr Winnie Kiiru, to catch up and tell her about what we were doing. She said “I have something happening in Amboseli and I think you could be a good person for it”. So off I went!
Ruth with her grandmother, Tina
What was the project?
Dr Kiiru founded CHD Conservation Kenya, a community-based organisation that was already working to educate people in the rural areas of Amboseli about conservation issues. But at that time, they didn’t have a programme for women and girls – often the ones most connected to the environment through daily tasks like collecting firewood and water.
She asked me to design something for girls, and since we wanted to keep them in school, we set up a conservation camp during the holidays. I went door to door asking families to let their daughters join. It wasn’t easy – people were wary and asked if I was trying to change their culture.
We had 15 girls at the first camp, with some community members sitting in to listen. We covered conservation and wildlife management, but also topics like menstrual health and finance – looking at conservation through a human development lens. How do you better yourself so that you’re in a position to better take care of the wildlife around you?
I learnt a lesson that changed everything on day one. We started with a nature walk and I started explaining local trees. The girls were like; “madam, we know what all the trees are called and we know what they’re used for”. I realised I wasn’t there to teach but to help organise their thinking. They were the experts.
That’s when I started changing from a scientist into a social scientist. I started looking at conservation from a social point of view.
A homecoming celebration in Amboseli hosted by CHD Conservation after Ruth's master's graduation
What led you to the University of Cambridge?
We eventually had more than 30 girls at every camp and added a boys’ camp too. We also received support from the United States Forest Service to create a tree nursery for indigenous trees managed by indigenous women.
After three years I thought, ‘ok what’s next’? I had already admired the Conservation Leadership course from afar and knew you needed three years’ service in conservation to apply. This was my opportunity!
I was on my way back from Amboseli to Nairobi when I read the email telling me I had been selected for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of Cambridge. It changed my life – it felt like this opportunity was for the women and girls I worked with, it was for my community, it was for my grandmother.
What was it like being part of the very first cohort of Mastercard Foundation Scholars at the University of Cambridge?
It was an amazing time. When I just arrived in Cambridge Tabitha, the Programme Director, reached out and we met in person. She was the most caring person – and the only person in the team back then! If we needed guidance, we’d message Tabitha and she’d figure things out.
A really valuable thing for me was forming connections with my peers – people I’m still friends with now. For example, if I sit here and want to know about sustainability and energy, I’ll call John from Nigeria. This was the biggest gift.
The first cohort of Mastercard Foundation Scholars at the University of Cambridge in 2022
How did your master’s give you a platform from which to launch your career?
The Conservation Leadership course is split into five modules – Conservation Leadership problems and practice, leading self, leading people and organisations, innovation for conservation and leading systems.
The first term is taught by conservation leaders from different parts of the world. Imagine a whole three months where you have someone different teaching every day and the impact that has on your outlook and network!
The course meets in the top of the David Attenborough Centre which houses the Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI) – a partnership between the University and ten international conservation organisations. During the second term, a group of five of us worked with the different organisations in that building. I was with the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC).
Then in the last term we moved to an individual placement with another of the ten organisations. I was placed with Fauna & Flora, looking at gender approaches in conservation – something I’d previously worked on at the grassroots level with the Maasai community back in Amboseli.
The course’s practical approach extended to taught modules like communication. One day we were told “you’re the CEO of this organisation”, then they brought a journalist into class who pointed a microphone at you and asked questions. What a better way to practice your communications skills!
We were also matched with a senior conservation leader as a mentor from the start of the course until the end. Mine was Rosalind Aveling who used to grab tea with me and listen to me as I would take her through my ‘always changing plans’ for after Cambridge. She was patient and connected me with lots of networks.
Finally, the course taught us to think critically – not just accept what’s written. One of the essays I wrote was about the forest where my grandmother lived and I was able to question some of the literature. Even now, when I’m given something to read, I look at it from that perspective.
Can you walk me through what you did after graduating and how those steps led you to your current role?
I decided to gain international experience to help me get the kind of job I wanted back home.
I joined Judge Business School as a Programme Manager in Executive Education. Although it was outside conservation, I saw it as a chance to learn a business-focused approach to funding. Over 18 months, I worked with six companies across sectors including cybersecurity, food and health, environment and banking.
After that, I felt ready to end my detour and return to conservation.
This is when the stars aligned. I was invited to a Cambridge Alumni event organised by my course in Naivasha, Kenya. The event brought together everyone from Africa who had done my course in the last 15 years and was facilitated by Maliasili.
I had really wanted to work with them and had applied for several roles already. On the first day, we each gave a five-minute speech about what we were doing. I said “I’ve worked in Amboseli, I’ve been a Mastercard Foundation Scholar, I’ve done the Conservation Leadership course, I’ve worked for Judge Business School and I’m now looking for a position”.
I was the only person looking for a position that day, and that speech started my journey with Maliasili. We started talking and within four months I had been hired for this role.
What specific gap in conservation does Maliasili exist to fill?
Maliasili supports community- led conservation organisations across Africa to become stronger and even more impactful. What often happens is that these organisations grow to a certain level because they have a clear vision and passionate leaders. But it can be hard for them to grow and get big funding as they’ve never handled a lot of money before, and their leaders are caught up in the day-to-day running.
That’s where Maliasili comes in. They look at the organisation’s strategy, structure and communication, attracting more funding and strengthening their leadership so they can achieve even greater impact for people and nature.
I work on the leadership programmes part and just to mention one of our programmes is the African Conservation Leadership Network (ACLN). We work with our partners’ two most senior people, usually the chief executive and their programme manager or finance manager, for a year.
Our programme is structured in almost the same way to my master’s course – leading self, leading teams and leading collaboration. Participants do online learning on one of these themes for three months then meet for a whole week to discuss. Then they move on to the second theme and repeat.
Ruth leading a Maliasili leadership workshop
What’s been your best day so far?
Every day! Maybe I’m still in my honeymoon period, but I really enjoy the people I work with and what we’re doing.
The week before last when we were in Samburu was great. It was our East African cohort’s final module on collaboration and partnership. We had a group of 20 people from ten different organisations across the region, all taking a step back to reflect on their leadership and map out the partners in their ecosystem.
These are amazing grassroots organisations, just like the ones I’ve worked for. So, to be part of helping them take their next steps is really special.
It feels like I’m right where I’m meant to be.