When Joe Harkness received a message from a friend about macerating moth abdomens to check their genitalia to identify the species, it sparked an idea for a new book about wildlife obsessions. But over time, this developed into a completely different book: a clarion call to embrace neurodiversity in the fight against the extinction crisis.<\/p>\n
Across Britain, 15% of people are thought to be neurodivergent. In the process of writing Neurodivergent, By Nature<\/a>, Harkness discovered that an estimated 30% of conservation employees were neurodivergent. Why?<\/p>\n \u201cPeople like myself, especially those who are undiagnosed, probably found nature was their balm from a mental health perspective,\u201d says Harkness when we meet beneath an awesomely peaceful ancient oak close to his home in rural Norfolk<\/a>. \u201cThe other thing is, we\u2019re different from what we\u2019d define as neurotypical people. Therefore we like more odd things. Special interests. Nature lends itself to people who are different.\u201d<\/p>\n He interrupts his own answers by repeatedly spotting micro-moths \u2013 his latest special interest \u2013 zipping across our path. \u201cDid you see that? Is it a yellow shell? No, it\u2019s another one of those mother of pearl moths<\/a>. Sorry. They\u2019re everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n Dara McAnulty has flown the flag for neurodiversity in environmental work. Photograph: Four Communications\/PA Media<\/p>\n Harkness\u2019s full-time job is teaching autistic and other neurodiverse children, but he did not suspect he had ADHD until a fellow teacher said she thought he had. It took a further six years to obtain a formal diagnosis and access to medication that he has found extremely helpful.<\/p>\n Naturalists such as the broadcaster Chris Packham<\/a> and the writer Dara McAnulty<\/a> have flown the flag for neurodiversity in the environmental sector but Harkness interviews dozens of less celebrated conservationists who have undertaken pioneering work on everything from UN climate talks to saving the Seychelles black parrot and restoring pine marten populations.<\/p>\n Harkness, whose debut book, Bird Therapy<\/a>, was a surprise self-published hit, explains well why neurodivergent people can prosper in ecological jobs.<\/p>\n But he also makes a strong case for the natural world needing a neurodiverse cohort of people to save it. Beside the ancient oak where we talk is a small, scruffy meadow, filled with a jumble of wild grasses, insects and the flit of birds. \u201cThere is biodiversity right in front of you,\u201d says Harkness, pointing at the meadow. \u201cYou look at it one way, I look at it another way. Therefore, if we are trying to help it, we can bring different things to it. If you\u2019re looking at it from a completely different angle because of how your brain is wired, you bring a different approach again.<\/p>\n \u201cYou cannot be creative and make change and do good things unless you utilise all the different skills of the people you work with. If you don\u2019t have diversity of people, you don\u2019t have biodiversity. You can\u2019t have one without the other. They are intrinsically connected.\u201d<\/p>\n More specifically, Harkness reveals how neurodiverse conservationists find their \u201csuperpowers\u201d can make them uniquely effective at their job, with skills including lateral thinking, hyperfocus, memory skills and empathy, as well as having an aptitude for fieldwork.<\/p>\n The autistic ecologist Naomi Davis<\/a> told Harkness their favourite aspect of the job was finding and categorising species. Both Davis and the consultant ornithologist Colin Everett speak of sensory superpowers helping their surveying work: detecting fragments of birdsong that everyone else misses; even hearing bats echolocating \u2013 calls that are usually far too high-pitched for adults to hear them.<\/p>\n Clearly, neurodiverse people can be vital champions for biodiversity, although Harkness is bluntly honest about his own ADHD. \u201cI don\u2019t feel like the symptoms I experience are helpful or conducive to wellbeing and peak performance at work,\u201d he writes.<\/p>\n And some people are still wary of disclosing neurodiversity. He interviews Emma Marsh, an executive director at the RSPB, who did not reveal her later-in-life autism diagnosis to work colleagues for a while, although when she finally did, she was heartened by receiving such a positive response.<\/p>\n As Harkness explains, harnessing the skills of neurodiverse employees often requires changes in work practices. Fieldwork \u2013 in peaceful, natural settings \u2013 is one attraction for many neurodiverse conservationists, but office-based workers may require adaptations. One senior conservationist was given permission to conduct her meetings outdoors.<\/p>\n Is the conservation sector meeting the needs of its neurodiverse employees? \u201cApproaches to neuro-inclusion across the conservation sector are fragmentary at best, with some areas of outstanding practice, and some terrible tales of discrimination and needs not being met,\u201d says Harkness.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n The planet’s most important stories. Get all the week’s environment news – the good, the bad and the essential<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Although \u201ca lot of what I found in the sector seemed really fantastic\u201d, he says, \u201cwith a bit of digging, everybody [in conservation organisations] was open to the fact that they still have a lot of work to do. But neurodivergence is a relatively new concept. I wouldn\u2019t expect them to be all-singing, all dancing with their practices yet.\u201d<\/p>\n The conservation sector has repeatedly been criticised for being so white<\/a> and Harkness says any assessment of its efforts to accommodate neurodiversity must look at \u201chow well is it engaging everybody who has a protected characteristic\u201d.<\/p>\n