For Black History Month 2023, the British Ecological Society (BES) journals are celebrating the work of Black ecologists from around the world and sharing their stories. In this blog, Charlotte Ndiribe shares their story and journey in academia. 

Ecology at Heart: My Lifelong Project

Coming from a plant ecology background, I am ‘Ecophilic’. You probably saw that word for the first time. Ecology to me is so many positive things that when eclectic passion for this discipline takes over, it becomes a struggle to find the right words to describe my experience.

At the start of my tertiary education, wanting to be a dentist took a toll on me, and cost me several years of waddling in the wrong path. But, fortune smiled on me and gave me botany instead. Just one year into the course, and I wondered why nobody ever told me about botany. All the prompt signs I got while growing up in Sub-Saharan Africa indicated that I had to be one of a medical doctor, engineer, accountant, or lawyer.

Fast-forward to my postgraduate studies in the United Kingdom and Switzerland, and I knew my life path in ecology was sealed. It got really fascinating with the endless possible intersections, both interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary that were being forged with other world-class researchers. These interactions were spread across continents, and with the gift of technology, it became really easy to collaborate with other ecologists and scientists virtually.

As a plant phylogenetic and pollution ecologist, I have conducted work from the level of genes to the external parts of living organisms, including the whole community and environmental conditions that encase those organisms. I bask in the joy of the opportunities I have had in ecology. For instance, the plant projects that led to novel discoveries of the natural world, particularly from intricate microscopic details of life to macro-scale levels where a single plant leaf can rival the size of a bathtub, as in the case of the Amazon water lily, Victoria amazonica. I believe in solution-driven research. Thus, I am actively transitioning into ‘transformative ecology’ to achieve both a wider reach and impact with my research. Currently, I am working on the tropical invasive water hyacinth plant to understand how to harness it from places where it poses environmental problems.   

I am there at the forefront mentoring future ecologists and contributing my expertise to the development of future ecology projects that would benefit humans everywhere. Given my personal journey as a black female in ecology, there were no mentors. Therefore, I do what I do to spread the word and knowledge about ecology. It is rare, but it gives me great joy to see young black people forge a career in ecology.

I give a special shout-out to the BES for this marvelous initiative to celebrate under-represented groups, especially black folks. Black ecologists do realize that we have a vibrant community to grow. This progress could start from our social circle, even if it is encouraging one person at a time. I also give a special shout-out to one of my ecology groups, the University of Lagos ecological restoration research group, keep up the good work of enlightening students about the environment!

Discover more Black ecologists on our Black History Month page on the British Ecological Society website.