A Conservationist in Spain

Join me, Dr Will Travers, as I move from Bossou in Guinea to a new life in Spain.

An expert conservationist’s insight into Spanish wildlife

Welcome to Green Passage, my journey through the landscapes, ecosystems, and histories that shape Spain. My name is Dr. Will Travers, and for over fifteen years, my world was the dense, humid rainforests of Bossou, Guinea, where I studied wild chimpanzees and their relationship with the changing environment.

I spent my days tracking family groups, watching them crack nuts with ancient techniques passed down through generations, and trying to understand how human encroachment was altering their world. I thought I’d be there forever.

But forever is a funny thing. Fieldwork wears you down—physically, mentally, sometimes philosophically. The funding dries up, the politics get worse, and one day, you wake up realizing you’ve spent half your life fighting for something that’s slipping through your fingers.

So I left the rainforest behind and landed in Madrid, a place I once thought was the opposite of everything I knew.

Turns out, it has its own wildness—just a different kind.

See inside Spain’s most remarkable conservation success story:

My latest blog entries:

Montgó to sea, Jávea

2 September 2025. Just after six. The ridge smells like warm stone and rosemary even before the sun shows. I’m … Read more

Toad Night

The text came at 18:07. “They’re moving.” I put the soup in the fridge, found the head torch that eats … Read more

Manzanares, After the Rains: What “Urban Rewilding” Really Looks Like in Madrid (2016–2025)

22 March 2025. Just after seven. I’d still be at home – coffee, toast, the neighbour’s cat on the balcony … Read more

Compost and Community: Joining a Huerto Urbano in Lavapiés

I didn’t mean to join the garden. I meant to drop off orange peels. That was the deal, or so … Read more

The Ghosts of Transhumance: Spain’s Forgotten Shepherd Paths

I found her way home at dusk. A faint ring of smoke hovered over a ruined corral on the edge … Read more

Catalonia’s Green Belts: Can Rural Homes Coexist with Conservation?

I was hiking near Montseny again. The air was absurdly clean, all damp pine and silence, the kind of quiet … Read more

The Vulture People: Spain’s Strangest Conservationists

There are bird people.And then there are vulture people.A distinction you don’t appreciate until you’ve had coffee with one. I … Read more

The Forgotten Bison: Spain’s Unexpected Rewilding Project

When you hear bison, your mind likely drifts to Yellowstone—open plains, cowboy hats, Ken Burns documentaries. But not here. We’re … Read more

The Iberian Lynx Conservation. A Success Story to be Proud Of

The first time I heard about the Iberian lynx, it was a just a mere footnote in a research paper. … Read more

Spain’s Forgotten Landscapes: A Biologist’s First Impressions

There’s a moment, somewhere between leaving the highway and stepping onto a dirt track, when you realize just how empty … Read more

What Chimpanzees Taught Me About Human Behaviour

I used to think I understood social hierarchies. Then I moved to Madrid. Fifteen years of tracking primates in the … Read more

The Wolves of Asturias: Spain’s Controversial Comeback Story

The wolf that never left…

Madrid’s Urban Wildlife , More Than Just Pigeons and Stray Cats

The first time I saw a red fox in Madrid, I thought I was imagining things. It was late, past … Read more

From Bossou to Madrid: A Primatologist’s Unexpected Migration

Fifteen years ago, before the sun even thought about showing up, I’d be out there—somewhere in the tangled, humid rainforest … Read more