Conservation, but make it diverse: Krystal Toney curates Real Scientists

Real Scientists is thrilled to welcome Krystal M Toney to the fancy-yet-comfy science chair this week. Krystal is an author, doctoral researcher, and research assistant in Conservation, Entomology, and Environmental Justice at the University of North Texas in the United States. Here’s more about her life and work so far:

Welcome to Real Scientists! Can you tell us how you got started in science?
I’ve always had a love for nature, but originally I went to college for nursing. During my third year of nursing school, I witnessed a turtle get run over in my old neighborhood while crossing the street and decided I wanted to build a small “wildlife bridge”. While a bridge was difficult to build and maintain, I managed to get a “wildlife crossing” sign installed. After that, I began camera trapping in an effort to bring awareness to the community about the wildlife in the area. I had never even seen a deer in real life, but my camera traps captured an entire breeding population of them. People in my neighborhood were just as shocked as I was and instantly more and more of my neighbors began taking the initiative to protect natural spaces, enjoy the outdoors and protect local wildlife. Eventually, I dropped out of nursing school and majored in biology.

That’s so cool! How did this experience lead to your current work?
My undergraduate research focused on building an archive of animals at the Trinity River Audubon Center using camera trap data. I also made an effort to share my findings with the community to encourage conservation and compassion.

Where did the environmental justice come in?
As I progressed through my undergraduate degree and camera trap research, I learned that there was a disparity in access to nature and environmental education opportunities. Even though the Trinity River Audubon Center was located in a predominately Black neighborhood, very few residents visited the park. Visitors and schools often came from miles away, but very few schools within the community participated in environmental events at the center. This, in my opinion, was a widespread occurrence throughout the state in several environmental education programs, but I needed to prove it. Initially, everyone kept me telling me that my focus was “environmental justice” and not “environmental science”, but I am stubborn, and I believe that equal access to environmental education opportunities promote and support conservation efforts. In short, environmental justice IS environmental science and the two are not separate entities (though academia regularly separates them). I wanted to do the work to bring them together; to accentuate that until the lives of Black, Indigenous and other marginalized communities matter….there is no saving this planet. Without a diversity of ideas, solutions and backgrounds….the course of conservation work will remain at a standstill while the planet continues to fall apart and burn. My work aims to bring the Black life into the environment….and that’s what keeps me here.

BRILLIANT. What are you working on for your PhD?
I focus on environmental education programs in four majors cities in Texas (Dallas, Austin, Houston and San Antonio). I focus on the demographics of the individuals within these environmental programs. I also look at the placement of parks, trails and other “outdoor spaces”….are they near Black or low socioeconomic communities? I am in the early stages of my work, but some major points I want to focus on is why these environmental education programs fail to recruit minority participants. Does there need to be a change in outreach technique to encourage these communities to partake in environmental education opportunities, or do these organizations need to do more to create safer natural spaces for Black people? My research aims to answer these questions and many more while developing an outlined system for organizations to utilize to encourage Black communities to feel safe and welcomed within these programs.When scientists discuss what makes a healthy ecosystem, they will often discuss the importance of biodiversity. They will say that diversity is key to healthy ecological happenings and that a variation in life is essential. Diversity and inclusion are words we regularly hear (especially within the last few years). When we talk about creating healthy environments to find solutions to the ecological crisis, this type of diversity within the workforce is also imperative to change.

Can you say more about workforce diversity?
Diversity within the science workforce has been an issue for decades and this lack of diversity undermines the change we, as a planet, are capable of achieving. If children from Black communities were exposed to science/nature/the great outdoors at an early age, this could be the first step to redemption for the scientific community. Radical diversification would bring a diversity of ideas, motives, solutions and experiences to the “conservation conversation”. This is why I believe my work is essential to the conservation movement.

What do you get up to when you’re not in the lab or the field?
I love tiktoking! On my TikTok, I often talk about being Black in nature and highlighting Black scientists from history! I also currently visit classrooms in low socioeconomic communities and talk about different jobs in entomology and conservation. I blog regularly about blackness in nature on my website. In addition to these things, I recently released a bug book for children, encouraging young Black children to develop an undying curiosity about the tiny worlds around us. I love fossil hunting! I’ve been fossil hunting all over Texas and I have found teeth, arrowheads, shells and crinoid fossils.

What does your perfect day off look like?
My ideal day off often includes a nice hike, a good book and any nature show narrated by David Attenbourgh.

Krystal Toney, welcome to Real Scientists!