Rural Development Foundation USA

10/06/2026

*2027-2028 Harvard LEAD Fellowship for Promoting Women in Global Health Application Now Open!*
Apply by November 15, 2026
The Harvard LEAD Fellowship for Promoting Women in Global Health is now accepting applications for the 2027–2028 cohort. The one-year fellowship is designed for experienced global health professionals from low- and middle-income countries who are seeking to strengthen their leadership skills, expand their professional networks, and advance their work in global health.
Offered by the Harvard Global Health Institute (HGHI) in collaboration with the Department of Global Health and Population at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the fellowship is intended for established global health leaders with substantial professional experience and leadership potential. Fellows come from a range of disciplines and sectors, including research, advocacy, policy, clinical work, and administration.

Harvard Learn, Engage, Advance, Disrupt “LEAD” Fellowship for Promoting Women in Global Health To equip and empower more leaders in global health, the Harvard Global Health Institute, in collaboration with...

07/14/2026

The glossy black snake by your woodpile eats the ones you actually fear.

If a sleek dark snake with thin pale chain-bands slips out from under your woodpile, she is not the snake to worry about. She is the one that has been removing the snakes you should.

She is an eastern kingsnake, and she hunts venomous snakes for a living. Copperheads. Cottonmouths. Rattlesnakes. She seizes them by the jaws to lock the fangs out of reach, then wraps and constricts. Her blood neutralizes the venom of the pit vipers she has evolved alongside — eastern populations handle rattlesnake venom best, Gulf Coast populations handle copperhead and cottonmouth best. The resistance is regional, matched to her local prey.

Pound for pound she is one of the strongest constrictors alive. She swallows prey whole, even snakes longer than herself.

Leave her the woodpile. She is doing the most dangerous yard work you have, and asking nothing for it.

07/14/2026

Postdoctoral researcher in remote sensing applied to the tropical forests of Central Africa (M/F)
Location: Institut des géosciences de l'environnement (IGE), Saint-Martin-d'Hères, Grenoble, France
📅 Date of Hire: 01/01/2027
⏳Contract Duration: 12 months
💰Remuneration :From 3041.58 € gross per month, funded by One Forest Vision
Missions: The aim of the postdoctoral research is to analyse the impact of recent intra-seasonal to interannual variability in the boreal winter dry season on forests in Central Africa in terms of greenness and water content.
Activity: Statistical analyses of satellite data describing forest dynamics, and their correlation with pre-defined climatic indicators for the dry season.
Skills
- Remote sensing (applied to tropical forests)
- Knowledge of (tropical) climatology is an advantage
- Statistical analysis of time series (correlations, composites, K-means clustering, random forest trees, hypothesis testing, etc.)
- Python programming and the Unix environment
- Ability to communicate results in French and English (writing scientific articles and giving oral presentations)
🔗 View the full job advertisement and apply here: https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/UMR5001-ALEVIA-055/Default.aspx?lang=EN

For any question about the position, please contact Dr N. Philippon : nathalie.philippon@univ-grenoble-alpes (Please include ‘OFVI Post-Doc’ in the subject line of your email)

07/13/2026

Purple Martins in the News

06/30/2026

We're proud to announce the 32 recipients of our spring 2026 grants for research into human origins, evolution, behavior, and survival.

Half of our new grantees are PhD candidates at the beginning of their careers. Their innovative projects explore topics from social learning and complex technologies to the eye microbiome and the physiological impacts of social dominance.

These grants are made possible by our donors. Link in first comment!

06/30/2026

Post-Prize Impact Report: XPRIZE Rainforest
XPRIZE Rainforest was a global 5-year, $10 million competition sponsored by Alana that convened innovators and experts across disciplines – from conservationists and Indigenous scientists to engineers and roboticists – and challenged them to use novel technologies to expedite the monitoring of tropical biodiversity.
Over five years, the competition convened a global ecosystem of innovators, researchers, students, and investors—helping define the next generation of biodiversity monitoring technologies and catalyzing rapid industry growth at a critical moment for conservation.

XPRIZE Rainforest was a global 5-year, $10 million competition sponsored by Alana that convened innovators and experts across disciplines – from conservationists and Indigenous scientists to engineers and roboticists – and challenged them to use novel technologies to expedite the monitoring of t...

06/15/2026

New Pangolin Conservation Grant – Call for Applications
CARN is now accepting applications for the CARN/BOCHCO Pangolin Conservation Grant (applications deadline August 1, 2026) to support African graduate students and early‑career scientists working on threatened pangolin species.
Candidates can apply online in French or English.

Pangolins are extraordinary creatures — the only scaled mammals on Earth, with no teeth and an extraordinarily unique life history. They play unique and irreplaceable ecological roles, consuming tens of millions of insects annually and helping maintain the health of tropical forest ecosystems. Yet...

05/04/2026

Beyond Black: How do crows see crow feathers?

New research by Jessica Yorzinski of the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology at Texas A&M University and Anne B. Clark of the Department of Biological Sciences at Binghamton University reveals that what looks simply black to humans may appear far more complex through avian vision.

Using crow specimens from the Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collections (BRTC) at Texas A&M University, and published in the Journal of Avian Biology, the study offers fascinating new insights into sensory ecology and animal behavior.

02/02/2026

From Curiosity to Creation, Part 7: Expanding 3D Printing from Wildlife to Wider Impact
This series began with a single 3D printer and a lot of questions. Along the way, the focus has turned from wildlife forensics, like printing TRAFFIC’s shark fin replicas, to developing field kits that help distinguish animal from human remains, and then to creating curated 3D collections to support real decisions in real places. Part 6 explored how those libraries can be designed for specific contexts—Georgia vs. South Africa, patrol officer vs. customs agent—rather than trying to print everything for everyone. This final installment looks outward: how these same tools and habits of mind can broaden into new applications and new forms of collaboration, while staying rooted in wildlife and forensic work.

Discover how 3D printing for wildlife forensics grows into regional bone sets, mixed-scene kits, and assistive projects, connecting conservation, justice, and care.

12/31/2025

Happy New Year from all of us at RDF-US