Profile Details

Create Project

★★★★★

☆☆☆☆☆

USD 50 /hr

★★★★★

☆☆☆☆☆

Hire Dr. Harry H.

United Kingdom

USD 50 /hr

Environmental social scientist ~ Conservationist ~ Programme manager ~ Expert in capacity building & behavioural science

Profile Summary

Dr Harry Hilser is an environmental social scientist, educator, and practitioner with expertise in behaviour change, values-led engagement, and participatory research. His work bridges academia, policy, and practice to address complex environmental and social challenges, with a focus on reconnecting people and nature through culturally grounded, socially informed, and relational approaches. Harry is Co-Founder of Lestari Social Science Consultancy, which supports NGOs, governments, universities, and businesses in integrating environmental social science into conservation, education, and sustainability strategy. Lestari specialises in training and capacity building, equipping educators, practitioners, and researchers with frameworks and tools to design impactful, context-sensitive programmes. This includes mentoring, interdisciplinary collaboration, and embedding behaviour- and values-led thinking into policy and practice. He previously served as Director of Selamatkan Yaki conservation initiative in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, where he led a local team in delivering community-based strategies to protect the Critically Endangered Macaca nigra. His leadership focused on strengthening local capacity and developing culturally sensitive behaviour change strategies . Harry holds a PhD in Human Geography from the University of Exeter, and an MSc in Primate Conservation from Oxford Brookes University. His research explored nature connectedness, pro-environmental behaviour, and hunting as a social practice, through an ethnographic study in Sulawesi, offering insights into the cognitive, social, and spiritual foundations of behaviour, informing more effective conservation approaches. Harry contributes to interdisciplinary research programmes on nature connection, climate engagement, and environmental education at the University of Exeter. He is a core contributor to the Kincentric Leadership Initiative, fostering global dialogue on eco-cultural wellbeing and systems change rooted in kinship with the more-than-human world. As a certified forest bathing guide with Nature & Therapy UK, he co-develops research and practice on nature-connectedness, health, and wellbeing, contributing to emerging approaches that integrate ecological and psychological restoration Specialisms: Environmental Social Science · Behaviour Change · Values & Framing · Participatory & Ethnographic Methods · Public & Community Engagement · Nature Connectedness · Capacity Building · Interdisciplinary Collaboration · Primate Conservation · Conservation Psychology · Environmental Education

Subject Matter Expertise

• ☆ Geography & Cartography
• ☆ Human Geography
• ☆ Social Movements
• ☆ Environmentalism
• ☆ Leadership
• ☆ Science Outreach
• ☆ Social Studies Education
• ☆ Environmental Education

Services

• Writing

Writing Copywriting, General Proofreading & Editing

Work Experience

Research Fellow

University of Exeter

June 2020 - Present

Co-Founder

Lestari Social Science Consultancy

June 2018 - Present

Community Conservation Officer

Wild Planet Trust

May 2022 - April 2023

Programme Director

Selamatkan Yaki

January 2012 - January 2023

Education

PhD Human Geography (Geography)

University of Exeter

January 2014 - January 2021

MSc, Primate Conservation (Primate Conservation)

Oxford Brookes University

September 2010 - August 2011

BSc, Biological Sciences (Biology)

University of Plymouth

September 2004 - August 2007

Certifications

• Certification details not provided.

Publications

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Harry Hilser, Lia Hiraldo, Cheyenne Moreau, Andrea Draiby, Emily Cox, M. Grace Andrews, Lewis Winks, Nathan G. Walworth (2024). Public engagement and collaboration for carbon dioxide removal: lessons from a project in the Dominican Republic . Frontiers in Climate.

Harry Hilser, E. Cox, C. Moreau, L. Hiraldo, A. Draiby, L. Winks, M.G. Andrews, N.G. Walworth (2024). Localized governance of carbon dioxide removal in small island developing states . Environmental Development.

Harry Hilser (2023). Cultivating Care: Behaviourally Informed Conservation Strategies to Safeguard the Future of the Sulawesi Crested Black Macaque (Macaca nigra) .

Corinne Bailey, H. Hilser, Y. Siwi, Z. Lawe, James Waterman, T. A. C. Loffeld, H. Sampson, J. Tasirin, Vicky Melfi, A. E. Bowkett (2022). Trends in the bushmeat market trade in North Sulawesi and conservation implications . Animal Conservation.

Harry Hilser, Caspian Johnson, Matthew Linkie, Rivo Rahasia, Francesco Rovero, Wulan Pusparini, Iwan Hunowu, Alfons Patandung, Noviar Andayani, John Tasirin, et al. (2020). Using occupancy-based camera-trap surveys to assess the Critically Endangered primate<i>Macaca nigra</i>across its range in North Sulawesi, Indonesia . Oryx.

DISSERTATION THESIS

Harry Hilser (2021). Collective Stewardship and Pathways to Change: Understanding Pro-Social Values, Connectedness to Nature and Empathic Capacity to Cultivate Ecocentrism in Rural Communities of North Sulawesi, Indonesia .