Community Spotlight Series — Marcela Jiminez
Marcela is a biologist currently preparing her master’s dissertation in conservation biology, specifically about the relationship between climatic niches and extinction risk in birds of the Atlantic Forest.
Earth Hacks: Tell us a bit about yourself (i.e., where you’re from, your background, what you’re in school for, how did you both meet, etc.)!
Marcela Jiminez: My name is Marcela. I was born and raised in Paraguay , a country with one of the highest levels of deforestation in the world. As someone who grieves over the loss of biodiversity in her own country, I would like to contribute to the conservation of wildlife not only here but elsewhere too. A few years ago, I realized that even though I want research to be one of my main contributions to conservation I also want to contribute in other ways such as activism (artivism in particular) and technology. That made me want to learn about other things, such as art and programming which I currently pursue in my free time.
EH: How did you get involved with Earth Hacks? What was your experience like at Envision2050 and CARGO?
MJ: I attended the Envision2050 ideathon (finalist) and the CARGO (winner) hackathon.
EH: Can you tell us about each project that you were involved with during those two events?
MJ: For the Envision2050 ideathon, we were asked to look at the UN’s SDG 9, which encompasses three important aspects of sustainable development: infrastructure, industrialization and innovation, in order to figure out how to build roads without continuing deforestation. My team and I proposed creating new guidelines for responsible road development investors. For the CARGO hackathon, my team and I came up with an applet that calculates GHG emissions associated with domestic cargo transport so that everyday consumers can compare carbon footprints when purchasing an item(s) online. I worked mainly on the theory behind emissions calculation rather than the coding portion of the applet.
EH: A few years ago you said you realized that you wanted to contribute more than just research to the field of conservation, what exactly made you realize that?
MJ: I was working in an office setting — I’m what you call a desk-job ecologist — where I felt like I wasn’t doing enough even though my research was attributing to plenty of conservation efforts. I want to be out in the field solving the problems of habitat fragmentation, however, it is a bit difficult for a person like myself who lives with OCD. I’ve actually been to the Amazon rainforest twice to collect and study species. I hope to go on more expeditions like those in the future!
EH: What’s a fun fact about you that not many people know about you both?
MJ: I love the theatre and enjoy thespian pursuits. I started being involved in theatre when I was in highschool and continue to perform during my free time. I enjoy it because I get to be someone I am not for a while.