Dakota and Cambria: Youth Leaders of “Heirs to Our Oceans”

Podcast Episode #48

Dakota Peebler (11) and Cambria Bartlett (12) are founding members of Heirs to Our Oceans, a youth-led ocean conservation organization. These water loving kids are making a film and creating a movement in order to inspire people around the world to take better care of the ocean they are inheriting. In this episode we discuss the importance of humor in conservation, optimism in the face of a struggling ocean, and what motivates these Heirs to care.

Follow @heirstoouroceans on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and visit their website heirstoouroceans.com to watch their film trailer and learn more!

Shannon Switzer Swanson: Ocean Photojournalist & Nat Geo Adventurer

Podcast Episode #47

Shannon is an ocean scientist, photojournalist, and conservationist working to share her stories with the world – on topics ranging from storm water pollution to the global aquarium fish trade. She was recently honored as one of National Geographic’s 2017 Adventurers of the Year. In this episode we discuss the importance of curiosity, Shannon’s interest in photography and writing, and how her definition of adventure has no boundaries.

Connect with Shannon on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Jim Toomey: Cartoonist behind Sherman’s Lagoon

Podcast Episode #46

Jim is the cartoonist behind the world-renowned comic strip Sherman’s Lagoon. Combining his love for humor, art, and the ocean, Jim conveys ocean education and conservation topics to readers via the adventures of Sherman the great white shark and his undersea friends. Hear why Jim has been drawing sharks for nearly 50 years, about his work with noted organisations like Mission Blue, United Nations, and PEW, and his thoughts on the importance of including controversial topics like shark finning in his light and funny comic strip.

Follow Sherman’s Lagoon on Facebook, visit the Sherman’s Lagoon website, and watch Jim’s animated shorts. Or pick up your local newspaper and find Sherman’s Lagoon!

This episode is brought to you by Green Banana Paper – Recycled Vegan Wallets. Visit greenbananapaper.com to learn more about these sustainable wallets and how to get one soon.

Dr. David Shiffman: Shark Conservation Biologist sharing Why Sharks Matter

Podcast Episode #45

David is a shark conservation biologist at the University of Miami, using an interdisciplinary approach to being a shark scientist. With over twenty-eight thousand followers on Twitter, David is utilizing social media and blogging to spread the message of Why Sharks Matter. Hear David and I discuss his shark conservation research, his use of social media in science communication, and his outspoken relationship with Discovery Channel’s Shark Week. Photo credit: Christine Shepard.

Follow David @whysharksmatter on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and visit southernfriedscience.com to read his blog posts.

Sarah Chinn: California Sea Otter Scientist

Podcast Episode #44

Sarah is a Marine Physiologist at Sonoma State University studying both the lives and deaths of California’s sea otters. Follow along as Sarah and I discuss how there’s more to sea otters than just a pretty (and cute!) face. Her most recent research pinpoints End-Lactation Syndrome as a significant reason for mortality in adult female sea otters and the implications behind this.

Read Sarah’s latest scientific research paper, and to learn more about sea otters visit Friends of the Sea Otter, Fish and Wildlife Service, and US Geological Survey.