Outreach
We love sharing our passion for science and the ocean with the public! We also believe that as scientists we have a moral responsibility to make our knowledge and discoveries accessible beyond academia. We engage with the public through talks, popular science articles, OpEds, activities, social media, interviews for radio, television, and print media, movies, film festivals and more.
Public Talks
We are passionate story tellers, and love sharing our science with the public. Julia’s recent talks include Nerd Nite at the Victoria Events Centre, Café Scientifique at Herman’s Jazz Club, and specialized talks for groups from scientific societies to investing companies. Contact us if you’re interested in Julia speaking to your group about coral reefs and what we can all do to fight climate change.
Written Words
We have contributed OpEds to The Globe and Mail, Hill Times, Huffington Post and others on climate change, endangered species legislation and more. We also write popular science articles, including in The Conversation and Policy Options, to help translate our discoveries to the public, and articles and blog posts about our field expeditions.
Connecting with Kids
We love sharing our passion for the oceans with kids, and have done so throughout Canada, the U.S., Kiritimati, and South Africa. Recent events include Exploring By the Seat of Your Pants, a shark necropsy, Skype a Scientist, talks to local brownie and girl guide troops, and career fairs at middle schools.
Kiritimati
We invest time during our scientific expeditions to Kiritimati to engage with local school kids, teaching them about coral reefs, and with local divers to enhance dive safety.
Documentaries
Our coral reef research is featured extensively in the coral reef documentary Reef Rescue and most recently our kelp restoration efforts were featured in the documentary Send Kelp!
We’re also committed to engaging with conservation practitioners, resource managers, and policy makers, and do so through meetings, workshops, presentations, and by providing scientific information and reviews. Most recently, Julia spoke to the NSERC Leadership about the impacts of COVID-19 on scientists, contributed to a Royal Society of Canada Policy Brief on Sustaining Canadian Marine Biodiversity, and served on Canada’s Chief Scientist’s Independent Expert Panel on Aquaculture Science. She has previously served as a member of the IUCN’s Shark Specialist Group, and participated in national and international workshops for CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna), COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada), Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans, ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas), and the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) amongst others.