Our Virtual Speaker Series is an opportunity to learn from marine and aquatic educators, scientists, traditional knowledge practitioners, and other industry professionals. Speakers have shared experiences, educational tips, and stories from the field. The following talks are from the 2021/2022 season of the Speaker Series.
To see what’s coming up next, please visit our Virtual Speaker Page.
June 2022
A Conversation with Nuu-Chah-Nulth artist Hjalmer Wenstob
Tlehpik Hjalmer Wenstob was raised on Tzartus island in Barkley Sound, in Huu-ay-aht First Nation’s territory; it was there that his understanding and desire to pursue both his traditional Nuu-chah-nulth and contemporary art practices began. Hjalmer is an interdisciplinary Nuu-Chah-Nulth artist who specializes in sculpture and carving. He is Nuu-chah-nulth from the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, as well as Norwegian and English. Hjalmer speaks of three dialects of his work: contemporary, traditional, and community-based. His art practice ranges from ceremonial masks for his community, to community collaborative carving events, to contemporary works such as oil barrel totem poles and Styrofoam bentwood boxes. Hjalmer completed both an undergraduate and master’s degree at the University of Victoria, exploring the relationships between culture and art, and the balance between traditional and contemporary. His work, at times highly political, uses humour and irony to pose difficult questions of respect, reconciliation and environmental issues. Hjalmer lives with his family in his Tla-o-qui-aht community of Ty-Histanis, and they own and operate Cedar House Gallery in Ucluelet, BC.
Hjalmer recently reimagined the NAME logo, and will discuss the creative process and reveal the final result!
For those interested, here is the link to the Nuu-chah-nulth Healing Song & Performance (COVID-19) Hjalmer spoke of in his talk!
May 2022
Building and Writing Whales—Peter Wayne Moe, Associate Professor of English at Seattle Pacific University and author of Touching This Leviathan
In August 2020, I led a project to hang a whale skeleton at my university. And the next year, because I am an English professor, I wrote a book about whales. People often ask me why an English professor would build a whale, and my answer is that trying to come know something as big and mysterious as the whale requires interdisciplinary work. We need the scientists and the poets. In this presentation, I’ll share about the fascinating work of building a whale as well as excerpts from my new book Touching This Leviathan.
April 2022
Urgent Message from a Hot Planet, An Evening with Author Ann Eriksson
Join BC author Ann Eriksson as she introduces her new book, Urgent Message from a Hot Planet: Navigating the Climate Crisis, which outlines the science behind global heating and its root causes, provides ways to take action and honors the efforts of the millions of youth and adult allies from around the world working tirelessly to make a difference. The book is available in bookstores throughout Canada and the US, and online through Orca or Amazon. Ann will then be opening up a conversation, so please come with questions and thoughts ready to share.
Nature is at the core of biologist and writer Ann Eriksson’s work. Ann is the author of five adult novels and three non-fiction books for younger readers: Dive In! Exploring Our Connection with the Ocean, Bird’s-Eye View: Keeping Wild Birds in Flight and newly released, Urgent Message from a Hot Planet: Navigating the Climate Crisis. Ann is a founding director of the Thetis Island Nature Conservancy and works for SeaChange Marine Conservation Society, restoring near-shore marine ecosystems – a nature-based solution to climate change. Ann lives on Thetis Island, BC.
March 2022
More Joy – Less Stress in the Classroom—Kristy Banks, special education teacher in Seattle
I’m a special education teacher in Seattle with more than a decade of experience teaching grades 3rd – 12th, and a desire to help spread the benefits of mindfulness and compassion to educators, classrooms, and communities.
My journey with mindfulness began in 2014 when I was forced to deal head on with my past personal trauma. It was the beginning of my personal growth journey. In 2016, I developed a mindfulness program for my school which increased emotional regulation and social awareness in the students I worked with.
In 2021, I earned my teacher certificate for Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT) through the Compassion Institute (developed at Stanford University) and I have continued to share these lessons with students, parents and teachers in the PNW. Click here for more information on CCT and the latest class offerings. Additionally, I created a free 5 minutes a day for 5 days video program specific for teachers to help reduce stress and bring more joy into their lives. Please find more information here: Caring Teacher.
I am excited to share with you some pedagogy, activities and mindset shifts to help you and your students have more joy and less stress! Please join me!
February 2022
The Oregon King Tides Project—Jesse Jones, volunteer coordinator for CoastWatch
Sea level is predicted to rise over the next century. Several areas of the Oregon coast are already vulnerable to high water levels because of their low elevations and proximity to the shoreline. Rising sea levels means increased erosion and more frequent and expanded flooding in the future. An infrequent event today could become normal in the future.
Understanding and documenting the extent and impacts of especially high tide events is one way to highlight the need to prepare for the effects of future climate conditions. The King Tides Project generates information that coastal communities can use to reduce vulnerabilities to rising sea levels.
Jesse Jones is the volunteer coordinator for CoastWatch, a mile by mile beach adoption program in Oregon that links volunteers with citizen science opportunities in their coastal neighborhoods. She lives in Astoria and works with volunteers from Fort Stevens to the Winchuck River. CoastWatch is program of Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition.
January 2022
Flukes, Fins, & Blows: Whale ID 101—Aaron Purdy, Outreach & Education Lead, Southern Vancouver Island Cetacean Research Initiative (Ocean Wise)
Join Aaron Purdy to learn all about the whales in our waters! Aaron will discuss tips and tricks for identifying BC’s common cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), the threats they face, and how Ocean Wise helps to mitigate these threats through research and conservation efforts. He will also describe how you can become a citizen scientist by acting as an observer for the BC Cetacean Sightings Network while out on your next coastal adventure. After this talk, you will have all the tools you need to jump in and do your part to protect BC’s cetaceans!
Aaron joined Ocean Wise in 2019 as the Outreach and Education Lead for the Southern Vancouver Island Cetacean Research Initiative. He works to promote the BC Cetacean Sightings Network, educate BC residents about whale conservation, and coordinate community-led research in the Southern Vancouver Island area. Since completing his BSc in Zoology from the University of Calgary, Aaron has worked both as a researcher and educator in the non-profit sector. He graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2019 with a MSc in Zoology where he studied the diving physiology of Steller sea lions.
Cover image photo credit: Ocean Wise.
December 2021
Pumping with Passion: The Importance of Heart-Based Connection—Savannah Smith and Ebony Welborn of Sea Potential
In December of 2020, Savannah Smith and Ebony Welborn founded Sea Potential. Through youth engagement and strengthening workplace culture within maritime industry businesses, they have been carrying out Sea Potential’s mission to cultivate a full cycle of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) representation in maritime. Through their work and lived experiences, they have learned the importance of fostering heart-based connections to marine environments. Join us as they share why heart-based connections are a key component of career path interest and community stewardship, as well as share tips for how to facilitate experiences that connect the hearts of others in culturally relevant ways.
November 2021
The Elwha Nearshore 10 Years After Dam Removal: Whats New and Different, and What Looks the Same—Ian Miller, Washington Sea Grant: Coastal Hazard Specialist, Olympic Peninsula
Join Dr. Ian Miller as he provides an update and summary of results from two on-going investigations into the changes in the Elwha Delta ten years and removal of the dams. Seasonal topography and bathymetry surveys conducted in partnership with USGS and Washington Department of Ecology provide insights about how the delta of the Elwha River is continuing to evolve in response to the dam removal. Annual SCUBA-based surveys of algae, invertebrates and benthic fishes, are used to assess if and how the sub-tidal marine community has changed (or not) through and after dam removal.
A skilled science communicator and media spokesperson as well as a trained scientist, Dr. Ian Miller is Washington Sea Grant’s coastal hazards specialist, working out of Peninsula College in Port Angeles. Ian works with coastal communities and public agencies on the Olympic Peninsula to strengthen their ability to plan for and manage coastal hazards, including tsunamis, chronic erosion, coastal flooding and other hazards associated with climate change.
Resources
October 2021
Oh the stories the beach can tell!—Join Alan Rammer, retired shellfish biologist for WA Department of Fisheries, to learn about beach ecology, geology and history. Alan has always had a keen eye for the most obscure items and the stories they tell. He has explored almost every Washington beach from the mouth of the Columbia River to Tatoosh Island as well as many of the Salish Sea beaches, and will share some of his most fascinating stories that have biological, geological and human history origins. Don’t miss this talk on Monday, October 4th!
Alan grew up exploring the beaches along Monterey, California’s famous Cannery Row then came to WA for college and graduated in 1974 from the U.W with a double major in shellfish biology and invertebrate zoology. Alan worked for the Washington Department of Fisheries in numerous capacities and retired after 36 years in 2009. He was named national marine educator of the year in 2012 and has not lost his passion for the Marine environment in his retirement.