As an Old Kingstonian (OK 2002), Nathan returned to Kingston Grammar School to share his story about how a chance encounter led him to connect with millions of people worldwide in the fight to improve the health of our oceans; and the lessons he learnt on his journey that can help anyone aiming to change behaviour on a global scale.
Having always been fascinated by the natural world, and more specifically the oceans; Nathan studied Marine Biology at the University of Southampton. Much of his time was spent in a lab learning about the issues facing the oceans but it was a volunteering role at Archelon (The Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece) that proved to be the transition into active conservation. This evolved into his first conservation job, followed by a PhD in Costa Rica and eventual management of a research centre in the Caribbean.
It was here that he made the connection that the problems driving the 90% decline in nesting female sea turtles were starting in the oceans. These threats included fisheries bycatch (accidental death within fishing nets) and plastic pollution – in some areas an estimated 50% of all sea turtles have ingested plastic due to its similarity in appearance with jellyfish. Climate change is also driving a shift towards an increased population of female sea turtles. Turtles have a temperature dependent, single sex chromosome that becomes activated by changes in temperature. Warmer seas produce predominantly female sea turtles. All three of these issues are global in nature so we must look to global solutions.
Following the research expedition, Dr Robinson published an online journal citing his discovery of the plastic straw and it achieved almost 3,000 views. He then took the decision to share the video on Facebook where it was viewed around 8,000 times within the first 24 hours. This ‘straw’ video has now been viewed hundreds of millions of times across several social media platforms and has been widely credited as a catalyst for the eco-friendly movement against single use plastics. Inspired by the impact of this video, he has spent the last seven years exploring new avenues to incorporate video footage into his research to simultaneously answer important ecological questions whilst also engaging communities worldwide in ocean conservation. Below are the five lessons learnt throughout his journey.
– Global Outreach needs Global Communication. Scientific discoveries often stay within the ‘bubble’ – published in journals that are not widely read outside of the scientific community. The deployment of social media as a publishing vehicle reaches a much wider audience.
– Emotional connection promotes engagement. Scientists love statistics and facts but can frequently overlook the impact that emotional engagement has. Framing your stories with an emotional context will help build active engagement.
– Positivity is as powerful as negativity. Conservation stories are overwhelmingly negative. Whilst this can be effective, there is a danger that we can become desensitised to the information over time. Positive stories can be just as engaging, so aim to keep a healthy balance.
– Promote individual action. An indirect effect of building engagement is seen through the change in the behaviour of individuals. This is where we see the greatest incidence of real change.
– Technology has put the power to change the world in your pocket. We each have our own stories that we want to tell. How will you use your story to change the world?
If you are interested in ocean conservation, then check out turtle cam and follow Dr Robinson’s stories on social media:
https://www.youtube.com/@DrNathanRobinson
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