Dr. Wallace "J." Nichols, a marine biologistand ocean conservationist who seeks to "in spire a deeper connection with nature," will speak Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m. in Long wood University's Blackwell Ballroom on "Get Your Blue Mind On: Using Our Brain to Conserve the Ocean."
Nichols is a research associate at the Cali fornia Academy of Sciences; founder/direc tor of Ocean Revolution, an international network of young ocean advocates; and co-founder of SEE Turtles, a sea turtle con servation tourism project. The talk, to be followed by a reception, is being presented by Longwood's Sustainability Commit tee. Nichols will talk to several Longwood classes on Feb. 20, 21 and 22.
"Through field research, his work with commercial fishermen and the time he spends in coastal villages, Nichols encoun ters among people a common appreciation for the ocean's beauty, abundance and mys teries," says his website. "Nichols finds suc cessful conservation efforts often include unexpected alliances and there is common ground to be found between so-called ‘en emies' of nature. He has undertaken the task of reaching new constituencies with a positive and inclusive conservation mes sage and building a network of like-minded people."
Nichols, who lives on the central coast of California in Davenport, Calif., "made a name for himself in the mid-1990s when he tracked a loggerhead turtle that swam from Baja, Mexico, to Japan, the first time anyone had recorded an animal swimming an en tire ocean," says an article about him in the December 2011 issue of Outside magazine. "He has done fieldwork in waters around the globe and spends most of his waking hours thinking and talking about the ocean … His credibility as a scientist, along with his charm and passion, have enabled him to rally excitement for his ideas among a diverse constituency of researchers and ac tivists
