Expert on World Oceans Day and ocean optimism

The following University of Victoria expert is available to media to discuss World Oceans Day, and #oceanoptimism, the mass movement to crowd-source ocean conservation solutions: 

Elin Kelsey is an author, adjunct professor of environmental studies at UVic, and a leading expert in hope and the environment. World Oceans Day 2020 marks the 6th anniversary of #OceanOptimism, a social media campaign Kelsey co-created with Nancy Knowlton of the Smithsonian Institution and Heather Koldewey of the Zoological Society of London to crowd-source and share ocean conservation success stories. This pioneering movement has reached more than 100 million users to date and sparked global environmental optimism campaigns, including the Smithsonian Institution’s Earth Optimism program. 

Kelsey can discuss why pride rather than fear and shame are critical to environmental engagement, and why solutions-oriented environmental engagement is a driving force in the international call for a post-pandemic green recovery. These are ideas she also discusses in a recent episode of the new podcast series, Scales of Change: A Field Guide to the Dragons of Climate Inaction produced by Future Ecologies with support from UVic.

(Contact: elinkelsey@gmail.com)