Dr Vanessa Pirotta is Forging New Paths: Humpbacks, Drones and Creating What Doesn't Exist

Dr Vanessa Pirotta is a whale scientist, an author, an educator, an entrepreneur and a social media sensation. I read Vanessa's book recently - Humpback Highway - and was captivated by the stories of her work and research in the presence of these majestic and remarkable creatures. I remember visiting beaches in Sydney during the humpack's migratory seasons and being amazed by catching glimpses of their existence out at sea. Over the last thirty years humpbacks have continued to recover their population numbers right around the world - a rare species conservation success story.Vanessa is one of Australia's most recognisable scientists through the work she does both on social media and regular tv appearances. In the last couple of months she was awarded the Winner of the Emerging Leader in Science category of the 2024 Women’s Agenda Leadership Awards, hosted the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science for the second time and was a finalist in the Celestion Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Science. Vanessa is certainly someone on the move, and getting to spend all this time with her and get to know her a little beyond the whale research and incredible encounters she's had with them was an honour.With all the chat recently in corporate and government circles about the great utopian vision of nature positive, I couldn't help but reflect on the depth and quality of Vanessa's knowledge of a few species that call the ocean home and its relevance to these other conversations. The work done to recover some whale populations here and around the world hasn't come through fantasy nature repair bills or biodiversity markets, but the role of science based protections and restrictions on human behaviour supported by effective enforcement mechanisms. Vanessa's work in helping us better understand whales, their health and their lives points to a broader opportunity for how humans by in large need to get out of the way of non human species and focus on these types of initiatives as opposed to the financialsation and commodification of nature on a species by species basis.What an experience this was. Vanessa is clearly a rising star, and to hear about the radical transformation her life has undergone in just five years was remarkable and testament to her tenacity, passion and strength. It reminded me that it's important to step back and contemplate not so much what we can achieve just today, or this week, but over the course of an entire year, five years, a decade. This path is a long one, one without end, and Vanessa is forging one that hasn't existed before. The November edition of the newsletter is on the theme of Hope - and with Vanessa and her work in understanding whales, I was reminded of the remarkable life and work of Sylvia Earle who for more than 60 years has been researching and communicating about the oceans of this planet. “I hope for your help to explore and protect the wild ocean in ways that will restore the health and, in so doing, secure hope for humankind. Health to the ocean means health for us.”Til next time, thanks for listening.Today's show is delivered with Altiorem. Use the code FindingNature10 to get your first month free on their gold and platinum plans. Today's show is delivered with Gilay Estate. Add Finding Nature to your booking reservation for free food bundles.Send me a messageThanks for listening. Follow Finding Nature on Instagram