In 2022 Nova was accepted into Conservation Nation's inaugural cohort of Emerging Conservationists. Conservation Nation is a nonprofit dedicated to uplifting new voices in conservation, with the goal to find innovative solutions to big problems. With the support of Conservation Nation through this grant, Nova was enabled to create educational content about lemon shark conservation in partnership with Sharks4Kids, an organization dedicated to increasing shark science literacy for kids. This grant project culminated into several shorts for social media and an 8 minute mini doc released in March of 2024, following the launch of Sharks4Kids' latest research project, Project Lemon Aid, in the archipelago of Turks and Caicos.
You can watch the full mini doc and social media shorts below.
You can watch the full mini doc and social media shorts below.
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Project Lemon Aid was established with three focal objectives: to conduct research in order to establish local protections for juvenile lemon sharks near the islands, to teach local students and volunteers the tools of shark science, and to create long-lasting educational content for the conservation of lemon sharks and mangroves.
The Sharks4Kids team collects shark data with the help of local volunteers.
Photo by Nova West
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Conducting Research
Having the proper data is critical for establishing effective protections for endangered populations. In Turks and Caicos there is little to no information about how the lemon sharks utilize the mangroves around the islands, which makes it difficult to advocate for this near-threatened species. Project Lemon Aid focuses on tagging and collecting data from the juvenile lemon shark populations to better understand how the use of local mangroves and fishing policies are impacting these young sharks.
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School Visits
In addition to conducting research, it is integral to help educate local students about why shark conservation is important and how they can help. There are many myths about sharks in popular media, and education at a young age is a critical component to shifting that narrative. Project Lemon Aid is intended as the starting point for local scientists to protect and advocate for their local wildlife, providing them with the tools, resources, and base set data needed to make an impact.
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Candace Fields and Jillian Morris teaching at a local elementary school in Turks and Caicos.
Photo by Nova West
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Luis Serpas and Leann Winn pose with a juvenile lemon shark before it's released after being tagged.
Photo by Nova West
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Educational Content
Local science and education is crucial to successfully protecting lemon shark populations, but it also takes a world-wide effort to make a lasting change. By creating engaging educational content for a wide variety of applications, Sharks4Kids can continue to educate and inspire children across the globe to protect our ocean's sharks and their habitats.
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My Role
As a science communicator and conservationist, my role in this project was to film and photograph the research conducted by Sharks4Kids and create educational content for online audiences. This content includes blog posts, social media content, and a short film.
Working on this project has been a rich experience in a multitude of ways, especially as I've honed my underwater filmmaking and photography skills. Throughout my journey, I've created several blog posts for Conservation Nation to share what I've learned along the way. These posts detail a day-in-the-life of a conservationist, my field notes from my time in Turks and Caicos, and resources to those who are interested in starting a career in the field of science communication. Published Blog Posts:
Blog Post 1: Shark Conservation Through a Lens Blog Post 2: Creating Compelling Shark Content Blog Post 3: It Only Takes One Small Step to Make a Big Change |
 Nova posing with tools used to collect data from juvenile lemon sharks while filming with Sharks4Kids. Photo by Duncan Brake
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While in Turks and Caicos, Nova utilized their background in art to take detailed notes on the process of shark tagging. Below is a sample of one of their pages from their technical journal. These notes proved to be an incredibly helpful reference as they finished the mini doc in 2024.
This grant project couldn't have been possible without the collaborations of Sharks4Kids and Conservation Nation.
Want to learn more about Conservation Nation? Check out the video below to learn more about their mission to uplift new voices in conservation.
Want to learn more about Conservation Nation? Check out the video below to learn more about their mission to uplift new voices in conservation.
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