Pod of Orcas

This episode originally aired back in 2022 but it recently got taken down because of a short clip of the Tayl*r Sw*ft song "Lavender Haze." This is that original episode, sans Taylor.

On this episode we cover social media at the intersection of science, nature, conservation, and nonprofit work. More specifically it’s about Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and a state agency that has leveraged social media beautifully as a way to get their word out. Our guest is Rachel Terlep was Social Media Manager for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources when we spoke, but now runs social media for Washington State Department of Transportation.

Note: We had this conversation about four hours before Twitter, now called X, entered a state of crazy flux on November 17, 2022.

SUPPORT THE CREATION OF THIS SHOW: seadocsociety.org/donate

Our big summer auction event will take place Saturday July 18th, from 4-7 pm, on Orcas Island. The event is near but we have a handful of tickets left if you'd like to join. It will be held at Slanted Apple Farm, not far from the ferry landing.

Get tickets an learn more at seadocsociety.org/auction

Today’s guest is SeaDoc Society’s new Veterinary Translational Scientist, Michelle Barbieri Lino. 

In a moment where researching funding is tenuous on both the state and federal level, SeaDoc Society is expanding its impact. Michelle (who goes by Shell) is joining Joe Gaydos, Deborah Giles and Cat Lo on SeaDoc’s esteemed team of scientists. 

This casual conversation is a good chance to learn about her life and career, whether you’re a SeaDoc supporter of a budding scientist yourself. Learn more or support our work at seadocsociety.org. 

Follow SeaDoc on most social media sites at @seadocsociety 

Early in 2025, the amazing killer whale research organization Wild Orca merged with SeaDoc Society, adding Giles to our growing team of scientists, alongside Joe Gaydos and Cat Lo.

In today's episode we talk with Giles about her time on the water this field season, having her life changed by a Superpod on her 18th birthday, Eba the poop-sniffing dog, and the future of Southern Resident Killer Whale science and conservation.

You can support this work at seadocsociety.org

Pod of Orcas is produced by The SeaDoc Society, whose big summer auction event will take place Saturday July 12th, from 4-7 pm, on Orcas Island. The event will be held at Slanted Apple Farm, just a few miles from the Orcas Island Ferry Landing. Seating is limited, so don't wait too long. Tickets and info:

www.seadocsociety.org/auction

Bob Friel is the producer of SeaDoc Society's EMMY-nominated web series, Salish Sea Wild, hosted by Joe Gaydos. He's also an award-winning writer, photographer, documentary filmmaker, and author of the true-crime bestseller The Barefoot Bandit.

In this episode we talk about how to get folks to care about vital science in a chaotic and unreliable media environment—more specifically how he and Joe make their own brand of magic with Salish Sea Wild.

Salish Sea Wild: youtube.com/seadocsociety

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The Salish Sea is a natural ecosystem that happens to be split horizontally down the middle by the US / Canada border—an invisible barrier that is of course not recognized by wild species.

Ginny Broadhurst is founding Director of the Salish Sea Institute at Western Washington University. One of her overarching goals is to try and erase that border in people’s minds as they go about their work so that the focus remains fixed on the ecosystem. She’s pretty great at it. Find more info here: salishsea.wwu.edu

Note: This episode aired in early January before any Federal Government transition or the imposition of tariffs. We're saddened by the situation and look forward to a future with strong collaboration between the two countries.

RESOURCES: 

Please share, subscribe, and review the podcast if you like it. Get our newsletter at ⁠seadocsociety.org/newsletter ⁠

The Governance paper that explains the complexity of Salish Sea governance: https://cedar.wwu.edu/salish_pubs/33/ 

The 1992 Environmental Cooperation Agreement between BC and WA - an excellent illustration of recognizing shared environmental threats and the need to cooperate on solutions: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/natural-resource-policy-legislation/environmental-policy/bcwaccord.pdf

Stefan Freelan's map of the Salish Sea: https://salishsea.wwu.edu/salish-sea-surrounding-basin

Aquila Flower's Salish Sea atlas: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/collections/74685f3da4f9411f9746a5f34c6f4312

Rockfish are very vulnerable to overfishing and don't have babies every year. Very rarely a "jackpot recruitment" happens and tons of rockfish babies are born (they give birth to live young, meaning no eggs!). The last time it happened in the San Juan Islands was decades ago.

Our guest today are Adam Obaza and Olivia Carmack of Paua Marine Research Group. We work with Paua to collect data on young rockfish to aid in the recovery plan for the species. Check it out!

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www.pauamarineresearch.com

⁠www.seadocsociety.org⁠

Human feet have been washing up on beaches in the Pacific Northwest's Salish Sea since at least 2007. But why? Turns out there are scientific explanations for "why feet?" and "why here?"

The answer sheds light on why the ecosystem's name—The Salish Sea—is important, and why place names matter in general.

Support the creation of this show: seadocsociety.org/tidepoolers

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GUESTS:

Erika Engelhaupt, author of Gory Details

- https://erikaengelhaupt.com/gory-details-book/

- x.com/GoryErika

David Trimbach, Conservation Social Scientist at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

- https://davidtrimbach.com/current/

Join the whole SeaDoc Society team as we reflect on 2023 and look ahead to 2024. Thanks for listening to the show and for supporting our work.

All gifts will be doubled thanks for two generous donor families: seadocsociety.org

Thank you!