How Science Storytelling Sparks Conservation Action

Storytelling is an ancient tool. It has been used throughout human history to pass on knowledge from one generation to the next. Oral cultures, are particularly expert at this, using narratives to teach skills, instruct lore, and even map landscapes. In recent times, however, we have separated the arts and sciences to our detriment. It’s time we elevated storytelling back to its rightful place in conservation because conservation is not just about scientists.

It is about shifting perceptions, buy-in from a majority, and engaging EVERYONE.

Scientific journals can’t achieve this for three reasons:

• Firstly, because access is restricted.
• Secondly, because the language is NOT accessible to a non-scientific audience.
• And thirdly, their messages do not stick long term.

Let’s face it, scientists are not particularly good at telling stories, and science storytelling is a fantastic engagement tool. In fact, my doctorate explored how storytelling can be used to engage non-scientists in conservation.

How can storytelling engage a non-scientific audience?

My discoveries informed my own nonfiction narrative books, and I am going to use a few of my children’s books as examples. First, Wildlife Wong and the Sun Bear tells the story of a sun bear cub named Damai who is found on a person's driveway, alone and scared. She is sent to biologist Dr Wong Siew Te, who teaches her to climb, feed herself, and survive. Eventually, she is ready to be released BACK into the rainforest. This is her story. But it is also the story of her species.

Narratives like my Wildlife Wong series use an inductive method which functions like this: by telling the story of one individual in a species, like sun bear Damai’s, storytelling illustrates the bigger issues facing her species. Once the reader resonates emotionally with Damai, they actually care about the big issues affecting her species.

Scientific writing, on the other hand, uses deductive methods. A scientists will tell you the number of sun bears remaining, how much rainforest has been destroyed, the value of a dead bear (like Damai’s mother) on the black market, and the current methods of bear release. While this method is based on rigorous research, it does not engage the heart of readers.

Storytelling engages the heart. It gives us a REASON to care.

But what if students don’t read?

Some children don’t read at all, and storytelling takes other forms like movies, puppetry, and hands-on experiences. All my Wildlife Wong books include real-life elements, informational text, and experiments that link back to the story.

Take this one, as an example. Wildlife Wong and the Pygmy Elephant includes a story about an elephant that sat on Wong’s car, illustrating the challenges of living with dangerous animals but also the importance of STILL wanting to conserve them. It also features cool facts about elephants and experiments that are relevant to the story. I have created videos of each of these experiments, AND school workshops that engage reluctant readers.

How can narratives grounded in real conservation work complement formal science and data, rather than simplify or distort it?

Science storytelling helps scientists engage with a general audience. Telling stories about REAL scientists offers evidence of lives well lived and possible career paths. Almost every scientist I have worked with cites David Attenborough as inspiration for their career. David is NOT a scientist. He one of our world’s best storytellers.

My latest children’s book, Curious Kai Asks Why tells the stories of 10 REAL Queensland wildlife scientists and knowledge holders, but it is ALSO a fictional narrative.

Kai is a girl with endless questions about wildlife. Like ‘are bats rats with wings, or birds with fur?’, or ‘do songbirds have accents?’, or ‘can fish fly?’ She, along with her mother seek out answers. 

Along the way she encounters real scientists like Bilby scientist Cassandra Arkinstall, teenage conservationist Spencer Hitchen, and entomologist Matthew Connors who has already named two new species!

Curious Kai Asks Why is about questioning our world which is, of course, the underlying tenant of the scientific method. The more kids question, the more scientists and innovators are created.

But it’s not all about science. By blending a fictional character with non-fictional research, and profiling real conservation science, this book blurs genre lines. I have published an accompanying classroom resource, which can be integrated into English AND science education, furthering the reach.

This teacher resource is FREE to claim for a limited time only. Click here and sign up with your email to get immediate access to 25+ pages of chapter prompts, videos, fun classroom activities and learn fascinating wildlife trivia from real-life experts.

Drones in Wildlife Conservation

Drones are increasingly a part of our lives, from a quick way to deliver life-saving medicine or a pizza delivery, drone technology is an innovative way to solve problems. Using tech can help improve conservation outcomes and that is a science story worth telling.

Wildlife Wong and the Sun Bear, for instance, uses H aerials and satellite collars to showcase wildlife tracking technology and has the power to engage a tech-inclined child. They aren’t, however, the centre of the story because this tech might change and making them the central theme would impact the longevity of the narrative and wildlife education opportunities. 

Technology introduced in what marketing industry would call a features and benefits analysis: What does tech do, and WHY is this important. Let’s take the story of the Detection Dogs for Conservation, which will be featured in my NEXT book Curious Kai Quits School when Kai will join Dr Romane Cristescu on a koala hunt.

Meet Maya, Baxter, Bear and Billie-Jean. These guys have incredible noses, and they are instrumental in furthering koala conservation. Koalas are notoriously hard to find which means policy makers don’t actually know what habitat needs saving. These detection dogs have been trained to find old koala scats, new koala scats and even koala themselves, broadening the koala mapping capabilities.

This is NOT new technology. Let’s face it, dogs have had a good sense of smell for a very long time. But this innovation in not used in isolation. The team uses heat-monitoring, or thermal drones and tracking devices to help locate and keep track of koalas. They are also developing citizen science technology, with the goal of improving koala protection in urban areas.

By telling the story of Detection Dogs for Conservation, Curious Kai Quits School will help Dr Romaine and her team expand koala awareness, increase buy-in to the citizen science project, and open career opportunities for future conservation technologists and dog lovers alike!

The final thing I want to leave you with is…

When storytellers and scientists work together… magic happens.

What are some other ways you'd recommend to engage a non-scientific audience in conservation? Let me know in the comments below!

Also, why you're here, check out my video about drone conservation, and don't forget to like and subscribe!