Writing, telling, and hearing stories is a powerful and emotional experience. Anyone can learn to do it!
Storytelling resources
- Listen to this: Story Collider reveals the human stories behind the science, in The Guardian
- The Six Main Stories, As Identified by an AI, in The Atlantic. More about this research at UVermont's Computational Story Lab
- Jones and Anderson Crow (2017) How can we use the ‘science of stories’ to produce persuasive scientific stories?
- Workshops taught by The Story Collider, The Moth, COMPASS, Jennifer Ferris, and Storytellers of Canada members
- Using the "And, But, Therefore" rubric, examples via SESYNC and a blog post on Medium (among other places)
- Asset framing is powerful use of narrative. See Anat Shenker-Osorio, Trabian Shorters, and Conservation Optimism Toolkit
Roots and Reverie: Nature Narratives
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April 2025: I joined the Special Bird Service and the Royal BC Museum for "Roots and Reverie: Nature Narratives".
I told a story about my wildlife hopes and dreams, and coming to grips with the changing nature of my job as a conservation scientist. The storytelling evening was held at the same time as the annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year travelling exhibit. What a stunning gallery to be in! We had a packed house. |
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Teaching storytelling to the Liber Ero Fellows and Weston Family Conservation Science Fellows
This was a ton of fun! I teach workshops ranging from 1h very basic intro to a two-day intensive.
Conservation science and art at COP15Dec 2022: I was invited to participate in an expert panel at the UN Biodiversity Meeting (COP15). Called "Stories that Connect Us: The Biodiversity Consilience", we focused on science and art that moves people to conserve nature.
My story was about Indigenous-led recovery of caribou and habitat protection in northern British Columbia, with lessons for broader conservation (video has excerpts from the longer story). I loved the stories told by fellow panellists, including marine-terrestrial connections, failure and support as a scientist, mighty migratory birds, and what the Anthropocene means for us. |
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The event was hosted by the Government of Canada in the Canada Pavillion. The other participants were:
- moderator and organizer Shawn Marshall, Environment and Climate Change Canada and University of Calgary
- Alice Major, poet
- Paul Snelgrove, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Memorial University of Newfoundland
- Amie Black, Environment and Climate Change Canada
- Kyle Bobiwash, Office of the Chief Science Advisor and University of Manitoba
Celebrating 10 years of The Story Collider:May 2020: Celebrate the 10th anniversary of Story Collider with this online celebration on Friday May 15, from 7-10 pm EST, It features past and present staff plus fan favourites from the podcast.
I told an excerpt from my 2015 story "Lessons from the man with a machine gun". Grateful once again to Story Collider coaches & producers for help to improve in this all-important skill You can watch the whole show here (my story starts at 2h:50m:25s, but I encourage you to watch the whole thing!). |
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Royal British Columbia MuseumNov 2016: I participated in the Royal BC Museum's storytelling series Have We Got a Story to Tell on 30 November 2016. The theme was "Big Beasts" featuring "true and daring tales of folks adventuring among the biggest of creatures ", including tales by my wonderful colleagues, Megan Adams and Caroline Fox, also I told a story from my PhD research about elephants in Uganda. Thanks to Aaron Ball for technical wizardry to improve the audio recording.
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Don't miss exhibits at the Royal BC Museum, including this amazing wooly mammoth.
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IMCC Tales from the SeaAug 2016: I took part in a storytelling workshop and live event during IMCC 2016 in St. John's, Newfoundland. My story was about how a kayak trip led to postdoctoral research in BC's Great Bear Sea studying shellfish aquaculture. Want to know more? Read this Q&A with three of my fellow storytellers and Storify of tweets from the live event.
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The Story Collider & Springer Storytellers
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July 2015: The Story Collider, held a show at the 2015 IALE World Congress. I was among six scientists invited to join Springer Storytellers and tell a personal story inspired by conservation and ecology research.
I spoke about a fateful day during one of my first field jobs, called "Lessons from the man with the machine gun". Later, my story was re-broadcast on CBC Radio's Quirks & Quarks and mentioned in The Guardian. |
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Find a storytelling event near you
International: The Story Collider (many cities), The Moth
Canada-wide: Storytellers Canada (local events, conference, and grants/awards) and other festivals, The Story Collider (Toronto, Vancouver)
Calgary, AB: T.A.L.E.S. Calgary, Story Cafe, Monthly Tellarounds, Story Slam
Nanaimo, BC: Around Town Tellers
Vancouver, BC: The Story Collider (search Vancouver), Anecdotal Evidence (science specific), Vancouver Society of Storytelling, The Flame
Victoria, BC: Victoria Storytellers Guild, Stories at Helmcken House, and Royal BC Museum's 'Have We Got a Story to Tell'
Canada-wide: Storytellers Canada (local events, conference, and grants/awards) and other festivals, The Story Collider (Toronto, Vancouver)
Calgary, AB: T.A.L.E.S. Calgary, Story Cafe, Monthly Tellarounds, Story Slam
Nanaimo, BC: Around Town Tellers
Vancouver, BC: The Story Collider (search Vancouver), Anecdotal Evidence (science specific), Vancouver Society of Storytelling, The Flame
Victoria, BC: Victoria Storytellers Guild, Stories at Helmcken House, and Royal BC Museum's 'Have We Got a Story to Tell'
