Dr. Jeanne Mortime: How do you expect people to protect something if they don’t have a name for it?

In this 4th segment of a special series on CivicSciTV’s Questions of the Day (QOTD) Program, Africa Correspondent Stephanie Okeyo interviews Dr. Jeanne Mortimer, a marine biologist with a focus on sea turtles and tropical coastal and marine ecosystems. With experience working in 20 countries across six continents, Dr. Mortimer shares insights from a project in Seychelles that successfully integrated local Creole names for seagrass species into public discourse. The interview also includes Annike Faure, the Coastal Wetlands and Climate Change Project Manager at Seychelles Conservation & Climate Adaptation Trust (SeyCCAT).

They highlight key lessons learned, including the importance of using native languages to engage communities, the power of naming in conservation efforts, and the need for perseverance, determination, and collaboration across diverse stakeholders to achieve lasting impact. Additionally, they emphasize the value of involving local knowledge holders, such as fishermen, and the necessity of continuous public engagement to ensure that scientific efforts are meaningful and culturally resonant. The discussion underscores the idea that conservation success depends on making science relatable and accessible to all levels of society.

Keywords: science communication, language diversity, Seychelles, seagrass, Creole, public engagement, conservation, marine biology, community engagement, collaboration, cultural resonance, local knowledge.