Events

We hope you can join us at one of the upcoming events! In some cases, you can also find links here to past presentations from the Orcasound community and our partners across the range of the endangered orcas.

2023

Fall webinar — Wednesday, September 20, 2023 (5-6:30 pm Pacific)

Ted Cheeseman of Happywhale on:
WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH HUMPBACK WHALE POPULATIONS IN THE NORTH PACIFIC?

Presented by Orcasound, along with Happywhale and the American Cetacean Society (ACS) – Puget Sound Chapter

Join us for a fascinating night with Ted Cheeseman (Co-founder and Director of Happywhale) who will talk about “What’s Happening with Humpback Whale Populations in the North Pacific? New Science for a changing ocean environment.”

During his talk, Ted will explore the dynamics of humpback whale populations recovering from the whaling era and now responding to climate change, using new data coming out of the research collaboration and citizen science efforts of Happywhale.

A humpback whale breaches in Haro Strait. (Credit Beam Reach)

This free virtual-only event is open to the public. Registration is required. A suggested contribution to the Orcasound open source community of $10 per participant is encouraged and greatly appreciated. And funds raised will accelerate design and development of Orcasound’s free, open source software that is advancing orca and humpback acoustics.

Your host organizations

Orcasound connects your headphones to live hydrophones (underwater microphones), your ears to an ocean of sound. Help us explore and conserve marine life around the globe, starting with studying and saving the Southern Resident killer whales of the Pacific Northwest. As an Orcasound community scientist, you cann listen to whales or learn more about marine bioacoustics.

Happywhale’s mission is to increase global understanding and caring for marine environments through creating high quality conservation science and education. We aim to make it easy and rewarding for the public to participate in science. How? By building innovative tools to engage anyone interested in marine mammals and serve the research community with powerful collaborative tools.

The American Cetacean Society (ACS) was founded in 1967 and is recognized as the first whale, dolphin, and porpoise conservation group in the world. For five decades, ACS has been dedicated to bringing education, current research, and critical conservation issues to people who care about cetaceans and the habitats on which they depend. ACS has long been the go-to resource for reliable information, with its governing board of specialists from all over the United States and its Scientific Advisory Council of internationally recognized researchers.

Ted’s Bio

Ted grew up whale watching in California’s Monterrey Bay. In 1980, his parents, both naturalists and educators, founded Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris. In 1994, Ted joined the company as a leader of ecology-based wildlife safaris, working on all seven continents. After earning a Masters of Science in Conservation Biology from Duke University, Ted returned to the company to lead polar expeditions. Since that time Ted has been deeply involved in all aspects of Antarctic tourism management. He served on the executive committee of the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO) for five years, where he helped minimize the environmental impact of tourism in Antarctica.

With over three decades of experience in eco-tourism, much of it in Antarctica, Ted has experienced first-hand the impacts of humans on marine ecosystems. While some current trends are encouraging – the recovery of many great whale populations, for example – many trends highlight the challenges facing marine wildlife.

In 2015, Ted stepped down from his role with Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris to focus on marine conservation. With his extensive experience as a leader in whale-focused tourism, Ted sees a huge opportunity to capture scientific data to further our understanding and protection of whales. Happywhale was born out of Ted’s desire to create an innovative citizen science program that helps us better understand whales as individuals.

Ways to contribute your time and resources!

Past events

Fall Webinar

October 19, 2022

“Going Deep – Connecting Ocean Health and Plastic”

This is going to be the first of Orcasound Quarterly Meetings. We are honored to host Susan Hopp (American Cetacean Society San Francisco Chapter Board Member) for her informative speech on the problem of plastics pollution in the oceans and its impacts.

Plastic has permeated human life and our planet, with the oceans and wildlife bearing direct consequences. This presentation will shed light on the state of our plastic consumption, the connection to our climate crisis, the impact on the ocean habitat, and actions we can all take to restore and protect the oceans and wildlife we love.

This webinar is offered for free. A suggested donation of $10 per participant is encouraged and appreciated. Donations help cover webinar costs and support us in installing new hydrophones. For your donations please visit https://opencollective.com/orcasound/donate

About Orcasound project: Orcasound connects your headphones to live hydrophones (underwater microphones), your ears to an ocean of sound. Help us explore and conserve marine life around the globe, starting with studying and saving the Southern Resident killer whales of the Pacific Northwest. As an Orcasound community scientist, you can listen to whales or learn more about marine bioacoustics. To learn more, please visit https://www.orcasound.net

About Susan Hopp

Susan Hopp is a strategist, educator, and practitioner of sustainable and regenerative management. Since 2007, she has applied her years of experience with technology companies, both startups and multinationals, to building sustainability momentum in business and society. In her consulting practice, she spotlights the business case for sustainability as a key integrated strategy informing culture and organizational practices and works with organizations across industries to help them formalize their sustainability strategy and execute sustainability initiatives. An alumnus of Presidio Graduate School of Sustainable Management in San Francisco, Susan has worked with over 50 organizations helping them develop sustainability action plans. An adjunct faculty member at University of San Francisco since 2018, she teaches Sustainability Leadership and Regenerative Adaptation in the Environmental Management Masters program. Lead by her passion for a healthy Marin County where she lives, she is an appointed Integrated Pest Management commissioner and is co-chair of PlasticFree Marin, an active citizen group dedicated to community involvement and education toward reuse and away from single-use plastic. Driven by her love of the ocean and marine mammals, she has been a board member of the San Francisco Bay chapter of the American Cetacean Society since 2018. For more information please visit https://www.usfca.edu/faculty/susan-hopp or https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanhopp/