Writer, Communicator & Educator
“I’m Olive Heffernan, a science journalist. I love my work, especially writing about climate change and the ocean. It gives me a chance to communicate with people who share my passion for science, to be creative with words, to inform and inspire my readers, and to constantly learn more about this small, fragile planet we call home.“
I am a freelance science journalist with over 15 years’ experience as a reporter and an editor. I originally trained and worked as a marine biologist and fisheries scientist. These days, I cover ocean science and climate change for a variety of publications, and my work has appeared in Nature, WIRED, National Geographic, Scientific American, New Scientist, BBC Wildlife, Salon, and China Dialogue, among other outlets. Before going freelance, I was an editor with Nature in London for five years, first covering climate change online, before becoming chief editor of the pioneering research journal Nature Climate Change. I also teach a course on communicating climate change at Johns Hopkins University.
Features
Penguin puzzle
BBC Wildlife
Sept 2020
Deep-sea mining could our wreck last unexplored ecosystem
New Scientist
Jan 2019
Kelp. A cry for help
BBC Wildlife
January 2020
Seabed mining is coming – bring riches and fears of epic extinctions
Nature
July 2019
How to save the high seas
Nature
May 2018
Can 14 nations put global ocean protection back on track?
China Dialogue
Feb 2021
Why a landmark treaty to stop ocean biopiracy could stymie research
Nature
March 2020
The hidden fight to stop illegal fishing from destroying our oceans
WIRED
Sept 2019
Who rules climate intervention on the high seas?
China Dialogue
Sept 2020
