Real conservation happens when the community at large works together. Scientific studies are vital to help raise our overall understanding of the natural worlds health and ecology. That is paramount to help determine humankind's environmental impact on species and habitats. We are proud to support the scientific community and often will communicate with biologists about a particular species to ensure the educational message is based sound scientific data.

Meet the Team!

Dr. Laurel Neme -  Scientific Advisory Board member of Nature Walks Conservation Society

Dr Neme has camped in the Kalahari, investigated walrus carcasses on Alaska's Bering Sea beaches, and gotten lost in the Amazon jungle with the Brazilian Federal Police--all in pursuit of knowledge and a better story. She is the author of ANIMAL INVESTIGATORS: How the World's First Wildlife Forensics Lab is Solving Crimes and Saving Endangered Species, a "CSI for wildlife" that has been featured on ABC News Nightline, C-SPAN and NPR's Science Friday. She also hosts "The WildLife," a weekly radio show that explores the mysteries of the animal world through interviews with scientists and other wildlife investigators. Laurel is working on a second book and writes regularly for JeffCorwinConnect.com and Mongabay.com. She also reports for Earth Negotiations Bulletin, where she covers the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

She enjoys public speaking and has addressed a range of public and professional groups, including Interpol's Wildlife Crime Working Group, the St. Louis Zoo, the American Museum of Natural History and various universities. Her writing and speaking builds on more than a decade of experience as a consultant working in over  a dozen African countries, where she's been feted with chickens by villagers and shared stories with rangers on the frontline of wildlife poaching. She continues to consult on wildlife and natural resource management and serves as a Fellow at the University of Vermont's Institute for Environmental Diplomacy and Security (IEDS). Perhaps because she holds a Master's degree in public policy from the University of Michigan and a PhD in public and international affairs from Princeton University, she has a special place in her heart for wolverines and tigers. You can contact her at: laurel@laurelneme.com. You can visit Laurel's Simon and Schuster author site.

Learn more about Laurel Neme on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_Neme

Dr. Valerie C. Clark -  Scientific Advisory Board member of Nature Walks Conservation Society was Educated at Columbia University (2004), Cornell University (2007) and Queen's University at Belfast and received her PH.D. in 2011. Valerie has been leading National Geographic-funded expeditions for years, to study the eating habits and secretions of frogs and salamanders. She has appeared in National Geographic Magazine (November 2008), Wild Chronicles, NG TV Dangerous Encounters, NG Weekend, several NG News pieces, and contributes posts to NG Blog WILD: http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/blogwild/contributors/valerie-clark-biologist/ Her research and forest expeditions to study toxins in frog secretions have been covered in New York Times, on NPR shows, and much more, as seen at:http://www.frogchemistry.com/Press.htm. Her work has illuminated the need to protect the health and integrety of wild places and the biodiversity that live there while demonstrating the incredible myriad of amphibious species in remote locations around the world. Her dedicated work on the toxic secretions of many of those species could lead to the discovery of pharmaceuticals used to treat heart disease and pain. She leads the charge for the scientific understanding of toxic frogs and her dedication to the feild is simply awe inspiring. 

Websites   
http://www.frogchemistry.com/
http://twitter.com/valeriecclark
http://twitter.com/frogcaller
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frogcaller/
http://www.frogcaller.com/


Dr Jonathon Way -  Scientific Advisory Board member of Nature Walks Conservation Society

Jonathan G. (Jon) Way, Ph.D. received his B.S. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (1997), M.S. from the University of Connecticut at Storrs (2000), and Ph.D. from Boston College (2005). His research comprised four studies: free ranging studies on Cape Cod and in Boston, a captive study, and an educational component where he assessed student learning of a coyote-based curriculum. He hand-reared a wild-born litter of eastern coyote pups (born on Cape Cod) in order to conduct a behavioral and morphological study. His main interest concerns the study of predators inhabiting urbanized ecosystems. He is author of “Suburban Howls” a fantastic and insightful book about the amazing Coywolves that make their home in a suburban environment. Dr Way’s dedicated scientific research has raised the knowledge and overall public awareness which  as a result helps us coexist with this apex canine predator. More information on these coyote projects, including being able to purchase his book Suburban Howls, can be found by visiting his homepage: http://www.EasternCoyoteResearch.com.