Wine, Sperm & Mangroves

Funky mangrove facts from an ecosystem living on the edge and how you can help keep the ’groves in their groove. Mangroves provide fish habitat, protect coasts, clean water, store carbon and support wildlife, but they’re under pressure from climate change and human impacts. The good news? Communities are stepping up, turning citizen science into action through MangroveWatch. Forget the swampy stereotype — learn how you can protect the mangroves that protect you.

Science gives us knowledge, and knowledge gives us freedom. Freedom to question inherited practice, to analyse convention critically and discard what doesn’t hold up. This talk explores how a research scientist’s mindset shaped winemaking at Lethbridge — where imagination precedes method and radical decisions are only radical until the science argues for them. The best winemaking decisions are never just conventional. They are curious.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Sperm and eggs are some of the most sensitive cells in the body, and they can act like tiny barometers of stress, responding rapidly to environmental change. Here, I will discuss why fertility is about more than making babies. What can sperm quality tell us about mortality? And are we ignoring one of the most accessible signals of future disease? I’ll share how we are using insights gained in my lab to rethink healthcare, predict disease risk, and even design sperm-targeted contraceptives.