Frankie Smith

Frankie is a conservation researcher with a background in Cetology. He has a BSc in Applied Zoology & Conservation from Plymouth University, a MSc in Conservation Biology from Manchester Metropolitan University and a PGCE from Bolton University. Frankie has contributed towards research from a number of organisations from SeaWatch Foundation, Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme, Cornwall Seal Group and MMU’s Molecular Ecology research group, focusing on marine mammals whenever there has been scope to do so.

He has experience in education & curriculum development, having lectured for 5 years & loves being able to nerd out about the wildlife conservation across all taxa. He is particularly interested in conservation genetics & eDNA, looking into how molecular techniques can inform conservation programmes and shed light on evolutionary processes and population dynamics.

Frankie had his first Opwall experience in Honduras, seeing his dissertation’s focus species in it’s natural habitat & then soaking up every minute of the reef diving, a far cry from the Cornish quarries where he learned to dive.