Chris Packham at WhaleFest?

The WhaleFest team are currently discussing the involvement of TV presenter Chris Packham as a keynote speaker at WhaleFest 2011. Wildlife celebrity and dedicated conservationist, Chris is passionate about whales, dolphins and seabirds, and works on behalf of wildlife charities including the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society and ORCA. Currently filming for the BBC’s Springwatch, Chris is unable to commit to WhaleFest until he knows the schedule for the follow-on series, Autumnwatch.

Said WhaleFest organiser, Dylan Walker: “We hope to be able to make an announcement soon. Chris is a fantastic ambassador for wildlife and conservation, and a very entertaining and engaging presenter. He will also, I am sure, love some of the crazy plans we have for WhaleFest!”

Media partnership with Bird Watching Magazine announced

The WhaleFest team would like to thank Bird Watching Magazine for agreeing to help us to promote the festival to the wildlife and bird watching fans across the UK. We are proud to be associated with Bird Watching - Britain's best selling bird watching magazine, which will be highlighting our event in forthcoming issues and on its website. To discover more about Bird Watching visit the Bird Watching stand at WhaleFest.

ORCA announce AGM fringe event at WhaleFest!

We are pleased to announce that ORCA, one of the UK's leading whale and dolphin conservation charities, and its celebrated AGM, one of the largest of its kind in the UK, will now be part of WhaleFest!

ORCA is a marine conservation charity dedicated to forging links between people and the sea. ORCA is committed to the study of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) and promoting their conservation through enthusing, inspiring and educating others.

ORCA will be hosting its fringe event in the Talk Talk Chamber on Sunday 6th November, with invited speakers including BBC TV presenter and cetacean expert Mark Carwardine! We would like to welcome all ORCA members to WhaleFest - we are sure you are going to love it!

DFDS Seaways announced as WhaleFest co-sponsors

WhaleFest is proud to announce that North Sea ferry company DFDS Seaways will be co-sponsoring the event in 2011. Said Planet Whale co-founder Ian Rowlands: "We are absolutely delighted to have the support of DFDS Seaways as we organise Europe's first WhaleFest. Ian added: "DFDS Seaways are undoubtedly one of the most ethical commercial operators we know, ploughing significant resources into public education about the importance of conserving the marine environment." 

DFDS Seaways work in partnership with a number of marine wildlife educators, including ORCA and School of Whales, to provide passengers travelling between Newcastle and Amsterdam, and from Harwich to Esbjerg, with fantastic opportunities to view wildlife and learn more about what we can all do to save our seas.  

WhaleFest to reach thousands more people with RSVPR

It seems like every day the WhaleFest team make a a new breakthrough, but few are likely to be as important as this one. As we lift the anchor and set sail on our mission to make WhaleFest the unmissable event of 2011, we welcome a new crew member to the bridge! Stephanie St James, Founder and Creative Director of RSVPR, will be running our marketing campaign throughout the summer, as well as advising us on event management. Stephanie brings with her a wealth of experience and boundless enthusiasm - two qualities that we hold dear at Planet Whale. If you have any questions relateding to marketing and promotion, please contact Stephanie on 07976 973951 or email stephanie@rsvpr.net

Stephanie is a PR Officer and has over 20 years experience in media marketing and PR. She has spent much of her career in the broadcasting arena, serving high-profile individuals and marketing departments of major television and recording companies. Stephanie was with the BBC for many years before joining Channel 4 television where she joined the marketing team and launched independent film and programme sales. Her next appointment was with the marketing and press departments of Phonogram and Sony where she proved her skills in relationship-building, communications and event management. Now, as Creative Director of RSVPR, Stephanie has built a specialist team of experts with an exceptional track record for delivering exemplary PR and events.

WhaleFest welcomes BBC Presenter Mark Carwardine

WhaleFest is delighted to announce that Mark Carwardine, one of the world's most celebrated whale and dolphin experts, will be joining us at the event. Mark, who is a patron of cetacean charity ORCA, has been invited to speak about his favourite whale watching destination - Baja California, in the Talk Talk Chamber on Sunday afternoon.

Mark Carwardine is a zoologist, an active and outspoken conservationist, an award-winning writer, a TV and radio presenter, a widely published wildlife photographer, a magazine columnist and a conservation consultant. Mark has a special interest in marine wildlife and has written a number of ground-breaking books about whales and dolphins.

Recently, Mark co-presented the six-part BBC2 television series Last Chance to See, with Stephen Fry, in which the unlikely duo travelled the world in search of endangered species (following in the footsteps of a similar journey Mark made with Douglas Adams 20 years before). He also co-presented The Museum of Life (BBC2, spring 2010), Last Chance to See: Return of the Rhino (BBC2, October 2010), with Stephen Fry, and Stephen Fry and the Great American Oil Spill (BBC2, November 2010). Mark presented, too, the weekly half-hour radio programme Nature, on BBC Radio 4, for many years.

He has written more than 50 books (including several bestsellers) and hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles, and has been writing a provocative monthly column in BBC Wildlife magazine since January 2004.