Richard’s ORCA journey began with a chance encounter back in 2010, a moment which he says would shape the next decade and a half of his life. After meeting an ORCA member who mentioned the charity was looking for volunteers, he sent in a speculative CV. The very next day, a ten‑minute phone interview set him on a path he describes as “a deeply fulfilling chapter of my life.”
Just a week later, Richard stepped aboard Brittany Ferries’ Cap Finistère as a volunteer Wildlife Officer. “At the time, ORCA was a very small charity: four seasonal volunteers and a single paid member of staff overseeing everything. Yet what it lacked in size, it more than made up for in passion. My role was exhilarating — meeting members of the public, running deck watches, and delivering talks about whales and dolphins. I regularly spoke to audiences of over 100 people, and nothing compared to seeing their expressions of awe when a large whale surfaced beside the ship.”
Growing with ORCA
Richard went on to say:
“From the very start, ORCA felt like a family. Everyone I met shared big hearts and a shared mission. When the summer season ended, I wasn’t ready to step away. Instead, I volunteered to bring together ORCA’s distance‑sampling data, which at that time was scattered across multiple personal computers. Around then, Sally Hamilton joined as Director, a pivotal moment for ORCA. Her ambition and leadership would go on to transform the organisation.
Richard’s second season saw him join DFDS as Senior Wildlife Officer, spending another six months at sea in the North Sea.
“I immersed myself in the science, the data, and the protocols, determined to contribute wherever I could. Under Sally’s leadership, ORCA secured £100,000 in funding for a groundbreaking project examining ship strike impacts on large whales, an area that was largely unexplored at the time. I was incredibly fortunate to lead this project, supported by Dr David Smith. That work became the foundation of one of ORCA’s four core programme pillars that still guides the charity today.”
A trustee shaping ORCA’s future
Although Richard later moved to Sheffield and pursued a new professional path, his connection to ORCA never faded. In 2013, he was invited to join the Trustee Board as a Science Trustee, a role he still holds today.
“Watching the organisation grow since then has been extraordinary, evolving from a passionate group focused on citizen science sightings into a multi‑faceted charity with global reach, influencing policy, publishing annual State of Cetaceans reports, and leading on education and science.”
He says one of the highlights of his career came in 2023, when he travelled to Antarctica with ORCA, collecting data around the Falklands, South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula, work that contributes to protecting whales in one of the planet’s most important marine ecosystems.
“I remain constantly amazed by what ORCA achieves with such a small, dedicated team. Being part of this organisation, driven by passionate, committed people, fills me with immense pride. It still brings a tear to my eye to know I’ve played a small part in such an extraordinary journey.”
For 25 years, ORCA has been powered by ordinary people collecting extraordinary data, people like Richard, whose passion and commitment have helped shape the charity into one of Europe’s leading marine conservation organisations. The entire ORCA team wishes to extend its heartfelt gratitude to Richard for his dedication and for everything he has given to ORCA, our community, and the whales and dolphins we work so hard to protect.
As we celebrate ORCA@25, we honour the volunteers, surveyors, trustees and citizen scientists who made this journey possible, and we invite the next generation to join them.
Join Richard and the rest of ORCA's community of conservation heros by learning the skills to identify and protect whales and dolphins for free.