One Ocean 2026: What the Wild Sea Can Be with Helen Scales

About the Speaker

Dr Helen Scales is a marine biologist, writer and broadcaster. She writes about the ocean’s living wonders for readers of all ages. Her books have been adapted for stage and screen, and translated into 17 languages. They include the Guardian bestseller Spirals in Time and What the Wild Sea Can Be which was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction and the Wainwright Prize for Conservation Writing and longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. Her children’s books include the global bestseller What a Shell Can Tell and Scientists in the Wild, Antarctica which was shortlisted for the Children’s Travel Book of the Year and The Week Junior Children’s STEM Book of the Year. She writes regularly for the Guardian and National Geographic and teaches at Cambridge University. Helen divides her time between Cambridge, England, and the wild Atlantic coast of France. 

Find Helen on Instagram @drhelenscales and Blue Sky 

One Ocean 2026 is a weekend of free talks, workshops and screenings on art, adaptation and the future of our oceans. Supported by the UK National Commission for UNESCO, Turner Contemporary presents a rich public programme of talks, documentary and artist film screenings, workshops and community activities. Through art, science and storytelling, One Ocean translates complex environmental issues into accessible, action-driven experiences.