Project Team
Dr. David Ainley, Science Director
Dr. Ainley has been studying Ross Sea ecology for over 30 years, and was one of the first scientists to push for Ross Sea conservation measures. He started working with FORSE in 2001, and then with John Weller on The Last Ocean in 2004.
David is internationally recognized for his extensive research experience in the community ecology and trophodynamics of top-trophic marine predators: birds, mammals and sharks. Dr. Ainley has published nearly 175 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, as well as four books and seven monographs. He has created and managed a number of projects. Among those he has led or co-led include 1) a multiyear effort to rehabilitate habitat on the Farallon Island National Wildlife Refuge, California, and to restore several diminished or extirpated populations of marine birds and mammals; 2) a multi-year effort to investigate the marginal ice zone in the Southern Ocean; 3) a long-term investigation of the demography, and response to climate change, of Ross Sea penguin populations; 4) production of an award-wining documentary film “Return to Penguin City”; 5) studies to evaluate effects of power lines and other structures on endangered seabirds in Hawaii; 6) assessments of impacts to marine birds and mammals from oil spills in California, Alaska and Antarctica; 7) multidisciplinary physical and biological investigations of the ecology of tropical marine communities; 8) studies on impacts to marine mammals from human use of estuarine habitats; and 9) efforts to evaluate the suitability of sites for deposition of dredged materials.
John Weller, Outreach Director
Photo by Mary Miller 2008
Weller started working on The Last Ocean with David Ainley in 2004. Since then he has worked full time on the project, wearing many different hats – strategist, grant writer, fundraiser, organizer, graphic designer, and finally, photographer. Weller was recently awarded a 2009 Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation, which will support further development of the project.
John is a nature photographer and writer based in Boulder, Colorado. He was trained in economics and philosophy at Stanford University, and has been photographing professionally since 1999. His work has been shown in prestigious museums and galleries, and is part of private and corporate collections across the world. He has had more than 20 one-man photography shows since 1999, and his work has been published in magazines including Outdoor Photographer, American Photo, Rangefinder Magazine, and National Geographic.
Weller’s highly acclaimed first book of photography and essays, Great Sand Dunes National Park: Between Light and Shadow, was published in 2004. Reviewers said, “With this moving, haunting, informative and beautiful book, John Weller has become not just the Ansel Adams, but also the Edward Abbey, of the Great Sand Dunes.” –Clay Evans, Boulder Daily Camera Book Review
Peter Young, Film and Trust Director
Young has been working on The Last Ocean documentary since 2006 and is spearheading the founding of The Last Ocean Charitable Trust in New Zealand.
Peter is one of New Zealand’s leading documentary filmmakers. As a producer who has also spent many years as a director of photography, he brings a wide range of experience to his work. He has a strong background in natural history, wildlife, and arts documentaries.
After attaining a Bachelor in Broadcast Communications at the NZ Broadcasting School, Peter began his professional career at Television New Zealand’s Natural History Unit, writing and directing wildlife films. With an interest in photography, he was drawn to the camera and, after working for four years in news and current affairs, established his own company, Fisheye Films, in 1997. He has been freelancing ever since.
As a freelancer Peter worked for most of the major players in the documentary field, including National Geographic, Discovery, and BBC and Television New Zealand. He has credits in over a hundred documentaries filmed in New Zealand and around the world and has won awards for both his camera and producing work.
Camera credits include the BBC’s ‘Blue Planet’ series, Discovery Channel’s ‘Chasing Giants – On the trail of the Giant Squid’ and TVNZ’s acclaimed series ‘Explorers’.
Recent work includes filming a feature documentary for TVNZ on the life of Sir Edmond Hillary, and producing a food and cultural series, Hunger for the Wild, which won Best Factual Series at the New Zealand Screen awards in 2007. Peter also won Best Camera (documentary) at the same event, an award he previously won in 2000, 2002 and 2005.