Taken while I was working at Helastel
Name: James Greenhalgh
Nickname
Treacle, Jazzy, Jimmy G, Greenie
Where are you from / Where do you call home?
Bristol, UK
What are you best known for?
Probably for being slightly overenthusiastic and for over-investing in shiny (usually diving!) equipment.
What’s your background?
A shoulder injury at Sandhurst (now fully resolved) ended my Army career before it had the chance to really get started. I went on to read B.Sc. Information Technology Management for Business (ITMB) at UWE in Bristol; this lead to software engineering roles with UWE Students’ Union and Intel ultimately to commercial agency work consulting with customers including RSA Insurance, the RNLI, and MapMyHealth. In my spare time, I took on web development projects supporting Clifton Sub-Aqua Club (CSAC) and Oceans Fest UK.
What inspired you to get into marine conservation?
Diving allowed me to witness the serious challenges faced by our planet and I was introduced to the marine conservation world through Biology and Zoology friends in the University of Bristol Underwater Club (UBUC). Spending time with them made me realise my skills and experience could be useful to the sector. This combination inspired me to start researching new third sector opportunities.
Diving Skomer island with friends from the University of Bristol Underwater Club (UBUC) - missing you all!
What brought you to Reef-World & why do you care about the work we do?
While researching conservation jobs I tried to meet as many people as possible for advice. JJ, one of Reef-World’s Directors, kindly agreed to meet me for a coffee and we not only had a good conversation but he followed up with a helpful summary email including links to resources and organisations we had spoken about. Six months later I saw the role advertised and didn’t hesitate to apply. The Digital Strategy Manager role is essentially my dream job: bringing together technology strategy and programme delivery for a charity working to minimise the environmental impact of my primary sport. I want to help ensure people experience the beauty of coral reefs and the underwater world while causing the minimum impact possible so this precious resource is preserved.
What’s your role at Reef-World and what does that look like?
Training Green Fins assessors and coordinators for the Batangas region
My time is split 50/50 between technology and supporting the delivery of the Green Fins initiative, which Reef-World manages internationally in partnership with the UN Environment Programme. In practice, I'm responsible for shaping the charity’s digital strategy, managing the development of new online tools, and working with local and national governments to train assessors and encourage adoption of the programme.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
I love the travel aspect, being able to visit the places and see the direct impact that our work has for local stakeholders.
What one piece of advice would you give to someone wanting to get into the marine conservation sector?
You don’t have to have a marine biology background to foster a successful marine conservation career – the sector needs a broad range of skills and private sector experience is prized in the third sector. Think about how your skills and experience could be best applied to solving conservation challenges. Also don’t be afraid of failure; unless you are David Attenborough, it will likely take a few applications before you land your dream job!
Outside work, what are your hobbies/favourite pastimes?
Skiing, scuba, freediving, mountain hiking, swimming, reading, podcasts.
What’s your favourite marine animal and why?
Octopus - they can be so grumpy!
What marine animal are you most like and why?
Seal – see ‘What are you best known for’ 😂
When and where did you qualify as a diver? What made you want to try scuba?
In 2012, Bristol University Officer Training Corps (BUOTC) ran an Adventurous Training expedition to Gozo in the Mediterranean Sea; I had never considered diving before the trip was advertised! 16 dives later as a freshly minted BSAC Ocean Diver I was hooked and have continued training and diving in evenings and weekends (mostly UK quarries and sea diving punctuated with holidays abroad) ever since.
Gloves are ok when cold water diving in the UK … brrrrr
Hard boat diving off the Isle of Mull
Tell us about your most memorable dive…
I did my 100th dive in Gozo where it all started. Inland Sea to Blue Hole is a memorable dive in and of itself… even more so without any thermal protection!
& one diving destination still on your bucket list?
Raja Ampat, Raja Ampat, Raja Ampat!
Star sign and how you express it:
Gemini - I need varied and challenging work to stay motivated. Fortunately, there is plenty of that at Reef-World!
If you could have one superpower, what would you choose and why?
The ability to pause time - means you can lie-in guilt free and never have to worry about deadlines again!