Samples of my work

Writing

My book Tickets for the Ark addresses the question “From wasps to whales, how do we choose what to save?”. It was published by Profile in 2022 and received positive reviews in publications such as New Scientist and The Observer.

My book Is That Fish In Your Tomato? looks at the fact and fiction of genetically modified foods (published by Oakham publishing 2017). It was praised for its balance and accessibility.

I have had freelance features published in magazines including BBC Wildlife, New Humanist, Fishing News and Adventure Travel. Here are some highlights available online:

I have led on the production of a variety of reports, for scientists, policymakers, sponsors and community groups. These reports share the results of the two projects I managed at the University of Plymouth:

Science Policy

My recent science policy work has included written and oral contributions for and the International Council for International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

  • Hickman J … Nesbit R … et al. (2025) Advisory Report for Recommended Offshore Wind Environmental Standards (OWES) for Floating Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5 in the Celtic Sea.
  • ICES (2025) Benchmark workshop on application of Stock Synthesis (SS3) on selected stocks (WKBSS3). ICES Scientific Reports. 7:25. https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.pub.28443992

I worked closely with the Royal Society of Biology’s policy team to produce position statements, media releases and briefings for MPs on topics such as genetic modification, animals in research and pesticides.

Marketing materials

Here’s an example of a flyer I created using InDesign, highlighting the value of the Fish Intel Network for sustainable fisheries and marine conservation: Fish Intel Network.

Media and speaking appearances

I have appeared on a wide variety of radio and television outlets, talking about ants, bees, butterflies and conservation ethics. Highlights include:

Rebecca Nesbit and George McGavin filming painted ladies

I give regular talks to teenagers and adults, usually focussed on conservation ethics, colonialism in conservation or science and art. Appearances have included: Edinburgh Science Festival, Hay Literature Festival, Education in Action, the British Ecological Society summer school, TEDx. 

Book reviews

I have reviewed over 35 books for The Biologist and The Niche. Highlights include:

Events

I have delivered a wide diversity of events, including:

  • a workshop bringing together policymakers with commercial and recreational fishers 
  • a debate at the Royal Institution about ‘should we save the panda?’ 
  • an event at St John’s Innovation Centre in Cambridge giving start-up companies their first contact with the media 

When working for Nobel Prize Outreach, I was responsible for Nobel Prize Inspiration Initiative events. I delivered events on four continents, bringing early-career scientists into contact with Nobel Prize laureates. This highlights video captures the excitement of an NPII event: 

I also contributed to Nobel Prize Dialogues and Nobel Week Dialogues. My roles in these events included management of Nobel Prize laureates, coordinating with the production director, leading on evaluation surveys, and contributing to sponsor reports. I managed to participation of young people in a pan-Asian event about the future we want to create. This cumulated with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kailash Satyarthi inviting two students to take a seat on stage with him.   

Videos

For over 10 years I have been working alongside production company Verri Media to create engaging and inspiring videos. A recent highlight is a video about the Pollack FISP. This shows us tagging fish off the Devon coast, and explains the vital partnership between scientists and the fishing community:

During my time at Nobel, I led a project to redesign our videos targeted at young scientists. Here is a sample of what I created with the support of the Nobel Prize video team:

Schools resources

I have created lesson plans for teachers wanting to introduce students to dilemmas surrounding wildlife conservation, including a classroom debate.

At Nobel Prize Outreach, I contributed to schools resources about critical thinking, which are being produced by Nobel Prize laureate Saul Perlmutter.

Training courses

I have developed and delivered a course on ‘Writing for a Non-Specialist Audience’, working alongside Tom Ireland (editor of The Biologist and author of The Good Virus). We have adapted this as an eLearning course, which is available through the Royal Society of Biology.

Scientific papers

Thomas Stamp, Rachel Mawer … Rebecca Nesbit … et al. (Under revisions) Enhancing post-release survival in recreational pollack (Pollachius pollachius) fisheries: Validating descending devices in a fishery under pressure

Jenny Hickman, Rebecca Nesbit et al. (In prep.) Anchoring in change: six steps towards ecosystem based management of floating wind farms

Adam Hart, Rebecca Nesbit, Anne Goodenough (2018) Spatiotemporal Variation in House Spider Phenology at a National Scale Using Citizen Science. Arachnology. DOI: 10.13156/arac.2017.17.7.331

Adam Hart, Thomas Hesselberg, Rebecca Nesbit, Anne Goodenough (2018) The spatial distribution and environmental triggers of ant mating flights: using citizen-science data to reveal national patterns. Ecography. DOI: 10.1111/ecog.03140

Keith Bensusan, Rebecca Nesbit et al. (2014) Species composition and dynamics in abundance of migrant and sedentary butterflies (Lepidoptera) at Gibraltar during the spring period. European Journal of Entomology.  

Jason Chapman, Rebecca Nesbit et al. (2010) Flight Orientation Behaviors Promote Optimal Migration Trajectories in High-Flying Insects. Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.1182990

Rebecca Nesbit et al. (2009) Seasonally adaptive migratory headings mediated by a sun compass in the painted lady butterfly, Vanessa cardui. Animal Behaviour. DOI: 10.1111/een.12952

Art

I create artworks with polymer clay, alcohol ink and mixed media. I have a particular passion for portraying science in art. These mixed media artworks depict my previous work at the University of Plymouth tracking marine animals using acoustic telemetry.