September 18, 2026
Naturalist and conservationist Jeff Corwin urged 91福利 students and community members to build a deeper connection with nature during the college鈥檚 Lyceum Lecture on Tuesday, September 15. Before the public presentation at the Brownstone Center for the Arts on the Poplarville Campus, students in the Dr. William Lewis Honors Institute met with Corwin in White Hall for a more intimate discussion of his career, commercial fishing and conservation.
The Honors Institute Lyceum Lecture Series features speakers who engage, challenge, provoke, and change lives. The series is made possible through sponsorship from the Lower Pearl River Valley Foundation.
鈥淢r. Corwin has dedicated his career to educating and inspiring people of all ages about wildlife, conservation, and the importance of protecting our natural world,鈥� said Dr. Jennifer Seal, Vice President for Planning and Accreditation/Dean of Honors Institute. 鈥淗e used his time on campus to encourage students to learn how to accept rejection and to repurpose it as motivation.
鈥淪everal students shared they learned that 鈥榯here is no perfect solution to protecting nature and animals, but there are little things we can do every day to help make a difference.鈥� We are thankful for the generous sponsorship of the Lower Pearl River Valley Foundation, which makes a quality Lyceum Lecture Series possible.鈥�
Honors Institute Question and Answer Session
Dozens of honors students from the Forrest County and Poplarville Campuses gathered in the Honors Institute Library for a more personal experience with Corwin. He gave a brief overview of his career and his current endeavors, including commercial fishing, before launching into the Q&A.
Questions from the students ranged from why he pursued documentary work instead of a research lab to the requirements for becoming a commercial fisherman. Most of the questions centered on conservation and his take on different aspects of what is happening now and what people should be doing.
鈥淚’m more focused on North American stories because I believe you can’t protect what you do not cherish, and you will not cherish it if you don’t appreciate it and know it,鈥� said Corwin. 鈥淚f you look at what we’re doing today to our legacy of natural resources unprecedentedly through deregulation and through the defanging of our policies for protecting endangered species, I believe that’s not just about politics. I believe it’s about people losing their connection and relationship to natural resources.鈥�
Aimee Green from Purvis is a freshman in the Honors Institute on the Forrest County Campus. She asked for his thoughts on a problem common to many small towns in Mississippi: feral and outdoor cats. First, Corwin defined the difference between a truly feral cat and one that owners allow or keep outdoors. He emphasized how destructive both can be to the environment, stating that the average feral or outdoor cat kills upwards of 40,000 songbirds in its lifetime. The impact of cats freely roaming the outdoors tied into his promotion of backyard conservation, with each person doing what they can in the local community.
鈥淚 really enjoyed meeting Jeff Corwin and hearing him speak about his work and the success he has achieved throughout his career,鈥� said Green. 鈥淗e was incredibly informative while also bringing a great deal of humor to his presentation, which made it both engaging and enjoyable. I thought he was a fantastic speaker, and I would definitely encourage others to attend future lectures.鈥�
James Lee from Sandy Hook is a freshman in the Honors Institute on the Poplarville Campus. He is completing general education classes at PRCC with the ultimate goal of becoming a physician. Lee asked Corwin what he considers the most important skill for someone to master. Corwin replied with four vital skills: open-mindedness, communication, curiosity, and professional excellence.
鈥淏e curious,鈥� said Corwin. 鈥淏e the best at what you can be. Be a great communicator and have an open mind when it comes to engaging people that are like you. You will be better for it.鈥�
Lee enjoyed the evening and now looks forward to the next Lyceum Lecture speaker.
鈥淭he way he articulated himself was very nice to hear,鈥� said Lee. 鈥淚t was good to hear from somebody who has a track record of success. The skills he specifically told me about were very beneficial, and it was nice to see his passion and energy.鈥�
Main Presentation
At the Brownstone Center for the Arts that evening, Dr. Seal introduced Corwin before the audience watched a video compiling footage from his nearly 40 years of broadcast experience. Conservation was the overarching theme of the video, permeating his presentation and the series of questions from audience members.
Recognizing that his passion for nature and conservation began at an early age, Corwin took the audience back to his childhood when he met Gladys, a garter snake he discovered in his grandparents鈥� backyard. By observing Gladys, Corwin learned about predation, defense, shedding, and reproduction until she met her end from a neighbor鈥檚 spade.
鈥淭he day I found that snake was the day I became, because of Gladys, a naturalist,鈥� said Corwin. 鈥淭he day I saw this unnecessary event happen was the day I became a conservationist at the ripe old age of eight, realizing that good people make bad decisions when they lack information. And Gladys was very much the gateway for me to begin my journey as a naturalist.
“And then I find myself here today with you after having this incredible journey traveling around the world telling the stories of nature, now going on my 15th television series.鈥�
Stories of great apes, leeches, elephants, and more animals peppered his presentation as he relayed his experiences both in front of and behind the camera since 1997. He then connected those experiences to the importance of animals and habitats for humanity, particularly when thinking about his daughters.
While Corwin comforted his infant daughter, Maya, one night, she reached up and grabbed his hair, twisting it to create a lock. This action precipitated a flashback to his time with Raji, a juvenile elephant he had comforted to sleep more than a decade earlier at the Daphne Sheldrick Wildlife Orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya. Raji had used his trunk to twist Corwin鈥檚 hair as a comforting mechanism.
鈥淭hat moment with Maya sobered me to the core to realize that my mission as a conservationist was about saving something even more important, which was my children,鈥� said Corwin. 鈥淏ecause as human beings, we depend upon nature being healthy and robust.鈥�
Corwin ended his presentation with a call to encourage the next generation to appreciate and value nature and to protect habitats.
鈥淚n the end, we cannot protect what we do not love, and you’ll never love it if you do not know it,鈥� said Corwin. 鈥淪o your great responsibility is to take a young person in your life and make that connection, build that relationship.
鈥淲e are hardwired to explore and discover, and if you can take your children outside and have them connect with nature in a meaningful way and in all the opportunities one could, not only are you investing in a better, healthier planet, you’re investing in your children. It teaches them independence and resourcefulness. It teaches them compassion, and it allows them to exercise their natural stewardship and scientific muscles. And in the end, you’re protecting wildlife for the next generation.鈥�
Dozens of hands went up when Corwin called for questions. Several families with children of all ages were in attendance, including the Gauthier family from Picayune. Nicodemus, the middle son, is a nature enthusiast. This spring, the homeschooled student made it to the finals for the Junior Ranger contest, for which Corwin is an ambassador.
鈥淚 mostly like fish,鈥� said Gauthier. 鈥淚 know a lot of fish. We鈥檝e gone fishing a few times and I caught a fish. The last time we were on our boat, we didn’t really catch any fish. It was nice to be out there, though.鈥�
About Jeff Corwin
Corwin has been telling stories of wildlife and nature to a global audience through his many celebrated television series on ABC, NBC, Travel Channel, CNN, Food Network, Disney Channel, and Discovery Networks. Jeff is currently the creator, executive producer, and presenter of the groundbreaking television series, Wildlife Nation, debuted as the top-rated TV program on ABC. His newest series, Southern Wild, partners with Lees-McRae College in North Carolina and launches on ABC on October 3, 2026.
Jeff’s television work has earned multiple Emmys and top broadcast industry awards. Jeff’s acclaimed NBC documentary and book, One Hundred Heartbeats, engaged both the readers and broadcast audience on the twenty-first-century plight of endangered species. Jeff is also the author of ten books on wildlife and nature, including Living on the Edge, Amazing Relationships in the Natural World. When Jeff is not exploring the world, we can find him at his island home off Cape Cod, where he exercises his maritime muscles as a passionate commercial fisherman.
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Article and photography by Laura O’Neill.
