Fellowship is reserved for those who have distinguished themselves by directly contributing to scientific knowledge in the field of geographical exploration or allied sciences.
Cooke says he’s excited to have been named a fellow.
“I’m not somebody who is going to the deepest depths of the ocean or climbing the world’s largest mountains. This is about exploring freshwater and doing so in terms of trying to understand it, to better manage it and protect it,” says Cooke.
“There are different kinds of fellows recognized for different reasons and mine is definitely more for the scientific contributions around understanding freshwater ecosystems.
“It’s exciting because it really is quite a diverse group of folks, including some really interesting explorers, innovators and changemakers. I think that’s what I like about it the most. To share stories about human nature interactions and trying to get the broader public interested.”