Dr. Dino J. Martins is a Kenyan naturalist, writer and artist
An entomologist and evolutionary biologist, he is currently a Research Professor in Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook University and Chair of the Insect Committee of Nature Kenya, the East Africa Natural History Society. He served as the Director of the Turkana Basin Institute (2022-2025) and as the Executive Director of the Mpala Research Centre for seven years (2015-2022). He holds a PhD from Harvard University (2011), and a BA in Anthropology (with distinction) from Indiana University (1999).
Dr Martins’ seeks to share the wonder and diversity of nature, especially the hidden, beautiful details that are intrinsic to human life. Teaching people to see, understand and care about the details of the living world are central to his research and writing.
Communicating science and celebrating biodiversity is one of Dr Martins passions and he has authored the ‘Insects of East Africa’, ‘Butterflies of East Africa’ and ‘Our Friends the Pollinators: A Handbook of Pollinator Diversity and Conservation in East Africa’. This book has been downloaded over 10,000 times from the web and content accessed by millions of farmers through digital/social media platforms. He recently completed his third children’s book, ‘Raven & Rover’, published by Penguin Random House.
Amongst his awards and fellowships are the Ashford Fellowship in the Natural Sciences (Harvard University), a Smithsonian Institution SIWC – MRC Fellowship (2004), and the 2002 & 2003 Peter Jenkins Award for Excellence in African Environmental Journalism. He was named one of National Geographic’s ‘Emerging Explorers’ in 2011. Dr Martins was elected as a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London and an honorary life member of the Kenya Horticultural Society.
Dr Martins is the 2015 Whitley Gold Award winner for conservation: http://whitleyaward.org/winners/pollinators-and-people-in-kenya/
This is a grassroots global conservation prize. It was for improving the conservation and understanding of insects across East Africa.
His latest natural history book, ‘The Grasses of East Africa’ has been received with wide acclaim and highlights the beauty, diversity and essential nature of this important group of plants. Dr Martins is currently working on a natural history field guide to the ‘Bees of East Africa’ and two non-fiction books on nature, including one on bees.
