Tim Shields at TEDxBerkeley 2014: "Rethink. Redefine. Recreate." His talk is titled "Playing for Keeps."

Seeking out the desert tortoises which have charmed him for three decades, desert biologist Tim Shields has walked a number of miles equivalent to circumnavigating the Earth. Over thousands of days' careful observation he has helped unlock secrets of tortoise biology which will lead directly to the preservation of this bellwether species. Shields is an integral member of the scientific team that documented the tortoise's decline and whose work led to its listing as a threatened species.

Frustrated by the mental roadblocks humans set for themselves, and looking for efficacious new means to help desert species thrive, Tim has stepped outside ordinary thought patterns about conservation. He is now engaging the brightest minds available in engineering, education, business, Earth systems and games. His company, Hardshell Labs, is developing novel combinations of emergent technologies to provide solutions to a simple but critical problem: how to make conservation not only meaningful but fun, thus attracting many more active participants.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)