Our Mission
Storytelling for Nature Protection
We are a community of scientists, storytellers, journalists and filmmakers who are dedicated to the wild, and specifically the Great African Seaforest.
We advocate for the healing of our planet by connecting people to nature through our science-based immersive storytelling.
“I need no convincing that an ecosystem such as this is of inestimable value & must be protected.”
Our Projects
Inspired by Nature
Supported by Science
Guided by Indigenous Wisdom
All our work is based on our connection to the Great African Seaforest. This underwater forest is a deep source of inspiration for our minds, souls and hearts. By sharing these experiences with the world, we hope to inspire a global movement of nature connection and more stories about the intrinsic relationship between humans and the living planet.
Films
World-class films are an integral part of our content. We tell immersive, personal stories about people and nature, to a global audience. Our films include the Netflix Original My Octopus Teacher; Older than Trees – a film about the future of sharks and rays, and we are developing a feature documentary on a very special pangolin.
Books
Our Sea Change book has been republished as Underwater Wild, and we released a children’s book, A Journey Under the Sea. Craig Foster’s new book Amphibious Soul about “Finding the wild in a tame world,” based on his own ‘rewilding,’ is available to purchase.
Exhibitions
Sea Change Project collaborates on multimedia exhibitions that convey the story of our interconnectedness with the natural world. Showcasing the latest research on the origins of Homo sapiens while raising awareness for the Great African Seaforest and kelp forests worldwide. Visit the Origins exhibit in Cape Town and De Hoop Nature Reserve.
Education
Having a connection to nature is everyone’s birthright. It is often said we must leave a better planet to our future children but we need to also leave better children to become custodians of this living world and for that we need nature education. We are committed to sharing our love and knowledge of the Great African Seaforest, and nature as a whole, with as many people as we can reach to inspire a sea-change.
Science
Science guides all our work at Sea Change. We conduct biodiversity research and collaborate with academic institutions to uncover the secrets of the Great African Seaforest. Through our 1001 Seaforest Species project, you’ll encounter the extraordinary creatures of this underwater ecosystem and discover their remarkable stories. This project blends science, underwater tracking, and storytelling to illuminate the hidden world of the Seaforest.
Podcasts
Our podcast series Back to the Water, hosted by Zolani Mahola and Pippa Ehrlich, asks what it means to be disconnected from nature and one’s culture – and what happens when you reconnect. The first episode of Back to the Water, “More Than One Octopus” premiered at Tribeca Festival, winning in its category, and available on all podcast platforms.
PATRON & AMBASSADOR
Zolani Mahola
Vocalist, Actress & Nature Activist
Yo-Yo Ma
Cellist
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Protect the Great African Seaforest
Kelp forests are highly productive near-shore marine ecosystems. They are biodiversity hotspots, sequester carbon, release oxygen and slow coastal erosion. They are found on 28% of our world’s coastlines and are one of the most vulnerable marine ecosystems to the climate emergency.
Our first goal was to make the Great African Seaforest a global icon and bring attention to the world’s kelp forests. With your help and support following the success of My Octopus Teacher, we achieved this.
In this time of environmental upheaval and biodiversity loss, we need to keep ensuring the long-term protection of the Great African Seaforest. You can help by continuing to support our work in reminding people of their intrinsic connection with nature.
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We believe that the best thing we can do to protect the Great African Seaforest, and kelp forests globally, is to share their stories.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Protect & Take Action
Lack of knowledge and awareness, and our human impact on this planet, are at the root of all threats to the Great African Seaforest and our global kelp forests. We are in the ocean every day, learning the secrets of the seaforest and finding stories that inspire people to reconnect with nature.
We hope our stories, knowledge and love of this environment can remind us that we are part of the natural world and motivate action that allows the living planet to thrive and regenerate itself.
To help us ensure the long-term protection of the Great African Seaforest and to raise awareness for kelp forests globally, please watch, donate and share.
Social
Any guesses as to what this might be? A pretty piece of blown-glass art? A tangle of avant garde spaghetti? It’s actually a macro image of a Portuguese man-of-war – also known as a bluebottle. These siphonophores can pack a mean punch if they come into contact with human skin, but aren’t they indeed beautiful up close!
Picture: @helen_walne
#seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #capetown #capetownsouthafrica #freedive #ocean #nature #natureconnection #bluebottle #portuguesemanofwar
As we head into 2025, we wish everyone a happy, healthy and fruitful year ahead wherever you are on this magnificent planet we call home.
Photo @helen_walne
#seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #capetown #capetownsouthafrica #freedive #ocean #nature #natureconnection #kelpforest #newyear #2025 #newyear2025 #happynewyear
#0003 – KELP CRAB (𝑃𝑖𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑠 𝑟𝑢𝑏𝑢𝑠)
The Kelp crab’s stocky body is a mottled mosaic of earthy colours, textured with ridges and knobs, as if adorned with the rose and amethyst-coloured coralline algae that spot the seafloor. Its camouflage mirrors its habitat so effectively that it seems to vanish into its surroundings. When nestled among the stones, mussels, ochre sponges and kelp holdfasts, you’d be forgiven for thinking the kelp crab were a piece of the sea floor itself. This is the art of adaptation.
Photo @jannes_landschoff
#1001species #1001seaforestspecies #seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #capetown #kelpcrab #capetownsouthafrica #freedive #ocean #saveourseasfoundation
Featherduster worms come in an astonishing range of colours – from orange and yellow to red, white and pink. And as soon as you approach them, schoop! They retract their food-snagging tentacles into their tube and wait until the coast is clear. Which colour is your favourite?
Pictures: @helen_walne
#seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #capetown #capetownsouthafrica #freedive #ocean #nature #natureconnection #kelp #featherdusterworm
Losing ourselves in nature is exactly that: shedding the sense of self that keeps us separate from the natural world. The modern world often encourages individualism and disconnection, but what if we resist that? What if we realise the interconnectedness of everything – human and more-than-human? How powerful we would be to effect the change the world so urgently needs.
Picture: helen_walne
#seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #capetown #capetownsouthafrica #freedive #ocean #nature #natureconnection #climatecrisis #rememberyouarewild
#wildnaturelife #wildlifeplanet
The ocean is such a dynamic place: churning, resting, swirling, lapping, rising, falling, twinkling, brooding. And this wild fluidity often brings weird and wonderful creatures inshore – much to the delight of all who see them.
Photo @helen_walne
#seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #capetown #capetownsouthafrica #freedive #ocean #nature #natureconnection #kelp #combjelly #underwaterwild #wildlifeplanet
#0002 – EQUITAILED BRITTLESTAR (𝐴𝑚𝑝ℎ𝑖𝑢𝑟𝑎 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑠)
Many marine species, like corals, fish, and sea stars, rely on broadcast spawning to reproduce – releasing their eggs and sperm into the water, where fertilisation happens externally and the young must fend for themselves. The Equitailed brittlestar, however, takes a more nurturing approach. Instead of letting the eggs drift away with the current, Equitailed brittlestars carefully brood them in a protective chamber, keeping them safe for months until the young are ready to survive the world on their own. The tiny babies, just a few millimetre in size, first stick their arms out of the brood-pouch, and then get born as fully developed miniature versions of their parents.
#1001species #1001seaforestspecies #seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #capetown #equitailedbrittlestar #brittlestar #capetownsouthafrica #freedive #ocean #saveourseasfoundation
Just a 10-minute swim from shore opens up a world of kelp-filled wonder, its colours mirroring Cape Town’s Twelve Apostles mountain range.
Picture: helen_walne
#seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #capetown #capetownsouthafrica #freedive #ocean #nature #natureconnection #twelveapostles
This is a capture of a short-tail stingray performing a rarely observed act. While it’s not the best quality, the image shows the ray everting its intestines – essentially, turning them inside out. Scientists believe rays do this to get rid of indigestible food and give their intestines a clean. It’s kind of like an undersea colonic irrigation!
Picture: helen_walne
#seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #capetown #capetownsouthafrica #freedive #ocean #nature #natureconnection #shorttailstingray #intestineeversion
Nature connection is one of the most profound ways to fling open our heart gates, unclench our self-grasping, and realise ourselves as part of a large and magnificent ecosystem.
Picture: helen_walne
#seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #capetown #capetownsouthafrica #freedive #ocean #nature #natureconnection
#0001 – OCTOPUS (𝙊𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙥𝙪𝙨 𝙫𝙪𝙡𝙜𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙨)
We`ve got closer to – and learnt more from – the octopus than any other seaforest creature. This extraordinary animal sits at the heart of our map of the seaforest ecosystem, its complex behaviour connecting it to nearly every other species.
Deeply intelligent, curious and inventive, we’ve seen the octopus hunt up to 100 different species of prey while skilfully evading predators like sharks and seals. Masters of camouflage, they change colour and shapeshift in the blink of an eye to blend seamlessly into their surroundings. These natural puzzle solvers make clever use of objects in their environment to build shelter and defend their soft bodies.
The octopus continues to inspire countless discoveries that unveil the hidden wonders of the seaforest – a world we are learning more about every day.
Photo - Craig Foster
#1001species #1001seaforestspecies #seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #capetown #capetownsouthafrica #freedive #ocean #myoctopusteacher #motivational
‘My fingers were turning into claws from the cold, and I was starting to fantasise about a hot cup of tea. We waded back to shore, shivering – not just from the cold water but from the familiar rush of wild ecstasy, a feeling rooted in our own wildness and an unexplainable, deeper sense of belonging.’ Read Jannes’s blog about the secret lives of some of the creatures included in the 1001 Seaforest Species project, a collaboration with @saveourseas. Link in bio.
Photo @the_rewilding
#1001species #1001seaforestspecies #seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #capetown #capetownsouthafrica #freedive #ocean
