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
All of our work is informed by science. We document marine biology, conduct our own biodiversity research, and collaborate with academic institutions to discover the secrets of the Great African Seaforest. Visit some of the Seaforest’s creatures and be enchanted by their stories, from our multifaceted project 1001 Seaforest Species. The 1001 project links science, underwater tracking, and storytelling and represents everything we do at Sea Change.
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
Ambassador
Vocalist, Actress & Nature Activist
Yo-Yo Ma
Patron
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.
Featured in
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
Fumbling with her new camera while trying to figure out its settings, Helen Walne came across this small, seemingly relaxed, juvenile chokka squid scudding along the surface of the sea. The iridescence of its skin was so entrancing. Somehow, Helen managed to press the shutter button at just the right moment before the little mollusc zoomed off into the seaforest.
Picture: @helen_walne
#rememberyouarewild #natureconnection #seachangeproject #wildlanguage #motherofmothers #mothernature #motherearth #motherafrica #thegreatafricanseaforest #oceanstory #storytelling #rewilding #OceanConservation #ProtectWildlife #WildlifeProtection #EndangeredSpecies #MarineLife #CleanSeas #PlasticFree #SustainableLiving #ClimateAction #EcoFriendly #NaturePhotography #ConservationEfforts #ProtectBiodiversity #WildlifePhotography #StopExtinction
Hope as a verb is such a powerful concept – looking forward not with a sense of defeat or resignation but a belief in the possibility of a positive future.
Picture: @helen_walne
#sealife #seachangeproject #thegreatafricanseaforest #jelly #freediving #capetownsouthafrica #capetown #jellyfish
Beneath the vast, unending sky, the ocean dreams. Here there are whispered legends, woven in blue and green. The ancient depths cradle secrets, a boundless realm where silence speaks volumes. The tender lapping tide is a gentle hymn that grows with the storm to roaring waves, crashing down to meet the world with fierce embrace. Yet in the depths remains a tranquil, infinite space.
Picture: Craig Foster
#seachangeproject #rememberyouarewild #thegreatafricanseaforest #capetown #southafrica #biodiversity #oceanlovers♥️
This has to be the tiniest sea hare we’ve ever seen! We’re used to seeing larger individuals in the seaforest, but this one was insanely small. However, we could still see its features with our naked eye. See that tiny black dot on its ‘face’? That’s an eye spot, one of two light-sensitive ‘eyes’ that help the sea hare move around. The ‘ears’ you see are actually rhinophores, which are used for tasting molecules in the water current.
Photo @the_rewilding
#rememberyouarewild #seachangeproject #seahare #tinybutpowerful #explore #diversity #cuteanimals #thegreatafricanseaforest
Earlier this week Sea Change Project was honoured to participate in the Earthshot+ in Cape Town, South Africa. The event brought together high-level global leaders and inspiring youth for a day of courageous conversations and brave commitments in support of repairing and restoring the planet. World changing innovations from across the world were platformed, and the role that youth play in the climate movement was celebrated. Discussions around how to speed solutions to scale by transforming finance, policy and leadership practices filled the day.
Sea Change participated by screening our latest short film Mother Nature in the Boardroom, afterwhich Craig Foster, in conversation with Earthshot CEO Hannah Jones, discussed the critical role of Mother Nature being invited into all our important decision making processes as our most critical shareholder. A chair bedecked in plant-life, symbolic of Mother Nature, was thoughtfully placed by Earthshot+ between Craig and Hannah as moderator.
Huge congratulations to all the Earthshot Prize winners and the equally as deserving runner ups!
#EarthshotCapeTown #seachangeproject #Rememberyouarewild #mothernature
Awe has the ability to dissolve our ego and see ourselves as part of a larger world. It instils a sense of reverence and wonder that reminds us of our place in nature and inspires us to become Mother Earth’s stewards and messengers.
#thegreatafricanseaforest #seachangeproject #rememberyouarewild #capetown #adventuretravel #freediver #oceanlife #southafrica #EarthshotPrize
Whale shenanigans in False Bay. These past few weeks has been a whale bonanza in the bay with both humpbacks and southern right whales gathering in the bay. On particularly windy days , when their songs can’t be heard well or get dispersed too quickly, they breach a lot to signal their presence to other whales in the bay. It’s always a huge joy to see them. The humpbacks symbolise a massive conservation success with the growth of their numbers post a ban on whaling. To be close to 25-30 tons and to twirl like elegant ballerinas is one of natures huge wonders
The African penguin has just been 𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 into the critically endangered category by the IUCN. That’s just a step below extinction. It’s the first of the 18 penguin species to meet the criteria for this listing. Populations have crashed by 95% since industrial times. The primary cause for numbers crash since historical collection of eggs and guano is the present lack of available food due to climate change . As specialist feeders, the fish that the penguins target, like sardines, anchovies and mackerel, are also targeted by fisheries for human and livestock consumption. Commercial fishing around breeding colonies is adding to the stress. It’s a delicate balance bearing in mind local livelihoods of the fishermen. However there is also local livelihood attached to penguin tourism. This listing makes finding a solution urgent and imperative. Every single penguin and chick now are precious keeping the population from becoming functionally extinct.
#NotOnOurWatch #NOOW #RememberThePenguins #biodiversityloss #rememberyouarewild #africanpenguins #extinction #kelpforest @2oceansaquarium @SANCCOB #seachangeproject #thegreatafricanseaforest
‘The sea is as near as we come to another world.’ – Carl Safina
Photo @helen_walne
#spring #thegreatafricanseaforest #seachangeproject #rememberyouarewild #capetown #adventuretravel #freediver #oceanlife #southafrica
The pyjama shark that lay this egg definitely had a good aesthetic! Secured by long tendrils wound around a magnificent sea fan, the egg will remain here for about five months when it will produce a tiny pup.
Photo- @helen_walne
#seachangeproject #rememberyouarewild #TheGreatAfricanSeaforest #pyjamashark #kelp #kelpforestsofsouthafrica #pajamasharks #capetown #southafrica #sealife #seafan #oceaninspired
Mother Nature has been given a seat at COP16 in Cali, Colombia. Our new short film Mother Nature in the Boardroom is being used by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and Deloitte to support their Nature and the Boardroom report. Both explore the same theme: that Mother Nature is our biggest shareholder, yet is not prioritised in decision making. But how can this change? The UNEPFI and Deloitte report provides guidance for boards to tackle nature-related risks and integrate sustainability in their strategies. The more seats Mother Nature gets in the boardroom, the brighter our future.
Photo - Craig Foster
#CoP17 #seachangeproject #rememberyouarewild #thegreatafricanseaforest #biodiversity #biodiversityloss #mothernature #earth #janegoodall #towardsIPOS #boardrooms #ecosystemhealth #mothernatureintheboardroom #sustainability #UNEP #UNEPFI
Manta rays have a special place in Swati’s heart. ‘They’re my absolute favourite creature,’ she says, ‘and the most intelligent fish on Earth.’ Researchers believe manta rays are self-aware after a study of a captive pair in the US revealed unusual behaviour when they saw their own reflections in a mirror. Swimming with these gentle giants was a once-in-a lifetime experience Swati will never forget.
#seachangeproject #rememberyouarewild #thegreatafricanseaforest #kelp #explore
#biodiversity #parasites #planetearth #mantaray #oceanview #oceanconservation #saveourseasfoundation
