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.”
SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH
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.
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
A Cape clawless otter takes a late-afternoon dip in a shallow, frog-seranaded pool near the shoreline. While it’s impossible to know what it’s feeling, there’s a sense of abandoned joy in the otter’s antics, as though this has been a very good day.
Video: Craig Marais
#rememberyouarewild #seachangeproject #capetown #otter #otterlife #otterlove #naturephotography #adventures

Spotting an intact crystal jelly is a rare treat. These flying-saucer-like hydrozoans usually inhabit the deeper pelagic zone but are sometimes pushed inshore by wind and currents.
Picture: @the_rewilding
#seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #capetown #capetownsouthafrica #freedive #ocean #nature #natureconnection #kelpforest #crystaljellyfish #jellyfish

Abstract art is just one of the ocean’s many skills, but if you look closely you’ll see that this gallery-worthy scene is actually a clutch of dazzling marine animals. The frilly-edged, speckled shape in the centre is a Gilchrist’s flatworm and the octangular shape to the top-left of it is a beautifully patterned cushion star. And all around them is a garden of tiny tide-pool critters reflected in the silver surface.
Picture: @helen_walne
#seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #capetown #capetownsouthafrica #freedive #ocean #nature #natureconnection #flatworm #kelpforest #cushionstar

The sea always delivers surprises, but sometimes it blows our minds! On this day, scores of weird and wonderful siphonophores snaked their way through the kelp forest in a ballet-worthy display. Word got out and curious snorkellers came to float among these other-worldly visitors.
Picture: @helen_walne
#seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #capetown #capetownsouthafrica #freedive #ocean #nature #natureconnection #siphonophores #kelpforest

Caught in the dappled light, these mangrove-dwelling archer fish have markings that perfectly camouflage them from predators. Mangroves are safe havens for many juvenile fish – and for archer fish they provide novel snacks in the form of insects, which they dislodge from branches by using their tongues as water pistols.
Picture: @helen_walne
#seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #capetown #capetownsouthafrica #freedive #ocean #nature #natureconnection #archerfish #mangrove

#0005 – KELP LIMPET (Cymbula compressa)
Seaforest species have intricate, interlocking lives, essential for survival.Among them, the Kelp limpet’s elongated-boat shaped shell stands out as an excellent example of adaptation. The unique form enables them to fit snugly against the narrow, curved stipes of Bamboo kelp, anchoring themselves securely on a swaying home in a shifting sea.
But life doesn’t begin that way: after a larval stage in the open water, juveniles settle on the broad, flat fronds of the kelp and initially grow flat shells to match the terrain. Once they reach the size of a postage stamp, they migrate to the kelp stipe where they gradually transform their shells into the iconic boat-like shape.
This is probably a bonus for the kelp too. By grazing on the stipes, limpets prevent epiphytic algae from taking hold, reducing drag and lowering the risk of the kelp being uprooted during fierce storms.
#1001species #1001seaforestspecies #seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #capetown #kelplimpet #capetownsouthafrica #freedive #ocean

Disney character or real-life fish? And those teeth! Janbruins are always a treat to see in the Great African Seaforest. With their blue eyes, toothy mouths and loner dispositions, they could easily be characters in an animated movie.
Picture: @helen_walne
#seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #capetown #capetownsouthafrica #freedive #ocean #nature #natureconnection #janbruin #disneygram

Meet the chevron shore spider – walker on water and natural scuba diver. A true arachnid, this spider uses tiny hairs on its body to scud across the surface of the water. It can also breathe underwater: when it gets wet, it creates a bubble of air in which it can live, breathe and remain dry. And being a true arachnid, as opposed to a marine one, it’s able to have the best of two worlds – living in the intertidal zone on land as well as in the ocean. Isn’t the intelligence of nature just mind blowing?
Pictures: @the_rewilding
#seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #capetown #capetownsouthafrica #freedive #ocean #nature #natureconnection #chevronspider #kelpforest #spider

A rainbow above and a rainbow below. Just as light dispersed in water droplets creates arcs of colour on land, so too does sunlight in shallow sea water. The puffadder shyshark in the second image seems to be relishing its disco den.
Pictures: @helen_walne
#seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #capetown #capetownsouthafrica #freedive #ocean #nature #natureconnection #puffaddershyshark #shyshark #rainbow

Like gilded maypoles, stands of kelp unfurl soft ribbons that protect, nourish and nurture.
Photo @helen_walne
#seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #capetown #capetownsouthafrica #freedive #ocean #nature #natureconnection #kelp #kelpforest

#0004 – SEAFOREST KLIPFISH (𝐶𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑠)
It took many days for this large male Seaforest klipfish to reveal the secrets of his hidden world. Initially cautious, he would swim away and keep its distance. Yet, dive after dive, Jannes patiently returned to the same spot, gradually earning the fish’s trust. Eventually, he could draw close enough to follow the klipfish to its favourite hiding place beneath a canopy of red algae and watch it hunting crustaceans among the rocks. He found himself gazing into the fish’s glittering round eye. What would this magnificent kelp forest world look like through such marvellous reflective eyes?
#1001species #1001seaforestspecies #seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #capetown #seaforestklipfish #capetownsouthafrica #freedive #ocean #saveourseasfoundation

Like a grumpy granddad who hasn’t slept properly in years, a Cape knifejaw cruises through the Great African Seaforest in search of snacks. The knifejaws beak-like teeth are used to break up a variety of food, especially invertebrates like sea squirts that grow on the reef structure. When they up, these fish become territorial and hunt in pairs. They are endemic to South Africa and on the SASSI Red list.
Picture: @the_rewilding
#seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #capetown #capetownsouthafrica #freedive #ocean #nature #natureconnection #kelpforest #threatened #saynotoextinctionofwildlife
