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 our newest feature documentary on a very special pangolin, will launch on Netflix in April ‘25.
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 30% 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
We’re taking kelp forests to the UN Oceans Conference in France, to sing their songs and tell their stories and shine a light on these incredible ecosystems. And we’re so excited that they rightfully have a place on the agenda, with the conference’s political declarations including them as one of the coastal biosystems that need preserving and restoring.
Picture: @helen_walne
#UNOC #oceans #seachangeproject #kelp #greatafricanseaforest
A little lie-down in a seagrass meadow is a tender thing – the dimpled ocean surface above, salty water all around, and the sweet, soft tickle of a bed so green. Sadly, these unique flowering plants are feeling the weight of human activity, which affects the crucial role they play in providing homes and food for myriad animals, as well as removing carbon from the ocean. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified 14% of species as having an elevated risk of extinction. Now, more than ever, our planet needs our tenderness.
Picture: Luke Saddler
#seagrass #ocean #seachangeproject #natureconnection
Kelp forests are some of the most important ecosystems in the world. However, they face a range of serious threats. Protecting and restoring them is not only an environmental imperative, but a necessity for the wellbeing of communities and the planet. Read our @dailymaverick piece about Sea Change’s drive to get kelp forests on the global agenda. Link in our Stories.
Pictures: @helen_walne
#g20 #unoceanconference #unesco #greatafricanseaforest #kelp #biodiversity #natureconnection #ocean
Snaggle-toothed and stealthy, this box crab – found in shallow water while tracking in the Indian Ocean – has two vastly different pincers, which makes it so unique and fascinating. The right pincer is equipped with a large tooth, which the crab uses to break the shell of its mollusc prey and clamp it like a vice. Then the long and slim modified left pincer reaches deep into the severed shell and picks out the meat. It’s kind of like a biological can opener!
Pictures: Craig Foster
@darrosresearchcentre @saveourseasfoundation #westindianocean #marinescience #seachangeproject #natureconnection #boxcrab
Our work connects us with incredible people and organisations from across the world. One of these is @rewilding_argentina, who joined us in Cape Point a few months ago for a day of tracking, conversation and communing. Today we celebrate them for helping to sign into law the creation of Patagonia Azul Provincial Park, a 300,000ha marine protected area in the province of Chubut. This rugged, windswept coastline is a key breeding, feeding and migration site for a great diversity of life — and will remain so because of the collaborative work done by Rewilding Argentina, other non-governmental organisations, government and state entities, and local communities. We can achieve so much together.
Picture: Oceano Martina
@rewilding_argentina #patagoniaazul #patagoniaargentina #biodiversity #seachangeproject #marineprotectedarea #ocean #chubut
The seaforest is a three-dimensional sensory wonder. Ascending from the bottom, slender kelp stipes travel upwards, fish stream through dappled light, fronds glow as the sun grows nearer, algal swathes sway on semi-submerged rocks, and then you break through the surface, surrounded by drifting, living mounds.
Pictures: @helen_walne
#greatafricanseaforest #seachangeproject #kelp #ocean #natureconnection #biodiversity
Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey, directed by Oscar winner and Sea Change Project’s Pippa Ehrlich (@the_rewilding), is now screening on Netflix. This touching documentary follows the progress of a rescued pangolin from baby to adulthood, and the human who tirelessly guides him to freedom. The New York Times has described the film as ‘so sweet and soothing that you’ll be forced to admit that sometimes the universe — or in this case Netflix — gives you exactly what you need’.
@africanpangolinconservation @pangolincrisis and @johannesburgwildlifevet are passionately working to ensure pangolins do not disappear from our planet. See our bio to learn how you can help.
@johannesburgwildlifevet @pangolincrisis @africanpangolinconservation @maverick_gareth @funnykerk @africa_alive @netflix @lapalala_wilderness
In his latest book, Amphibious Soul: Finding the Wild in a Tame World, Craig takes readers into Mother Nature’s blue heart, tracking animals that live in the Great African Seaforest and yearning to know their secrets. ‘There is no better feeling than to be in dialogue with the wild, to be able to speak the oldest language on earth,’ he says. Here, a patchwork cuttlefish invites Craig into its world, shapeshifting in colour and texture, its ancient mind a beautiful mystery.
Amphibious Soul: Finding the Wild in a Tame World, published by HarperCollins, is now available in soft-cover.
‘After living for nearly 100 years on this planet, I now understand the most important place on earth is not on land, but at sea.’ — David Attenborough
#ocean #davidattenborough #seachangeproject #natureconnection #nature #biodiversity
‘On a few very rare occasions, I’ve been blessed to see this creature come in from the distant open ocean into the Great African Seaforest. Almost mythical in appearance, argonaut octopuses are pelagic animals who usually live in the water column. I’ve only seen females, who sculpt white shells as brood chambers for their eggs and fill them with a bubble of air for neutral buoyancy. Males are tiny in comparison and have no shell, and are able to detach their penis, which the female then carries until she is ready to use it to fertilise her eggs. Each female lays up to 150,000 eggs – and I was privileged to once witness miniature babies hatching.’ – Craig Foster
Pictures: Craig Foster
#greatafricanseaforest #argonaut #argonautoctopus #craigfoster #kelpforest #ocean #seachangeproject #myoctopusteacher
Today was a great day for our kelp forest, as Sea Change’s Jannes Landschoff and Chris van Melle Kamp took to the stage at the Ocean20 South Africa conference in Cape Town to shine a spotlight on these precious ecosystems. Using storytelling and science, Jannes introduced attendees to some of the animals that call the seaforest home, including the myriad endemic klipfish, with names like sad klipfish and snaky klipfish! Chris spoke to the need for a multidisciplinary approach to protecting kelp — one we hope comes to fruition.
Photo @helen_walne
@kelpforestalliance #IPOS #unglobalcompact #NRF-SAEON #ocean20 #ocean #greatafricanseaforest #seachangeproject #natureconnection #nature #kelpforest
#0007 Cape urchin (Parechinus angulosus)
These prickly characters – usually in purple, red or orange hues – are a common sight in the shallow waters of the Great African Seaforest. While in other parts of the world, urchins are often associated with kelp ‘deforestation’, Cape urchins play important roles in their community, including keeping kelp density in check through grazing, and protecting juvenile abalone that shelter under their spines. They’re also innovative, covering themselves with empty shells, algae or any suitable objects to serve as sunhats. Spotting a row of them wearing these always brings a smile.
Pictures: Jannes Landschoff
#1001 #capeurchin #marinescience #greatafricanseaforest #kelpforest #saveourseasfoundation #seachangeproject @saveourseasfoundation #1001species #1001seaforestspecies
