Unboxing the Treasures of Collaboration
In 2015, amidst the whirlwind of my PhD thesis, I entered the biology building, ready for another day of research. As part of our routine, I greeted my professor, Charles Griffiths, with a cheerful “Good Morning.” Like clockwork, he responded, “Gooood Morning, Jannes!” But that morning held an unexpected surprise—Charles handed me a parcel. With […]
How Kelp Provides Life
You can see it when you stand on the shore around Cape Town: the Great African Seaforest. What you see is a narrow stretch of floating Bamboo kelp (Ecklonia maxima). It is one of the few kelp species in the world that grows to the surface at low tide. But what you see at the top is just the tip of the iceberg!
The Sunken Stories and Ancient Wisdom of the Great African Seaforest
When we originally formed SCP it was a way for us to produce the occasional creative project while immersing ourselves in the kelp forests which we named the Great African Seaforest. As a group we realised that by giving our kelp forests a name we were giving it an unique identity and a presence that connected it to the kelp forests of the world, but also distinguished it as a particular ecosystem found on the shores of Southern Africa.
Original Wild Swimmers: Unearthing the Origins of All Human Creation
Some years ago, I was kayaking and swimming along a rugged part of Cape Town’s coast. The sun blazed overhead, the sea frothed against rocks, and behind a stand of kelp, I discovered a cave. Battling against a strong surge, I timed my entry, and crawled into a dark, cool world ripe with the smell of salt and primordial plant life. I ventured further into the cave, and there it was: a full human skeleton lying sprawled on the rock-littered floor.
I am a Seaforest Species
I wrote down “#0101 I am a Seaforest Species”. In retrospect, I think what I did was make a list of the first 100 species, and realised that humans were very absent but need to be a part of the project.
No Animal Should be Mass-farmed
The debate around the proposed octopus farm goes beyond the arguments of sentience. Read our full statement.
One of the best discoveries so far
‘It is always worth it to leave the house and explore in nature.’ Or,
as Dr Jannes Landschoff says – ‘you never regret a dive!’
RITUAL
Rituals are part of our blueprint and although most of them may be subconscious, our days are full of small habitual actions that helps us to make sense of the world and move within it.
Today is the Best Day of My Life
A few weeks ago I was diving with my husband in the seaforest close to our home. The conditions were not ideal for free-diving – pretty big swell, water churned up, minimal visibility and the underwater forest a blur. The stipes bent and buckled, and the light-reaching fronds swirled above. We went into the water […]
Oceans of Fantasy, Oceans of Reality
When I was a young girl, there was a Boney M song that I loved. The song was called “Oceans of Fantasy”. It spoke of a dreamscape underwater world filled with life and magic. At the time, a lack of swimming skills and a fear of water after a near-drowning incident made it unlikely that […]