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It started with a simple connection - and the willingness to follow where that might lead. I was introduced to The Seabirds by a good friend, Daphne DeCelles. Daph and I worked together doing environmental consulting work in Florida, but she knew my background in marine mammal acoustics and research. She reached out one day and asked if I wanted to go on an Arctic expedition to do research on orcas. There’s only one answer to a question like that. Months later I found myself in Zoom calls and meet-ups with The Seabirds as we prepped for our upcoming Arctic adventure.

When it comes to marine conservation, my biggest passion are cetaceans (a fancy name for all whales, dolphins and porpoises). I openly admit that I am the whale nerd on the Seabirds team! It goes without saying that I was VERY excited about our expedition to the Silver Bank this past February. I had high expectations and let me start by saying that they were met, without a doubt.

What matters most to me when it comes to whale watching tours, swim with whale encounters and other experiences involving marine mammals is that the animals always come first. Many places around the world offer encounters with wildlife and more often than not, the focus is on giving paying customers an experience of a lifetime, something to brag about on social media, without any regard for the animals. It is unfortunate, but we often have to protect animals, nature and the planet from ourselves.

As I went down a rabbit hole of determining if “ethical” tourism experiences, including in-water encounters with marine mammals, do indeed exist, I learned more and more about the different laws, regulations or lack thereof in many countries around the world.

Carol, one of our team members, had been to the Silver Bank before and spoke very highly of it, so of course I had to look into it and do some research. To my surprise, I learned that the Dominican Republic had created a protected area for marine mammals called The Sanctuary for the Marine Mammals of the Dominican Republic and in 1986 designated the Silver Bank the world’s first sanctuary for marine mammals, all the while having special laws permitting in-water encounters with humpback whales! I was thrilled — and nervous. Everything looked good on paper, but would it hold true in real-life?

Based on Carol’s recommendation, we chose Conscious Breath Adventures, one of three operators permitted to run tours on the Silver Bank. I was excited and nervous to go on this trip and did not know what to expect, but my mind was put at ease as soon as we did our first briefing with the group!

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I first learned to dive in 2003 while on a university internship in California. I was immediately enamored with the tranquility and otherworldliness of this underwater world and eager to unlock its secrets, but it wasn’t an activity that came easily to me (something I found very frustrating). I persisted, however, and completed both my Open Water and Advanced Open Water certifications within two years, hoping to find comfort through experience and training. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time or the finances to dive often and on the few occasions that I did, I found myself with people who didn’t necessarily treat the activity or the people with the respect they deserved. So instead of getting more confident, I found myself getting more anxious, finding reasons not to get in the water. Over time, my gear got dusty, and I slipped back into a terrestrial life.

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Fast forward almost 20 years, an expedition to study orca in Norway reignited my passion for the ocean. Then a couple of years later, I found myself on an exciting project that would require me to don a BCD and venture under the waves. As the reality of this began to sink in there were so many things swirling around my head — After so many years, would I still be able to do this? Would I be able to trust the people around me? Would I panic in the water and injure myself? Would I enjoy it? Would I get horribly seasick on the boat? Is it even worth it?

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Many of those questions I knew I wouldn’t be able to answer until I jumped into the ocean again, but as someone who likes to be in control, I was desperate to find something, ANYTHING, I could do beforehand to start rebuilding my confidence. The first thing I did was sign up for a refresher course. I worked through the online training diligently, making checklists and visualizing setting up gear, and then went to my local dive shop and went diving in their pool until I felt as comfortable as possible descending, ascending, and controlling buoyancy. I even tried to master juggling underwater (I failed).

I, a 16-year-old girl from Washington State, am less than a year away from becoming a polar explorer. With a name like Amelia, how could I do anything else? That idea sounds insane; I’m on the brink of an extraordinary adventure to Greenland—and I'm still in high school. This concept keeps rolling around in my head, and I can’t help but ask myself: Why am I doing this?

Ever since I was little, I have loved two things: learning and science. As I’ve grown older those things have evolved but the cores remain. While growing up, I’ve aged into the idea of marine science because it contributes to my love of the ocean, exploring, and my desire to help with our planet's climate crisis. The longing for adventure and meaning has always been prevalent in my life and that is a huge reason why I want to go on this Polar Expedition to Greenland. Not only does it launch my career as I go into college, but thanks to The Seabirds I have the incredible opportunity to gain this experience when I’m only 17. What shows living rather than just surviving more than following your dreams? 

Rossella is a fourth grader on a mission: to study the effects of ocean acidification on shells for her school science project. Follow her progress through our newsletters and blogs as she shares her findings on this crucial topic.

Reel Earth Films is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the creation of nature-oriented films. One of the biggest reasons we do what we do here at Reel Earth Films is to not just create awareness for nature, but to facilitate change for the greater good of this planet through impact. Every one of our original films is accompanied by an impact campaign that is designed to give back to nature. We give back by providing resources that help the organizations we partner with continue doing their vital work to protect this planet. We believe that our films can do more than just create awareness; they can create measurable impact that will facilitate a healthier future for nature. For example, we recently produced a short film about southern resident killer whales in the Salish Sea–which you can watch here: https://reelearthfilms.org/southern-residents/ Over the years, we have not only produced our own films, but have collectively worked on films for PBS Nature, National Geographic, BBC One, and Disney+.

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“This is so much bigger than you,” Samantha Gomolka, national guard spouse, told her husband, Michael. It was Memorial Day weekend 2017, a beautiful day of Spring in New York, where the family was stationed. Michael, who had been serving in special operations for seventeen years by then, decided that he was going to pay homage to his fallen brothers-in-arms the next Memorial Day by running from the beach to his favorite brewery, which was close to seven miles away. “I want to take part in it as well,” Samantha said. “And you know that the people of Hamburg will want to participate too.”

United States Army Major Christine Keating comes from a family with a strong history of military service, which inspired her to also raise her hand and join the peacekeeping military of pre-September 11. “What attracted me to it was this idea that I could travel the world and have an impact on maintaining peace,” she says candidly during our interview. “That changed really quickly during my freshman year of college when the towers came down. Though it wasn’t the life that I had envisioned when I was eighteen, it turned into a good life for me and my family.”

And this, in a nutshell, sums up the major’s career. Now, let’s meet the woman behind the uniform.

Have you ever wondered what the deep sea is really like? The deep dark parts that we haven't reached yet but we know are there, with creatures and ecosystems we can only dream of? Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) Benthic Rover is looking to answer some of those unknowns and deepen our understanding of our beautiful planet.