Join me on a coral adventure around the world!

I am excited to share that I am traveling around the world in 2018 to write stories and podcast about climate change, coral reefs and the local maritime communities that depend on them for their food, culture and economic livelihood. This past summer as my late father became increasingly sick, I was also learning more about the deteriorating health of our oceans.  I decided to use my dad’s life insurance check for a dual purpose: generating more mainstream attention about the challenges and opportunities facing our coral reef ecosystems and realizing my own dream of scuba diving around the world.

I resigned from my jon in late August, enrolled in a few creative nonfiction writing classes at the University of Montana, and reached out to organizations working on coral reef conservation. I explored the world online, letting the interesting stories I discovered guide me to the places I would visit. I settled on fifteen locations for two weeks each and spent the fall season researching and planning for 2018. After moving out of my house and putting everything in storage in December, I started scuba dive training and have been steeped in underwater exploration and research in the Hawaiian Islands ever since. In the last five weeks, I have dived in Kauai, Hawaii (Big Island), Molokai, Maui and Lanai – every major island other than Oahu – and seen first hand the difference between a reef teeming with life and one on the verge of collapse. Further, I know a lot more about “why?" and enthusiastic to share viable models to live more sustainably while restoring our oceans.

"I will be sharing pictures, videos, and adventures from my future dives, and REPORT ON compelling stories I've learned about local community efforts."

Now that the training phase is almost complete, I am enthusiastic to share what I learn as I travel the globe.  I will be sharing pictures, videos, and adventures from my future dives, and share compelling stories I learn about local community efforts to preserve their cultural traditions and economic livelihood while transitioning to more sustainable uses of our ocean. I’ll be exploring the Coral Restoration Foundation's underwater coral growing program in Key Largo and the Nature Conservancy’s use of financial incentives to restore marine habitat in the Seychelles and Cancun. In addition, I'll travel to Palau to scuba what Jacques Cousteau once called the “the world’s best wall dive” and learn more about the Turtle Island Restoration Network's proposal for a protected “swimway” (like flyways for birds) for migrating sea turtles off Ecuador. I look forward to interviewing people who who have a wide variety of viewpoints and share a love for the ocean. 

Join me on an adventure to discover new cultures, animals, and ideas while learning more about how we can all contribute to protecting our oceans.