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Yo, fantastic whales!

So, to pick up from my last blog, I was exploring different ways to raise awareness for nature conservation. I figured the reason why people cared less for nature conservation was that their bond with nature was not strong enough. Most of the time, we cut ourselves off from nature, driving around in cars, walking on concrete, living in buildings, wearing raincoats and shoes, putting headphones on. All of our senses are thus occupied with other things than natural surroundings, such as hearing the birds sing, feeling the earth beneath our feet, feeling the sun on our skin, seeing a beautiful rainbow or sunset, tasting the rain, and smelling the underwood. What we sense has become mediated. We see and hear through our TVs, our screens, our smartphones, and we feel our clothes and other man-made objects. It’s not that the bond has been lost, but rather that it has been greatly weakened.

One particularly important moment on my Ocean Conservation journey was snorkelling with friends in Oman in 2013. It was the first time I snorkelled in the open sea and it was an extraordinary experience. We’d jump off the boat, swim down a few meters, and revel in the scenery and sea life unfolding before our dazzled eyes. There were sea urchins, multi-colored fish, oysters, and clams. I made a mental note in the back of my head to remember how this event made me feel, and that I wanted to do more of this type of total immersion in nature.

Back home, I set out to find ways to strengthen the connection between people and nature. That’s when I came across Ian Banyard’s Natural Mindfulness Course in 2021. His motto is “when we connect, we care and what we care about we protect and nurture.” It was exactly what I was looking for, so I signed up. I planned to become a Nature Mindfulness Guide and lead nature mindfulness walks. I did the course, then made a few posts on Facebook, and even started a group for walks near my home, but it fell flat, and never went any further than that.

Then I had another idea to connect people and nature: do a Nature Connection Podcast. I spent lots of time learning about podcasts, reading podcast books, but when it came time to record my podcast, the excitement disappeared. Why was I having so much trouble moving forward?

I suppose I hadn’t found my “thing,” so I took a break from trying and started learning to play the cello in 2022. At least I was having fun in the moment and enjoying myself. We also visited Greece (Agistri, Crete, Corfu…) a few times over the next few years, and I made sure there was plenty of snorkeling (I had at least remembered the lesson learned in Oman).

Again, my full-time day job was not giving me complete satisfaction on the conservation side of things, so I started looking at job offers.

I somehow came across the Conservation Careers Website, which matched my inner yearning. I signed up for their Conservation Communications Course in November 2023. On their forum, the CCPro Conservation Careers Circle, I had to introduce myself and define my conservation interests. Oddly enough, it was the first time I gave any thought as to what specific type of conservation I was interested in and what my favorite conservation animals were.

This is the post I published: “Manta rays and octopuses are among my favorite species. I find marine and aquatic conservation fascinating. I want to make documentary films of people who offer nature and conservation-oriented activities.”

When I published my post, I found a new direction and motivation. I was thrilled to enter a circle of like-minded people, excited about conservation around the world.

That wraps it up for today.

Up with ocean conservation!