This was certainly one of our more interesting science communication assignments, working alongside the Dominica Sea Turtle Conservation Organisation on the island nation (DomSeTCO), and documenting the work done by their amazing team of scientists, volunteers and nature enthusiasts.
Dominica has five species of turtle, three of which nest on the island’s beaches – the Leatherback, Hawksbill and the Green Sea Turtle. Local turtle populations are in rapid decline due to a number of reasons including habitat loss, plastic pollution and climate change, but the main contributing factor is the illegal poaching of sea turtles when they’re up on the beach nesting.
Our six-part documentary series will tell the stories, so tune in and learn about this fascinating country, well known in the Caribbean as ‘The Nature Island.’
The Last Turtle is a six-part video series documenting the work of Dominica Sea Turtle Conservation Organisation (DomSeTCO). We hope this video series helps call attention to the rapid decline of Sea Turtles.
In September 2018 I travelled to Niue, a small Pacific Island nation, as part of a Conservation International assignment with a group of select Whale Research scientists conducting a study on the endangered Oceania population of Humpback Whales.
Honoring the critical role the ocean plays in the wellbeing and livelihoods of Niuean people, Niue has taken independent steps to conserve and manage their waters. In 2003, they declared their ocean area as a whale sanctuary, which is when our team lead, Olive Andrews, began her work in-country. Recently they further committed 40% of their ocean territory as a sanctuary and are in the process of marine spatial planning for their entire marine domain.
Throughout our short time in beautiful Niue I filmed and produced an eight-part video series covering the various aspects of our research, which is now released online and viewable in its entirety below, or visit CI’s Niue Whale Research.
Select an episode from the dropdown top-left menu in the video box.
Additionally, Conservation International’s staff writer Olivia DeSmit wrote a piece about the Whale Song featured in Episode 5. Read it here.
A pretty picture for a not-so-pretty picture: My aerial image of Orona Island in the Phoenix Islands Protected Area of Kiribati was published in the Guardian today.
A cinematic aerial exploration of the Antarctic Peninsula, soaring over mountains and their glaciers, enormous icebergs, bubble-net feeding humpback whales and into the alluring blues of a deep crevasse.
Above Antarctica is accompanied by the musical score of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7.
A new Speechless episode from Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest featuring encounters with Spirit Bears, known to the local Gitga’at First Nation at Moksgm’ol (the Ghost Bear).
‘Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better.’ – Albert Einstein.
Wild Antarctica was filmed and produced in 4K by New Zealand cinematographers Aliscia Young and Richard Sidey during several short expeditions to the Antarctic Peninsula in early 2017. A special UAV permit was obtained to capture the aerial perspectives.
Wild Antarctica is the fifth film in Galaxiid’s Wild Destination video series, and also the second to feature original music from Inga Liljeström.
A cultural spectacle in the Baining Mountains of East New Britain, Papua New Guinea.
The origin of these firedance ceremonies was to celebrate the birth of new children; the commencement of harvests and also a way of remembering the dead. The Baining firedance is also a rite of passage for initiating young men into adulthood. The fire dance is a men-only event and traditionally the Baining women and children neither partake nor watch.
The Baining people’s artworks are usually produced for limited uses only. The masks are laboriously made from bark cloth, bamboo and leaves and used just once for the firedance ceremony before being thrown away or destroyed.
One of the rarest and most beautiful penguins of all! A mesmerising encounter with a ‘Spirit Penguin’ in Antarctica this week.
This is a Gentoo Penguin with leucism, a condition in which there is partial loss of pigmentation resulting in white feathers, but not the eyes. Within Gentoo populations it has been documented that around 1 in 20,000 will be leucistic.
