The aluminium bars of the cage surround us as we peer through the greenish water to the seagrass beds below. Our cage captain, Maddy, is gently rattling the chain above us, sending vibrations into the water. GoPros are poised at the ready, and divers wait quietly in anticipation, the sound of our regulators the only […]

Written by Sophie Kalkowski-Pope The rope glides gently between my fingers as I slowly pull myself down into the blue. I feel myself hovering on the boundary of negative buoyancy, and my pulls gradually slow. At around 25 meters, the sensations shift, and I let my movements come to a halt. Freefall. The water glides […]

Written by Sophie Kalkowski-Pope The sterile white lights of the lab shine down on us, as Ciara carefully pipettes primer from one vial to another. Her patience and attention to detail is meticulous. This is just one step in the lengthy process of e-DNA extraction, which I came to Okinawa to study.  I raise my […]

Written by Sophie Kalkowski-Pope, November 2023 “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I just don’t think I can do it” our open water student splutters. “Hey, hey! It’s okay….” I reach out and gently reassure her. “We’ll do this together”. I take her hand and gently hold it in mine.  We’re kneeling in the shallow end of […]

Written by Sophie Kalkowski-Pope “Weights, Mask, Dive Computer, Transect, slate, GPS tracker, camera…That’s everything”. “All good to go?” Kirsty asks, “Yup!” I reply, as we plunge into the water off the back of the catamaran. As we descend into the water column, I can’t quite believe what we were seeing. 30m visibility allows us to […]