Growing up listening to the sounds of the sea in a shell. The entire seascape captured within the delicate structure of the conch. The inspiration of nature drove me to continuously spend my head in the books when away from the ocean. We didn’t say studying- we said wonder. Wonder about the abyss, the deep blue ocean and its rich inhabitants. How they breathe, how they respire. Eating their way across the food web. A pioneering life history strategy they said- that was our vision. As a student of marine science, there was so much to learn- so much to inspire, digest and reflect upon. The continuous inspiration of the oceans drove me forward into the deep blue wilderness of the abyss. Where had I come from to do oceanography? From a place in my imagination so intrinsically connected with nature. A place unexplored where explorers seek to find wonder. Confronted with scientific understanding I looked to nature to find my muse. Paper after paper, searching for the vision of the natural world within my data. I learned to be a scientist, an ecologist mapping the shallows as well as the deep. Listening to the sea and all its glory I sat there wondering what could be done to save our oceans.

(I have been practicing writing creative nonfiction- here’s a short passage on studying oceanography)

This month I have decided to take part in the #30DayMapChallenge to consolidate my GIS mapping skills as well as think creatively about spatial data.

The idea is to create (and publish) maps based on different themes on each day of the month using the hashtag #30DayMapChallenge, You can prepare the maps beforehand, but the main idea is to publish maps from specific topics on specific days listed below. Just include a picture of the map when you post to Twitter with the hashtag. You don’t have to sign up anywhere to participate. There are no restrictions on the tools, technologies or the data you use in your maps. Doing less than 30 is also fine (doing all 30 is really hard!).

@tjukanovt

After a lot of hard work, we’ve submitted our NERC EDI Hackathon proposal! If successful, http://findascienceberth.wordpress.com aims to increase the accessibility of obtaining ship berths by making use of spare capacity to provide training opportunities. Big shout out to the team: @BenFisher_ @KRHendry @AENMcGregor @SiddhiInGalway @allygully @DiverMads @KatieSieradzan @efdarlington @KJJVanLandeghem & Sophie Fielding for putting a lot of work in to this at a busy time of year, fingers crossed!

Women in Coastal Geoscience and Engineering Network’s Experience of Unlearning Racism in Geoscience

Women in Coastal Geoscience and Engineering (WICGE) is an international network of coastal geoscientists and engineers of all genders. It is led by a committee of fourteen female academic researchers all around the world, with a membership base of over 400 individuals. Thirteen members from WICGE participated in the WICGE Unlearning Racism in Geoscience (URGE) Pod, including two committee members. Our pod’s experience of URGE is an example of an international Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion initiative in marine science. Some lessons learnt from the WICGE’s experience of URGE give valuable insights, deepening the community’s knowledge of the effects of racism on the participation and retention of Black, Indigenous, People Of Colour (BIPOC) individuals in Geoscience. Furthermore, the key objectives of URGE to produce policy deliverables which can be implemented at each pod’s home institutions, building a large network of anti-racism initiatives worldwide. Following our URGE pod, WICGE formed a standing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee that will ensure the continuity of anti-racism work in our organization.

This episode of Let’s talk social work podcast by British Association for Social Workers (BASW), made for Pride Month 2021, explores challenges facing British Asian LGBTQIA+ and the ways in which social workers can better support this community. Andy McClenaghan is joined by Siddhi Joshi, founder and chairperson of British Asian LGBTI online support group, Khakan Qureshi, Founder of Finding A Voice and co-administrator of British Asians LGBTI and Narinder Sidhu, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead Officer with BASW.

For more information on the issues discussed in the episode, Siddhi and Khakan recommend reading “Unorthodox: LGBT+ Identity and Faith” – fiveleaves.co.uk/product/unorthod…ntity-and-faith/

I have been invited to give a motivational seminar at the Institute of Zoology in London on Thursday 25th February 2021 and its entitled “Stepping stones and stumbling blocks… My experiences of intersectionality in marine science.” Looking forward to it!

UPDATED: Blog post about the seminar and the talk can be found on the Women in coastal blog!

Update 2: Slideshow can be viewed here!

This is the time to be slow
Lie low to the wall
Until the bitter weather passes

Try, as best you can, not to let
The wire brush of doubt
Scrape from your heart
All sense of yourself
And your hesitant light.

If you remain generous,
Time will come good;
And you will find your feet
Again on fresh pastures of promise,
Where the air will be kind
And blushed with beginning.

John O’Donohue, “This Is the Time to Be Slow.” From To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings. Penguin Random House, 2008.

Maërl or rhodolith beds are seabed habitats of great conservation significance and can be found in the clear waters of Galway Bay and around Ireland. Whilst doing my PhD at the NUI Galway, I met many maerl researchers- I felt compelled to make this documentary. This is the 15 minute version of the film, with the full hour long documentary available via seabedhabitats.org/2014/12/01/maerldocumentary/