Strategic communications for the ocean
We help organisations, projects, and teams working across ocean science, policy, practice, and innovation communicate complex work with clarity and impact.
What do you need?
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Focused, outcome-aligned strategies that guide your work and amplify impact.
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Making complex research clear, accurate, and audience-ready. Turning evidence into understanding and insight.
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Long-form articles, case studies, newsletters, web copy, visual communication, and more
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Websites, profiles, and more that help people understand who you are and what you do.
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Planning and delivering communications that inform, engage, and amplify your event and its impact.
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Workshops that build confidence and capability in communicating science to different audiences.
Find out more
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No problem. Let’s talk it through
Our principles
Values
We prioritise clarity, accuracy, accessibility, and ethical practice in our work.
We believe good communication should be human, inclusive, and grounded in evidence.
Alignment
Our work is guided by the UN Ocean Decade and the Sustainable Development Goals.
We support organisations and projects working toward a more sustainable, equitable ocean future.
Commitment
We support projects that strengthen knowledge, community resilience, and sustainable decision-making.
We do not support fossil fuels or practices that put profit before people and the planet.
From the Communication Brief
From sharing research breakthroughs to building networks and engaging the public, social media has become an essential tool for marine researchers. But two new reports reveal a fundamental shift happening beneath the surface.
Can generative AI models like ChatGPT write research summaries that laypeople, aka people without specialised research knowledge, can understand?
“Hey Sam, what should we do about X?”
It’s a question my clients (and those who aren’t) are asking me more and more.
In case you aren’t aware, X (or Twitter, as some prefer to call it still) has undergone significant changes since it was purchased by Elon Musk in 2022. Some have already found these changes unpalatable and have chosen to quit X. Others are seriously considering whether it is worth sticking around.
This is a big question, and the decision about whether to stay or go will depend on a variety of factors: your goals, your audience, and your values, to name just a few.
This is some really great news from a team of deaf scientists, deaf educators, and sign linguists at the University of Edinburgh. They’ve completed a project developing 400 environmental science signs for British Sign Language (BSL).
Are you familiar with Pint of Science? Science Cafe? Science on Tap?
Whatever you call them, the idea is simple - bring together a group of people in a pub, bar, cafe, or other location to hear about research from researchers while enjoying their favourite beverage. If research from Margaux Barrett and fellow researchers at Villanova University in the USA is anything to go by, event attendees are learning quite a bit.
Can scientists express their genuine fears and emotions about the climate crisis, the decline and destruction of nature, and the impacts on people and still be seen as credible, objective experts?
In mid-October 2024, South Africa welcomed the International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC7). There were over 600 speakers from around the world discussing all things marine. Here’s a round-up of a few of my favourite communication talks.
Good environmental protection is underpinned by sound science. When public trust in science is down and misinformation rife, people may be less likely to support protective measures.
Ocean observations - collecting information about the ocean, like on temperature, or sea ice, or different plants and animals - is so important for understanding our ocean, predicting what might happen in the future, making sure that whatever we do won’t cause too much damage, and keeping people safe at sea (and along the coast)…
When Hakai Magazine announced that it is ceasing at the end of this year a few weeks ago, readers around the world expressed their shock and sadness across social media.
“I am concerned by climate scientists becoming climate activists, because scholars should not have a priori interests in the outcome of their studies.” That’s what Ulf Büntgen (University of Cambridge) wrote in a comment piece for npj Climate Action.
There’s a “hot” new movie on Netflix that has got a few people hot and bothered. Sous la Seine, AKA Under Paris. Because the film features sharks, it has drawn the attention of some irked by the lack of scientific rigour.
Short scientist biographies can help build trust in science, but only if they show why the scientists do what they do.
Journalists reporting for USA-based publications are less likely to include minority-ethic author names in their science reporting.
Creating video abstracts and plain language abstracts is extra work, but they can help boost comprehension, perceived understanding, and enjoyment.
Want to drive some support for climate policy? You might want to get your audience a little emotional.
Being polite and making well-reasoned arguments might help people feel more informed, but it won’t necessarily change their support for policies
When covering research, sometimes the media will provide a link to the original research, sometimes they don’t. Why is that?
The Sagan Effect is named after Carl Sagan, an American astronomer who, over the years, became quite prolific in the science communications space about, well...space back in the 1960s until his death in 1996. But how does it relate to science communication?
There are a lot of tips and techniques for communicating science outside of..um…science. One of my favourites is an oldie but a goody - the inverted pyramid.
Founded by Christine and Margaret Wertheim, the Crochet Coral Reef project is “an ever-evolving nature-culture hybrid…that resides at the nexus of craft, science, mathematics, community engagement, climate change, & feminist art practice.”
Research suggests "a small, yet significant, mix of ideologically aligned partisan actors are fuelling the ‘denial machine’ in Australia," and they’re targeting coral reef science
In universities, who is actually doing science communication? If a recently published study from Marta Entradas (ISCTE - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa) and colleagues is anything to go by, it's not central university communication offices.
How can we improve knowledge exchange between researchers and decision-makers? Perhaps the Australian National Environmental Science Program Marine Biodiversity Hub is a good place to look for answers.
Should researchers and science communicators share personal information, thoughts, ideas, online or should they only talk about the science?
Species on the move can create an opportunity to connect people with nature and climate change, and, hopefully, help prompt positive action.
When Elon Musk took over Twitter back in 2022, lots of people were unhappy. Some moved over to other platforms, like Mastodon. What prompted some communities to make the move?
Research from Josephine Martell and Amanda Rodewald suggests pessimistic messaging has its place in motivating conservation behaviours.
Love it or loathe it, the "media" are crucial for getting information out into the world. So, what marine "topics" are journalists in Europe covering?
