Manta rays are beautiful and majestic animals that have a life-changing effect on people who meet them. I want to protect them so humans can experience their transformational power for generations to come! My goal is to inspire people so they take action to protect the mantas' ecosystem and oceans all around the world.
Rethinking our place in nature: Ocean Wings episode with Rowan Daugherty
During the briefing before we take guests to meet manta rays in the ocean, we'd often explain how the manta rays aren't there to perform for us - they're just living their lives, and we're lucky to witness it. Last April during that briefing, one of the guests lit up: "I just wrote a paper about this." The guest was called Rowan Daugherty, and her paper "Putting the Phone Down: the Negative Impact of Technology on Nature". It explores something I've been trying to communicate for years: the disconnect that happens when we expect nature to give us an "experience" instead of just being present for what unfolds. In this week's episode, Rowan and I dive deeper into that conversation. She's an undergraduate honors student studying political science and environmental ethics, and her perspective on how we relate to the natural world is refreshingly grounded. We talk about topics like how technology creates barriers to real connection and the difference between egocentric thinking (putting ourselves at the center) and ecocentric thinking (recognizing we're part of something larger). It's a conversation about letting go of expectations, experiencing nature on its own terms, and what Aldo Leopold's "land ethic" teaches us about our relationship with the world around us.
If you've ever caught yourself reaching for your phone instead of just being present in a beautiful moment, this conversation will resonate.
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Martina Wing
Manta rays are beautiful and majestic animals that have a life-changing effect on people who meet them. I want to protect them so humans can experience their transformational power for generations to come! My goal is to inspire people so they take action to protect the mantas' ecosystem and oceans all around the world.
Aloha Reader, November is almost here, and with it comes winter on the water. Hawaiʻi’s big-surf season runs from November through mid-April. Storms far out in the North Pacific generate large waves that travel toward the islands and reach the north and west shores of the Big Island - including the Kona/Kohala coast, where we (and other operators) run our manta ray tours. When a big swell rolls in, the surface gets choppy, sand lifts off the bottom, and visibility drops. We enter from shore,...
Aloha Reader, My last email wasn't the most cheerful one, with all the hurricanes sweeping through Hawaiʻi. So today, I'm happy to bring you some positive news! 😊 The Ocean Cleanup (TOC) is one of my favorite non-profit organizations: they come up with clever ways to remove plastic pollution from the ocean. In March, TOC reached a major milestone: 50 million kilograms of trash (that's about 110 million pounds) pulled out of oceans and rivers. In December 2024, the figure stood at 20 million....
Aloha Reader, It's been a while since my last newsletter. Since then, quite a bit has happened here in Hawaiʻi. Many of you met me and the team in person, and we know some of you keep an eye on the islands from a distance and worry when storms roll through. On August 15, Hurricane Lala skirted the southern tip of the Big Island and brought an incredible amount of rain to Kaʻū, the southernmost district on the island. Certain areas got more than 4 inches of rain in a single hour – turning...