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, It's been a busy winter season for us - while we haven't been in the water with the mantas much due to high surf and winter conditions, I wrapped up the first season of the Ocean Wings podcast. I thoroughly enjoy the long-form conversation, so I spent the rest of winter break working on another podcast I'll be hosting with my friend Tina Marie. That one has nothing to do with manta rays (or maybe it does 🙃). We recently soft-launched. 2025 statistics Back to the manta rays: we...
Aloha Reader, It's hard to believe, but we've wrapped Season 1 of Ocean Wings. Twelve episodes, twelve incredible guests, and so many moments that reminded me why I wanted to start this podcast in the first place - to share stories that inspire me and will no doubt inspire others. If you've been following along from the start, thank you. If you missed a few episodes along the way, now's the perfect time to catch up before we head into Season 2 (we're hoping to start recording in May). A few...
Aloha Reader, When someone suggested interviewing Manta Ray Advocates team members for my podcast, I didn't know what the conversation should be about: we talk and text almost every day, what else is there to say? Turns out my right hand, Savannah, has a whole lot of stories about what it's like to work here :) In this new episode of the Ocean Wings podcast, we dive into topics like collecting data on the manta rays we encounter, handling customer communication and operations, and briefing...