Founded in 2015 by leaders in the scuba diving industry, the Sea of Change Foundation is expanding its core mission while maintaining focus on creating positive change. The Foundation will now fund terrestrial conservation in addition to marine conservation to include all of the natural world. Examples of current and pending projects funded by the Foundation that encompass the new mission include:
- Innovations in reducing plastics-use at sea turtle nest monitoring sites, Mexico
- Limiting negative interactions between subsistence farmers and elephants, Sri Lanka
- Conservation of African manatees in Lake Ossa, Cameroon
- Educating military communities and families about daily sustainable choices, USA
The three conservation focus areas of the Foundation will continue as: Ocean Pollution –Public Awareness and Action, Coral Reefs – Restoration and Resilience, and Threatened Species and Habitats, with the latter to now encompass terrestrial conservation. Recognising the value of scuba divers and coastal communities to local marine conservation, the Foundation will continue its successful Reef Rescue and Rapid Response grants programme; and will also continue to support annual marine science scholarships with the Womens Divers Hall of Fame.
It is the hope of the Board of Directors of the Sea of Change Foundation that the new expanded mission will help support even more meaningful conservation with positive, measurable outcomes. “Our mission will now better align with the expanding ecotourism of Aggressor Adventures and, as always, 100 percent of donations to the Foundation will support conservation,” concluded Wayne Brown, CEO of Aggressor Adventures and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Foundation.
