“I used to think that the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and climate change...but I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed, and apathy...and to deal with those we need a SPIRITUAL AND CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION.”
Our planet is in great need of healing. Our ocean, as the beating blue heartbeat of this planet, especially so. This is a space for conversations around the big topics that span disciplines, like:
Our fragmented relationship with the natural world and with ourselves
How childhood and complex trauma impact our ability to show up as empathetic human beings
The scary divide that Western individualism drives between us when what we desperately need and crave is connection – to be seen and heard
This space is for sharing stories and conversations about the environmental issues we're concerned about, the movements we want to explore, the adventures we're living, and the thoughts we're pondering. I talk about everything from the benefits of plant-based eating, to the social justice challenges we’re facing, to my favorite eco-friendly travel adventures, to the challenges of remote work, to ethical marine ecotourism. I promise you’ll never be bored.
And who am I to take up this little lagoon on the internet? My name is Lauren. I am a graduate student studying marine mammal ecology at UC Santa Cruz. I am also a writer, graphic designer, and marine tourism guide (facilitating informative, ethical marine life encounters). My biggest dream is to create a space where every single human being feels safe to show up as their full, authentic, uncarved-block self, because it is when we connect with others as our genuine selves that we tap into the endless healing potential of human empathy and compassion. And, we need healing. Nothing has ever been so obvious.
What's Happening on the Blog:
Featured
What does a marine tourism guide actually do?
Learn more about my motivation for starting the greenest blue.
Inspiration on Insta
What's life as a seasonal guide like? Here's a quick summary of 2017:
This has been a wild year - I've spent 3 tourist seasons on 3 different islands, guiding on snorkel, whale watch, and dolphin swim tours. Maui, I love you. San Juan Island, you feel like home. Kaikoura - you've reinvigorated me. I've never been in so much saltwater, and it feels amazing!
Lauren Fritz is a researcher, naturalist, writer, and photographer that tumbled headfirst into a passionate love affair with travel and island living after realizing just how intoxicating this salty world can be. She's worked as a whale watch, snorkel, and dolphin swim guide in Maui, Hawai’i; the San Juan Islands in Washington State; Kaikoura, New Zealand; Southwest Alaska; Hervey Bay, Australia; the Kingdom of Tonga; and the Western Antarctic Peninsula. She also maintains a childlike sense of curiosity and wonder, living life as a permanent student. This blog is an exploration of her thoughts, musings, and meaningful experiences, with a focus on conservation and wellbeing.
For now, I want to share this particularly special experience that is unfolding, right now. I’m on a ship in the Antarctic, specifically the Antarctic Sound on the northeast side of the Western Antarctic Peninsula, with a group of 120 women and non-binary people in STEMM. It’s facilitated by Homeward Bound. Read more here: it’s late, and this girl needs to get to bed.
But I wanted to start a log of our experiences each day, and I need to get caught up before time flashes by and I’m disembarking in Ushuaia in two weeks. Updates will be mostly through photos, as that is the energy level I’m working with currently.
Kinnes Cove
Home to a bustling Adelie penguin colony, with some Gentoos and a random Chinstrap or three thrown into the fray. We saw a sleepy, chunky Weddell seal hauled out on the shoreline, and a few lazy humpbacks cruised past our zodiacs on their way to redder pastures (because of krill, duh).