A common misconception of our ‘Edges of Earth’ expedition comes from the name itself. Many assume that the only stops on our journey are those of far-flung locations hardly spotted on modern maps. Some might even go as far as saying we’re in search of the missing continent, Mu (Yes – Atlantis would be too mainstream for the likes of us). But that’s not what our namesake actually means. To us, going to the “edges of earth” encompasses both a physical location and a mindset surrounding exploration. 

On the physical side, these places can vary from remote, lesser-known locales to well-known global epicentres. The shared trait across many of our destinations, however, is they have gone largely unrecognised for their varied conservation efforts. Those that have been noticed, the stories of their positive ocean progress have been shared not nearly enough. Additionally, the destinations we choose force us to challenge conventional travel norms, encouraging genuine open-mindedness and curiosity to see what sits beneath the surface. So ‘edges of earth’ is something of a philosophy that represents a way of engaging with the world, both abroad and in our own backyards. 

This mindset enables us to better discover, listen, learn, and contribute – all while embodying a spirit of conscious exploration wherever we go. This means leaving places better than we found them, by contributing to the communities and ecosystems we explore, and applying our skills and service to support the areas we’ve been fortunate enough to visit.

This is why we decided to head back to our home country and spotlight what we consider the pinnacle of conservation success stories. So, we were headed to the state of California and our target was the Northern Channel Islands. 

In the winter of 2021, our expedition team was on a smaller scale assignment in the state. We were tasked with shooting thriving kelp in situ for a start-up we were working for that was leveraging seaweed to obsolete single-use plastic. For two weeks, we dove the temperate waters of the Channel Islands, suited up in old rental 7mm wetsuits with enough holes in them to look and feel more like Swiss cheese than dive gear. Aside from freezing to our cores, we came to realise one thing rather quickly about these islands: there was a lot below the surface worth protecting.

The Channel Islands is one of those United States National Parks that often gets overlooked, predominantly because of the remote location. The archipelago is made up of eight islands, with the five northern islands of Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel, and Santa Barbara protected by Channel Islands National Park and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.