I’ve always loved the sea. Pursuing a major in oceanography led
me to chose a degree in Physics and it was I realised that studying
the atmosphere was just as, amazing, if not more so! I therefore decided to
pursue a PhD in atmospheric sciences. But once the sea captures you, it never
really lets you go. That is how I found myself between the sea and sky.
Several years ago, a group of like-minded friends and I
decided to start an NGO, based in Croatia, called Deep Blue Explorers that
would focus on marine and atmospheric sciences and research. That task proved
to be extremely challenging as getting the funding we needed to start our
adventures seemed to be a little harder than we had anticipated. However, we
were fortunate enough and, after a very rough first season, we started to
collaborate with Operation Wallacea who design and implement biodiversity and
conservation management research expeditions with university and high school
students from all over the world.
At the same time, we started collaborating with another
Croatian NGO called 20.000 Leagues who have over 10 years of experience in
marine research. Together, we are running the Adriatic Ecology Course that aims
to bring together scientists and experts from all over the world to give
international students a hands-on experience of field work and high-quality
research. The course takes place in the National Park of Mljet and the research
includes fish, sea urchin and sea grass surveys. Additionally, the students conduct boat
monitoring in Lokva bay, three times a day, in order to record the pressure of
boats anchoring in the Bay.
The expedition is supported by scientific lectures regarding
conservation in the Adriatic; the ecosystem and biodiversity of the island of
Mljet; sustainability; research methods and global challenges such as marine
pollution. The students also have the opportunity to be involved in workshops to
discuss conservation and global challenges issues and to take part in personal
and professional development training activities that focus on sustainability and
protection of marine life.
It is an amazing experience for everyone and the students
leave the Island with a new understanding and new appreciation of the ecology
Island of Mljet, the contribution of the National Park regarding conservation
and the need and importance of supporting the National Park’s efforts.
As for me, being able to work both with the sea and the sky,
I can just say, I have never been happier!
Blog post by Eleni Michalopoulou. Eleni is currently a PhD student in the department of Chemistry and part of the ACRG Group. Her PhD focuses on studying the PFCs CF4 and C2F6. A physicist by training with a major in Oceanography, environment and meteorology she has spend most of her early career working on marine conservation, microplastics oceanography and Atmospheric dynamics. She is one of the lecturers of the Sustainable Development open unit and one of the lead educators for Bristol Futures and the Sustainable Futures pathway. Her scientific interests cover a variety of topics such as climate change, conservation, sustainability, marine and Atmospheric Sciences.