Dear friends,

Reaching the end of another year, I am taking the time today to reflect with deep gratitude on all I have that is beautiful: friends, family, community, ocean and forest animals, and all the magical elements that combine to form this crazy experience we call life. Above all, I am feeling immensely grateful for your partnership and support in protecting the most important life-support system of our planet: the ocean.

My journey began three decades ago when I took up scuba diving. Beneath the surface, I discovered a world so beautiful, so full of life, words just could not describe it. That’s when I decided to explore photography and filmmaking, and set off on a pathway to document the ocean’s most incredible spectacles.

One of the most intimate and touching experiences of my entire life was when a mother humpback whale presented her newborn calf to me.

But despite all the captivating moments I’ve lived with these incredible creatures, I could never help but think about how ruthlessly and systematically we have been wiping these animals off the face of the earth.

My belief is that once you uncover such an important truth, you have a duty to do something about it.

With the help of the entire SeaLegacy and Only One teams, and our incredible ocean-impact community, The Tide, we’ve been able to move the needle on some of the world’s most pressing environmental issues.

This year, we worked with local and international partners to support the protection of an additional 50,500 square kilometers of Panama’s Pacific Ocean areas. We also helped our friends in The Bahamas rebuild their lives in the wake of a major hurricane, and funded programs to train and certify Bahamians as scuba divers, able to advance the monitoring and safeguarding of local marine ecosystems.

I hope you’ll join me in celebrating another trip around the sun by becoming part of The Tide: our impact community of more than 8,200 people like you investing in our work every month to support ocean solutions around the world.

Each month, you’ll receive a report straight from the front lines of our conservation mission detailing how your contribution is creating lasting change for our blue planet. I hope you will join me on the adventure and stand with us for our ocean.

Sincerely,

Shawn Heinrichs, Co-founder of SeaLegacy