Category: News Articles

  • Empowering communities: Sharing seabird monitoring techniques

    A new seabird monitoring initiative, Manu Tai o te Kūki ʻĀirani, launched earlier this year to better understand the presence of elusive seabirds—petrels and shearwaters—on Rarotonga, Mangaia, and Atiu. These seabirds,…

  • Mana Tiaki: Our heritage, our stand, our future

    The Cook Islands’ recent agreements with China and the United States to conduct deep-sea mining research are not a pathway to prosperity, but a dangerous gamble with our most precious…

  • Turtle Trackers in training: GROW Aitutaki youth dive into conservation

    This article is written by a GROW Aitutaki representative on the group’s recent turtle monitoring experience with Te Ipukarea Society and Ocean Toa. GROW Aitutaki is an active youth group…

  • Plastic-Free July: Are We Doing Enough? Lessons from an eco-conscious visitor

    Photo: Angela Pennington and family walk in the sea near their accommodation in Muri. Looking after the beauty of our environment was important to them. We need to do what…

  • Ocean lovers unite against deep-seabed mining

    On 19th and 20th July, ocean lovers worldwide rallied against deep-sea mining, a destructive industry threatening the global ocean. At Kaena Reserve over 80 people took to the water (others staying…

  • Why Defend the Deep now?

    This past Saturday (19 July), over 100 people joined us at Aroʻa Beach from 2pm, as we joined with others worldwide to call for a moratorium or pause on deep…

  • Meet Tumu the pink octopus

    Aere mai tātou on Saturday 19 July from 2pm at Aroʻa Beach (next to the Rarotongan Hotel) for a fun, family beach day organised by Ocean Ancestors—a collective of individuals,…

  • Burrow breakthrough: Tahiti Petrels found nesting in the Takuvaine Valley

    Te Manu Tai o Te Kūki ‘Āirani Project Update A two-year seabird monitoring programme began in March to find out which species of petrels and shearwaters are currently breeding in…

  • Out of sight, out of mind, but never out of the environment

    Get your brain cells and creativity buzzing for Plastic Free July. This global campaign, started in Australia in 2011, encourages us to reduce our dependence on single-use and other disposable…

  • Questioning the concept of deep seabed mining

    In a recent Time Magazine article, explorer and investor Victor Vescovo asserts that the economics of deep-seabed mining simply “do not stack up”. This strong claim prompts critical questions about the substantial…