Our mission

Great Ocean Forests is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to ocean-positive storytelling and education.

Our mission is to share the beauty, biodiversity, and importance of the world’s ocean forests — vast underwater ecosystems that few have seen, and fewer still have experienced.

By fostering understanding and connection, we hope to inspire greater care for these vital but often overlooked marine habitats, especially as many are now under threat.

Great Ocean Forests is a collaborative effort, grounded in respect, curiosity, and a shared commitment to the living world.

Who we are

  • Faine Loubser

    Faine is a filmmaker, photographer, and free-diver who has spent over ten years immersed in the world of kelp forests. Mentored early on by Craig Foster, and shaped by years of diving in the kelp forests of South Africa, she learned how to observe these ecosystems with patience, sensitivity, and care. She now brings this knowledge to kelp forests around the world.

  • Ross Frylinck

    Ross is a photographer, author, and free-diver who co-founded the Sea Change Project. Through his current initiative, Great Ocean Forests, Ross documents the hidden beauty and biodiversity of the world’s kelp forests using film, photography, and storytelling.

Collaborators

Great Ocean Forests is built on collaboration. Around the world, we’ve been joined by divers, scientists, artists, elders, photographers, foragers, and ocean stewards — people who bring their own knowledge, skills, and ways of seeing.

What unites them is a deep passion for ocean forests, and a commitment to protecting these ecosystems through their own unique paths — whether through research, storytelling, traditional practice, or everyday care for the sea.

Together, they’ve helped shape the work at every stage, reminding us that these forests are not just habitats, but living worlds held in relationship with people and culture.

  • John Chambers

    Wildlife Filmmaker, Ireland

  • Dr Alejandra Mora-Soto

    Biogeographer, Chile

  • Aleksander Nordahl

    Photojournalist, Norway

  • Billy Arthur

    Photographer, Scotland

  • Ai Futaki

    Ocean Ambassador, Japan

  • Dr Martin Stevens

    Sensory Ecologist, England

  • Hamish Clueard

    Conservationist, Maōri Elder, NZ

  • Glenn Edney

    Ecologist, NZ

  • Rodrigo Sanchez Grez

    Explorer & Expedition Lead, Chile

  • Oriana Poindexter

    Marine biologist, Artist, USA

  • Mike Guest

    Photographer, Scotland

  • Prof. Jon Erlandson

    Marine Archaeologist, USA

  • Dr Irene Middleton

    Marine Biologist, Photographer, NZ

  • Oliver Peckham

    Dive Guide, Forager, NZ

  • Stefan Andrews

    Creative Director, Great Southern Reef, Australia

Partners & supporters

This work is made possible by the generous support of the Aileen Getty Foundation, whose commitment to the natural world has helped bring Great Ocean Forests to life.