Underwater Earth

02/10/2026

There's so much we don't know about the ocean.

What lives below the waves at is mostly out of sight, out of mind. eDNA is a simple way to change that.

This project puts real students at the water's edge, real data in the classroom, and the findings into the hands of the Bondi community, as well as feeding into open-access global databases that scientists anywhere can use.

This project started as a pilot - with one beach, one school, and a simple question: what's really living beneath the waves at Bondi?

But that question doesn't stop at Bondi. We're building towards something bigger - a growing network of schools and community groups, each one championing their own stretch of coastline, using the same simple eDNA science to find out what's living there too.

We're calling it Ocean Detectives. 🕵️♀️🌊

Bondi is where it started. It won't be where it ends. Keep an eye as this unfolds!

With thanks to partners (), Sydney Coast Hope Spot collaborators (, ), funders ( ) and eDNA kit providers ( )

25/09/2026

25/09/2026

Time to answer the question we've been building up to: what actually is marine eDNA? 🧬

Every living thing leaves tiny traces behind in the seawater it moves through: skin cells, scales, mucus, even waste. Those microscopic fragments are called environmental DNA, or eDNA for short.

Collect a sample of seawater, send it to a lab, compare it with an ever-growing reference database of eDNA marine species ‘barcodes’, and that DNA can help reveal what has been swimming, living, or drifting through.

Every 3 months, Rose Bay Secondary College students collect samples from both North and South Bondi. From there, they're sent to Wilderlab in New Zealand, where the real detective work happens.

Bondi's waters hold more information than most of us ever think to ask for.
We'll soon be sharing what has been found, right here. Follow along. 🌊
With thanks to partners (), Sydney Coast Hope Spot collaborators (, ), funders ( ) and eDNA kit providers ( )

20/09/2026

Big news for our little stretch of coastline. 💙

Underwater Earth has secured two grants to launch a pilot project right here at Bondi. One from Blue World's Valerie Taylor Ocean Prize, and one from Waverley Council's Our Place Local Community Fund. Thank you both for backing something this local, and this important.

Together, they're funding Rose Bay Secondary College students to get hands-on with real citizen science, using eDNA sampling kits, supported by Minderoo and Wilderlab, to find out what's actually living beneath the waves at Bondi.

No nets. No diving. Just water, curiosity, some very clever science to generate real data about our own coastline.

We'll be sharing what they find, right here. Follow along. 🌊

With thanks to partners (), collaborators (Ocean Lovers Festival, Mission Blue) and funders ( )

13/09/2026

Bondi Beach. You know the sand, the walk, the water. But what about what's underneath it?

For the past 12 months, a group of local students has been quietly finding out, not with a snorkel or a net, but by collecting seawater samples and some clever science.

Using environmental DNA sampling, they've been building a picture of what's actually living, swimming and drifting just off our coastline, most of it completely invisible to anyone standing on the cliffs and sand.

Over the next few weeks, we're sharing what a full year of that data revealed. Some of it might surprise you.

Follow along. The ocean's been keeping secrets, and we're starting to read them.

With thanks to partners (), collaborators (Ocean Lovers Festival, Mission Blue) and funders ( )

30/08/2026

🌊 Happy Birthday, Her Deepness! 🌊

Today we're celebrating the one and only Sylvia A. Earle - legendary oceanographer, explorer, and founder of .

Across Underwater Earth's 17 years of , we've had the extraordinary privilege of working alongside Sylvia many times. Some highlights we're forever grateful for:

🤿 She joined our Florida Keys XL Catlin Seaview Survey expedition, where she got to experience "driving" our SVII camera firsthand (swipe to see her behind the SVII scooter!). One of our decommissioned SVII camera systems now lives on in the Australian National Maritime Museum's permanent collection.

🎬 She lent her voice to narrate two of our VR films exploring marine conservation and hope:

"Out of the Blue" - directed by Sophie Ansel - the inspiring story of the legacy inherited by the children of Cabo Pulmo. Once described by Jacques Cousteau as the Aquarium of the World, years of overfishing pushed this reef and its inhabitants to the brink. To get their reef back, the Castro family of fishermen made a revolutionary and deeply personal sacrifice, giving up their source of income and food for the chance at renewal.

"Guardians of the Kingdom" - directed by Sophie Ansel and Christophe Bailhache - an interwoven story of two mothers, one human, one whale, and the connections that bind them. It's a story of reconciliation between a giant once hunted and the people of the Kingdom of Tonga.

🌏 And our MD Lorna Parry, alongside fellow Hope Spot Champions Anita Kolni and Carolyn Grant, founders of the Ocean Lovers Festival have worked with Sylvia for the Sydney Coast - helping protect and celebrate the waters right on our doorstep.

Thank you, Sylvia, your Deepness, for a lifetime of fearless ocean advocacy and for the time and spirit you've so generously shared with us. Happy birthday to a true hero of the deep! 💙



Image of SVII - Underwater Earth/XL Catlin Seaview Survey

01/08/2026

Today is MPA Day — Marine Protected Areas Day

August 1 is a global moment to celebrate the power of local action for ocean protection, and to shine a light on the Marine Protected Areas safeguarding our blue planet.

It's also the perfect time to galvanise our community around 30x30, the global target to protect 30% of our ocean and land by 2030. Right now we're nowhere near it, and every voice pushing for real, enforced protection matters.

Closer to home, we're proud that Underwater Earth co-founder Lorna Parry, alongside Anita Kolni and Carolyn Grant (founders of Ocean Lovers Festival), are Mission Blue Sydney Coast Hope Spot Champions

Together, we're campaigning for meaningful protection across the Sydney Coast region, recognising the need for MPAs that are properly protected, funded, enforced, and built to last.

Join us. Learn more about the Sydney Coast Hope Spot and how you can help push for 30x30.

https://www.sydneycoasthopespot.org/

01/08/2026

Less than 1% of Sydney’s blue backyard is currently protected.

Today is World Marine Protected Areas Day, and we need to talk about the extraordinary waters right on our doorstep. The Sydney Coast Hope Spot, aka the Hawkesbury Shelf Marine Bioregion, stretches from Newcastle down to Wollongong, including our world-famous Sydney Harbour. It is home to over 600 fish species, thousands of other marine species including invertebrates, marine mammals and coastal birds and thriving, unique marine ecosystems.

But the area is under sustained pressure from development, pollution, and human activity.

We want to see increased protection!

1) We support the global goal to protect 30% of our land and sea by 2030.

2) We are proud members of the NSW Marine Sanctuaries Alliance, advocating for stronger regional protections.

3) Our co-founder Lorna Parry, alongside Anita Kolni and Carolyn Grant (Ocean Lovers Festival), are the Mission Blue Sydney Coast Hope Spot Champions. Collectively, we campaign for meaningful protection across the Sydney Coast bioregion.

If you want to lend your support today:

Head to the link below to sign the National Parks Association of NSW 30x30 Letter. Help us secure a healthier, more resilient future for our ocean by demanding real protection for at least 30% of NSW land and sea by 2030.

Direct link: https://npansw.org.au/sign-the-30x30-nsw-petition/