Sarah Fretwell: Climate Change Diaries from Tara Pacific
From December 2017 - February 2018, storyteller Sarah Fretwell worked as the onboard correspondent for the Tara Pacific expedition, a scientific mission to understand the evolution of coral reefs in the context of climate change and demographic changes. This was the largest coral research project ever undertaken in terms of sample area. The expedition visited over 30 countries,, sailed 100,000 km,, and collected 35,000 samples in two years. Fretwell was aboard for two months working in Wallis/Futuna, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Chuuk, Guam and Japan. During her time aboard she was responsible for producing/directing/editing videos, photography, and written content. Her book about the expedition, “All It Takes is You - A Pacific voyage reveals the key to ending the climate crisis”, will be released in 2020.
How did you end up working on this project?
I made friends with a young French woman, Clementine, traveling in Indonesia because our rooms shared a balcony. When I returned back to the U.S. I made my annual vision board. I cut out these remote islands in the Western Pacific that I had never heard of and wanted to visit. A year later, Clementine mentioned that she had landed an amazing job with Tara Expeditions Foundation and suggested I apply for the correspondent position. After several patchy Skype meetings from other countries, I flew from Turkey to Paris to interview for the job. Months later, I was sent the portion of the expedition I had been assigned to. I gasped when I looked the islands up online. The remote island nations of Tuvalu and Kiribati I had randomly put on my vision board a year earlier was where I was headed. It was meant to be.
““I randomly cut out a photo of some islands in the Pacific and pasted the image on my vision board, next to a photo of surf adventurer Liz Clark on her sailboat “Swell.” At the time, I didn’t know the name of these islands and my only thought was that I would really need a boat if I was going to go there!””
Who came up with the creative concept behind this project?
The creative concept was driven by the organization’s mission. The Tara Pacific expedition was a unique opportunity because of the expansive geographic area it covered and the timing. The planet was at the end of the longest global mass coral bleaching event in history (2014 - 2017.) In addition to learning more about corals by examining everything from genes to the ecosystem, Tara would be one of the first teams to get a picture of how devastating this bleaching event was for the Pacific ocean.
How were you involved in the story creation process? Did you advise the organization on what type of story might work best for this project?
My boss was very open to me proposing interesting stories and I had a lot of freedom to tell the stories as I chose (video, photography, writing) once we agreed on the subject. I tended to push for human stories that demonstrated why the work we were doing was important.
For example, I had the opportunity to interview the National Climate Change Coordinator to the President for Kiribati, Choi Yeeting. He was conflicted, knowing and understanding the science, but also hoping against hope that his family and country could survive. He told me, “Who are we if we move away from our country? Are we still I-Kiribati? Do our traditional values still count when we move to another country? Personally, I would like to remain I-Kiribati and still have my own traditions and cultural values. Aside from the science. Besides the scientific fact that we do have 50 years.” When I asked best case scenario what his future will look like, he replied, “I will have kids by then, I will be married, I will live here in Kiribati all my life. That is something that I envision for myself. That is the best-case scenario at this point. The worst-case scenario? The worst-case scenario would be having to evacuate Kiribati. I don’t see a good future for our people if that day really comes.” Stories like this are, for me, what connects viewers emotionally to the issue and ones they will remember and share with others; these stories will drive home the importance of science.
What did your average day look like on the expedition?
On Tara, “Science First” was the rule (my deadlines and jobs were always second to the research). Second, the captain made the final call on everything. Third, there was no such phrase as “that is not my job.”
Since it was a working boat, I also served meals, woke up at all hours of the night to work the night watch, cleaned on a daily basis and edited at the computer while slamming against 10-15 foot waves. When you are four women and 12 men working long days on a 119-ft. boat, your world is quite small and everything is intensified.
All of the scientists and crew were extremely helpful. I could not have done my job without the access they allowed me. I thoroughly enjoyed every project I worked on during the expedition, even when I was bone-tired from the physicality and intensity of the pace.
Are there any important lessons you learned or ways the story changed during the production process?
Everyone I met along the way told me they hope that someone will solve climate change. What I witnessed is that the majority of the problems facing us today are due to our lack of connection to ourselves, each other and the planet. When looking at dying coral and rising sea levels, it is important to realize climate change is a human choice. The silver lining in the COVID-19 pandemic is that we have seen large systems we have said cannot change (governments, food systems, health care) shift in a matter of days. The changes we need to make to reverse climate change are possible right NOW. We need to make daily decisions aligned with our values instead of waiting for someone else to solve the problem.
Were you paid to create this project?
Positions on well-funded expeditions are extremely coveted and difficult to get, but so are talented journalists with a passion for storytelling willing to put themselves in crazy situations that can produce videos, edit, photograph, write, and willing to clean a toilet. Within the context expedition, I was well compensated. For working 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week, for 8 weeks it was not the best paying gig I’ve ever had, but an absolute honor to be a part of the expedition.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with other media makers and nonprofits?
For media makers, dare to dream even when you don’t know how you can accomplish the things you want. Make a vision board - I AM SERIOUS! Take tangible steps that reinforce that vision and follow your excitement even when you have no idea where it will take you.
For nonprofits, something I found very refreshing about Tara Ocean Foundation is they understood the importance of storytelling and translating science for the masses. Most people are not likely to sit down and read a scientific report, but if you can make people feel emotionally connected to your work it is a beautiful opportunity for them to be a part of what they want to help create in the world. Setting aside reasonable budgets to work with professional storytellers ensures you make those meaningful connections.
Sarah Fretwell about to film the Tara schooner as they enter the port of Fukuoka, Japan, the last port of call in her 4,000 nautical mile journey. ©Tara Oceans
Want to learn more about Sarah’s work on Tara? Check out the links below.
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Real Nonprofit Stories is a blog series that NGO Storytelling produces to share the creative process of humanitarian storytellers and nonprofits communications teams in the field. If you’d like to have a project considered for this series please visit our submissions page.