SES Elodie Sandford Explorer 2022 – Emi Koch
Hi! My name is Emi Koch. I’m a social-ecologist,
National Geographic Explorer and a Fulbright Fellow from San Diego, California. I’m also the co-founder of a small non-profit called Coast to Coast, based here in northern Peru, that works with young learners and educators from small-scale fishing communities around the world using participatory audiovisual tools like photography, place-based education and youth action research for these kids to simultaneously contribute and gain a kaleidoscopic understanding of their fishery, and communities
in the context of sustainable development.
I am so humbled and so honored to
have been awarded this year’s Elodie Sandford Explorer Award for Amateur Photography. I want to express my deepest gratitude
and thanks to her family, friends, and the Scientific Exploration Society for
supporting our project, the Quest for Lord Fish. I will be working with Vietnamese marine
and social scientists from the Center for Biodiversity Conservation and Endangered
Species, as well as local youth, and fishermen turned sailing instructors from
MANTA Sail Training Center in Vietnam. Our goal is to promote marine mammal conservation
through the promotion of Vietnamese whale worship culture, and documenting the temples that entomb
the bones of cetaceans.
We will be promoting Vietnamese whale worship tradition to become
UNESCO cultural heritage as well as ensuring that these temples are preserved for future generations
to learn about their natural-cultural heritage. Thank you so much for the opportunity,
muchas gracias, and cảm ơn rât nhiều!.
