The Living Ocean protects sea turtles, coral reefs and dolphins, restores ocean ecosystems and inspires local communities to cherish the sea, because a healthy ocean is essential for life on earth.
Agriculture & Soil
Inspired by the beauty of underwater life, and moved by the decline of turtles and fish that the Dutch founder saw in Zanzibar, The Living Ocean has worked since 2021 to conserve the ocean and its ecosystems. The foundation runs various projects in Zanzibar (East Africa) and on Bonaire in the Caribbean.
Its mission is to protect the ocean and all the life within it by encouraging cooperation with and between local organisations. The Living Ocean focuses on sustainable, local stewardship, with local people involved as much as possible in the decisions and the work itself.
What The Living Ocean works on:
protecting and monitoring sea turtles
restoring and researching coral reefs
researching and protecting dolphins
helping children and students learn about the ocean
helping develop sustainable, local sources of income
Connecting people, protecting the ocean: that is what The Living Ocean works for every day.
A healthy ocean provides oxygen, food and a home for millions of animals and plants. It helps protect our climate and is an important source of food and income for millions of people.
When coral disappears, so does the habitat. When coral reefs vanish, fish and other sea creatures lose their home, and an entire ecosystem weakens.
When species disappear, the sea grows poorer. When sea turtles and other species vanish, we lose part of the remarkable world that lives in our oceans.
When the sea changes, people feel it. Millions of people depend on the ocean for food and income. When the sea changes, it directly affects their livelihoods.
We cannot wait until it is too late. What we protect today can still be here tomorrow. The choices we make now decide which ocean we pass on to the next generation.
When you shop as usual through Terry, part of the shop's marketing budget goes to The Living Ocean, as a donation and at no extra cost to you. In this way you help protect the ocean and marine life.
Your contribution helps, among other things, to:
protect sea turtles: monitoring and protecting nests, and building knowledge and awareness through the Turtle Nesting Centre for the local community, children, students and visitors
research and protect dolphins: through research and monitoring we learn more about these animals and their habitat, and make better choices for the sea
restore coral reefs: growing and replanting corals, building artificial reefs and researching how reefs can be better protected
help children and students learn: local pupils discover the ocean around them, and students gain hands-on experience in real conservation projects
develop sustainable solutions: helping the community build new sources of income that put less pressure on nature, such as local women setting up their own sea cucumber farm
What can your contribution mean? To make it concrete:
€25 can make around 1 m² of coral restoration possible
€125 can help move a turtle nest to safety and protect the eggs, so the young turtles have a better chance of hatching
€250 can give a child a full year in the Environmental Education Program, including field trips
Women building their own future. In Zanzibar we train and support local women to farm sea cucumbers on their own farm. They become owners of the project, manage it independently and can expand it. This creates a sustainable income, more independence and a project in their own hands. It also means they no longer need to take coral, starfish and shells from the ocean to sell to tourists.
A new home for coral. In a place where the coral had disappeared, we built a reef of 300 m². On it we placed 2,500 coral fragments from our own nursery, giving fish and marine life room to return. We monitor the growth and species composition to learn how best to restore and protect reefs.
What children learn, they take home. For five years we have run our Environmental Education Program in local schools in Zanzibar. Children learn about the ocean, marine life and why it matters to protect the sea, and share that knowledge enthusiastically with their parents and family. In this way one child can reach a whole family.
A better future for sea turtles. In Zanzibar and on Bonaire we protect and monitor turtle nests. When a nest is at risk, we move the eggs to a safe place. By combining protection with awareness, we help make sure sea turtles keep living along these coasts in the future. Every turtle hatchling that safely reaches the sea is one more for the future.
Every purchase through Terry supports the mission of The Living Ocean and funds the local projects for a healthy ocean. Want to do even more? You can also:
Share the story. Follow The Living Ocean on social media, share the posts or sign up for the newsletter.
Become a monthly donor and help sustain the projects over the long term.
Become a donor partner with your company and make projects for the ocean and the local community possible.
Consider a legacy. Think about including The Living Ocean in your will, so the work continues into the future.
Contribute actively. Students can gain experience through an internship or research project, and volunteers can help out on the projects.
The Living Ocean is a Dutch foundation with ANBI status (chamber of commerce 81780966, RSIN 862217519), based in Warnsveld, the Netherlands. Its board members work voluntarily and without pay. Together with the local community, schools, students, researchers and partners, The Living Ocean works on projects that protect the ocean and marine life.
The foundation believes in not only telling what it does, but showing what it achieves. That is why it tracks what happens within the projects and shares its experiences and results, including through an annual report.
Support The Living Ocean with every purchase
Shop as usual through Terry and help protect the blue heart of our planet.
