Slave Trade Shipwrecks + Saving Sharks: Meet Alannah Vellacott

Interactive Transcript

spk_0 I was traveling the world and teaming up with historians, researchers, experts in the

spk_0 field of archaeology, history, storytelling, community leaders, bringing those intentionally

spk_0 sunk stories to the surface and letting people know that slavery was a global enterprise.

spk_0 Everyone was involved.

spk_0 And the number that we think we know of how many black people were trafficked from Africa

spk_0 and or sold in slavery is very small because the rest of them are under the ocean and the ocean members.

spk_0 I'm Dr. Ray Wyn Grant and this is a different kind of nature show.

spk_0 A podcast about the human drama of saving animals.

spk_0 This season we're talking to all kinds of nature advocates, from a paleoanthropologist who

spk_0 hunts fossils in conflict zones to someone who helped save an endangered species while in prison.

spk_0 We're going to hear from real life heroes with widely different expertise and life experiences

spk_0 about what led them to be champions for the natural world. What transformation did they go through

spk_0 to create change within themselves, their community and the world? Together we'll find out how these

spk_0 ordinary people fell in love with nature and became their most extraordinary selves. This is going wild.

spk_0 Alana Velikot is a marine ecologist, science communicator and ocean advocate working in marine

spk_0 research, conservation and education in the Bahamas and the Caribbean. She's been free diving ever

spk_0 since she could walk and her Instagram is well worth a visit. You'll find pictures of Alana

spk_0 swimming with sharks and diving through coral forests all without the use of any equipment.

spk_0 In an underwater modeling industry that's overwhelmingly white, Alana's stunning images are showing

spk_0 a generation of young black girls that they too belong in the ocean.

spk_0 Today we're talking about how Alana went from fishing for sharks in her childhood to

spk_0 protecting them in her job as a marine ecologist. We'll also cover her work with Samuel L. Jackson

spk_0 has a feature diver on the documentary enslaved where she scoured the ocean floor for shipwrecks

spk_0 and artifacts that reveal the lost history of the transatlantic slave trade.

spk_0 There's an article in Essence Magazine that refers to you as the real little mermaid, which is just

spk_0 fabulous. And when we were looking into your background we could totally get it. And so I want to

spk_0 you grew up and the role that the ocean played in your childhood. I'm from the Bahamas and specifically

spk_0 I'm from the island of Gran Bahama and I grew up on the outskirts of a very expansive mangrove

spk_0 creek system. And so I had the privilege of seeing the ocean every day I woke up. I would see sharks

spk_0 on patrol in the mornings and in the evenings. I would see schools of parrot fish making the water

spk_0 nervous up at the surface. I would see turtles come up for air. I would see snappers, stingrays.

spk_0 As soon as I was able to go outside on my own I discovered I had neighbors who were the same ages

spk_0 me and just as wild and crazy. And their parents were a subsistence fisherman. And so of course we

spk_0 would be gone all day as often as we could fishing and playing in the mud, playing in the ocean.

spk_0 And learning about the world around me in the same way that children would use a playground to

spk_0 learn about the world around them. I love it. You come from a really special place. Thank you.

spk_0 So there's so much more to your childhood and we don't mean to skip over all of the growing up you

spk_0 did. But one of the things that I learned about you and in reading about you is that before you

spk_0 were working to save sharks you were on a different end of the spectrum where you were part of

spk_0 catching and harvesting them. So I kind of want to talk about that and I want to talk about it in a

spk_0 way where you can help us understand how normal that was. Yeah for sure. So of course my

spk_0 neighbors their parents were subsistence fishermen. That was the way that they made money. That's

spk_0 the way that their kids went to school. How food was put in the fridge, gas in the car, literally

spk_0 living off of the ocean. And there were one or two restaurants on island that specialized in

spk_0 shark fingers. And of course that sounds appealing maybe not now but definitely back then.

spk_0 I think it sounds cool especially for a kid. I want to eat shark fingers instead of fish sticks.

spk_0 Per pound sharks fetched us more money. So when my neighbor and I wanted something a little extra

spk_0 maybe a toy that was really expensive or a new bike or we need to fix our engine or something

spk_0 like that. We would go fishing sharks intentionally to sell them to those restaurants. It was very

spk_0 dangerous as kids. I could not tell my mom I was doing that. What made it dangerous? We were

spk_0 little kids. We were maybe 9, 10, 11. Was there an adult on the boat? Oh absolutely not.

spk_0 I'll paint the complete picture of what was going on. One day we were riding our bicycles and

spk_0 decided to take a trip to the dump and we found this aluminum boat and we dragged it all the way

spk_0 home. We learned how to fiberglass. We patched it up ourselves. We sold seafood to buy like a

spk_0 little crappy engine. We slapped that engine on there and we would be gone. Just gone.

spk_0 And this was before cell phones. So imagine being a mother or a father and you know your

spk_0 chalice out there doing god knows what. We would leave the community and go into the mangroves

spk_0 and we would set our line throwing it out as far as we can into the ocean. We would get up really

spk_0 early in the morning. Maybe 5 a.m. just when it's sunrise and we would head to that line and

spk_0 reel that in. All three of us screaming. Oh it's a big one. Oh it's a lemon shark being super

spk_0 excited. So okay I thought I knew the size of these animals but how big might they be? Your size

spk_0 like the size of your own body. Oh yeah. These sharks were over 10 feet long some of them.

spk_0 Sharks coming many different species and sizes but of course we wanted the bigger sharks. So we

spk_0 were hoping to catch large lemons or large reef sharks. We were struggling to reel them in. It

spk_0 would be all hands on deck and most of the time these sharks will still be alive. It's got a hooker

spk_0 in its mouth. Yeah. It's fighting for its life and a shark is a wild and dangerous animal and we

spk_0 would all be straining pulling these ropes and these lines in to try and put it in our little boat

spk_0 and ride it all the way home to start processing it. We would use every part of the shark. We would

spk_0 even soak what was left the skeleton so that we can use the spine for beads. We could sell the jaw

spk_0 to someone who sells souvenirs and like a trinket shop. We would use every part of it. Oh my god.

spk_0 You know I'm full of questions and my jaw is on the floor but you know you said you were 8, 9, 10,

spk_0 11. Did it have kind of the same like cultural norm as someone like me doing chores like in the

spk_0 neighborhood? Or were you like the only kids around who were shark fishing? Like it was like unheard.

spk_0 I would say yes and no. Shark fishing was culturally normal but yes we were the only kids around

spk_0 probably doing this. My neighbor's dad was a well-known fisherman on island and this is what they

spk_0 did for a living. They were experts in this and so they taught us their expertise at a super young

spk_0 age and we felt confident that we can go and do this and they felt confident in us that we can go

spk_0 and do that as well. It was a different era. Right. And again we're gonna spend so much time talking

spk_0 about conservation because obviously that's what you're up to now but I think it's important for

spk_0 people like us to be honest about all the mistakes along the way or just all of the things we engaged

spk_0 in before we knew better and to use that as an example of education and information and how it can

spk_0 really alter things. And I just I really appreciate you being willing to talk about shark fishing.

spk_0 Right. I mean I'd also like to add that my neighbor's dad taught us what conservation was

spk_0 though he was a fisherman kind of pairing that with indigenous knowledge. People who live off of the

spk_0 land understand how to take care of the land in a way that the land will continue to take care of them.

spk_0 Of course you can't keep taking sharks otherwise there aren't going to be sharks for the future

spk_0 and he applied that across the board with all of his fisheries. We understood to fish within the

spk_0 limits and to have mercy to leave some for later.

spk_0 Alana spent every spare moment she had in the water. She got certified as a patty junior

spk_0 open water diver at just 13 years old and as soon as she could she was working at a local dive center.

spk_0 It was there she met her first marine biologist and by the time she finished high school she was

spk_0 determined to attend a gap year program at the Cape Alutera Island School. Located a few islands

spk_0 away from where she grew up they had a campus of about 50 students and a marine ecology based

spk_0 curriculum with hands on classes that were actually taught in the ocean itself. The entire campus

spk_0 was also connected to a state-of-the-art research lab where Alana would have the opportunity to

spk_0 work with real scientists and researchers from all over the world. I went there thinking I already

spk_0 knew everything about the ocean and this was just going to qualify that I was an expert and nobody

spk_0 could tell me anything but there was obviously so many things I did not know about the ocean but

spk_0 also so many career options. Would you say that this was a life-changing experience?

spk_0 110 percent it was taking all of that raw enthusiasm and observation and know-how for the ocean

spk_0 from a fisherman's perspective and opening up the world to me.

spk_0 So I went to the website of the island school and was super impressed and then you know the other

spk_0 thing that was pretty obvious to me was that if the website represents a student body it was

spk_0 not very black and that is notable because of the location right so the Bahamas is a black

spk_0 country. So I'm curious what were the racial cultural demographics at the school?

spk_0 The island school is a very inclusive school. They want people from all walks of life attending the

spk_0 school. However because of the cost of attendance it's very hard for people of certain demographics to

spk_0 even dream of attending and a scholarship was absolutely necessary for me to attend. Super

spk_0 different than Grand Bahama Island where you had grown off and been in school before.

spk_0 Absolutely because it was a completely different demographic. And Alana because like this is an

spk_0 audio podcast and not everyone can see you. Can you describe your racial identity? I don't want to

spk_0 put words in your mouth but you might identify as like a biracial black woman. Is that accurate?

spk_0 Yeah I mean I think if you want to get super technical I would identify as Afro Caribbean.

spk_0 My dad is white in English and my mom is black in behavior and I am a product of profound love.

spk_0 My childhood was a little difficult because I don't look like your standard behavior.

spk_0 You're probably wondering where my accent is. I don't sound like your typical behavior because this

spk_0 is my professional speaking voice and I want you to understand me and think I'm intelligent. It's

spk_0 code switching. You know what that is girl. So I'm code switching right now. My hair curls differently

spk_0 and I got teased in high school a lot and I had different interests, white interests.

spk_0 And so in a lot of settings I was the white girl and other settings. I was the black girl so I was

spk_0 both but neither at the same time. And so in going to the island school I then was black. I was like oh

spk_0 okay this space is familiar but it's also different. I always think it's so interesting when

spk_0 racial identity is put upon kids as they're just like figuring themselves out and then you have to

spk_0 kind of figure that out too and sometimes it's not logical. Sometimes you're with people that you share

spk_0 identity with and you're excluded or with people that you don't share identity with and you're

spk_0 very much included. And I'd also appreciate you talking about how your code switching. It's just

spk_0 going to happen. Like as I become more relaxed in the conversation you'll hear it here and there but

spk_0 of course whatever our intersectionality is. I think we all do that. It's a subconscious method

spk_0 to be understood. Next to her mostly white classmates at the island school,

spk_0 Alana began to discover for the first time all of the subtle and not so subtle ways that her cultural

spk_0 identity could be misunderstood. Alana's experience with the ocean would be challenged in ways that

spk_0 were often complex like one interaction with a group of students that completely changed the way

spk_0 she thought about the sharks she used to catch with her friends. I was sitting on a picnic table

spk_0 and I was telling them oh yeah I fish sharks and this is how you process it. This is what you do with

spk_0 the teeth and then we soak the spine and we get beads and everyone was just looking at me almost

spk_0 and discussed and I'm like what's the matter? Why is nobody laughing or thinking that's cool

spk_0 and someone just was like why would you do that? I'm like for money. I explain that if I want

spk_0 something new or something expensive I could make my own money by fishing sharks. Some of the students

spk_0 weren't particularly gentle they were like why would you do that? That's so harmful. That's terrible.

spk_0 That's super cruel but it was a particular teacher that brought me aside who was like well

spk_0 this is slightly problematic because and kind of open the world of why sharks are so important

spk_0 to our oceans and that there is a whole research topic at the Cape Luther Institute dedicated

spk_0 to shark research and conservation and when I learned that it was about the same time I needed to

spk_0 write my letter as to where I wanted to do my internship and so in my letter I wrote that I

spk_0 wanted to come full circle from fishing them and seeking them out intentionally and killing them

spk_0 to learning all I can about them protecting them and then taking that home to tell others why

spk_0 sharks are so important. That's really magical. I mean there's so many ways I want to follow up with

spk_0 that but I want to really commend you and especially call out that teacher who took that extra time

spk_0 to explain and tell me if you agree with this. Sometimes there's this complexity when it comes to

spk_0 the west. My opinion is that unfortunately conservation globally has had this neo-colonial approach

spk_0 that can be harmful can be effective can be incomplete and so I wonder like learning that shark

spk_0 fishing is bad for the environment they could have gone in a couple different ways in a different

spk_0 situation you might have felt defensive you might have felt that like your culture was being attacked

spk_0 you might have felt that this was that very like neo-colonial like western people coming into the

spk_0 Bahamas telling kids don't earn money the way you're earning money even though you were doing it

spk_0 in a sustainable way however it wasn't that right like it actually was like this wonderful

spk_0 nurturing educational moment. I did not know it had a name I did not know about neo-colonialism

spk_0 in terms of conservation or anything like that but I did experience it at the island school

spk_0 but very briefly. I knew a particular fish species to be called a broadshad that's what I called it

spk_0 it's a shad and I went to the island school we were learning about mangroves and I pointed

spk_0 out the fish and I was like oh look a broadshad and they're like no I'm like yes how can you how can

spk_0 you tell me they're like it's a yellowfin mojara I've never heard that before sorry I'm a fisherman

spk_0 I'm from the Bahamas we call that a broadshad and I'm like no see it's called a yellowfin mojara open

spk_0 the book there's the fish and I'm like okay sure whatever but I'm gonna continue to call it a

spk_0 broadshad and then I learned about scientific names and why scientific names are so important but

spk_0 I definitely had that experience where my indigenous knowledge was not appreciated in fact it was

spk_0 completely rejected and I don't think that was by a teacher I'm pretty sure that was by a student

spk_0 who had been studying fish ID because we were out in the mangroves that day but yeah that was the

spk_0 first time I really experienced that thank you for sharing that because even in like our best

spk_0 most nurturing environments microaggressions show up and remind us of the work that needs to be done

spk_0 and the ways that some of this is imperfect the island school was transformative and the story of how

spk_0 why shocks are important was introduced to me is the way that it should be and is definitely a way

spk_0 that I try my very best to communicate science to people of all walks of life it's about

spk_0 coming to where they're at and eliciting information from them first what do you know what do you

spk_0 see what are you observing and then exchanging their knowledge with my knowledge and having a

spk_0 discussion and then coming to an agreement or even a disagreement about how can we work together

spk_0 to protect what's taking care of you and to protect what I love visiting

spk_0 a lot of went on to study ecology and environmental science at the University of South Dakota

spk_0 where she was again one of just a handful of black students this was a theme that continued

spk_0 throughout the beginning of her career even when she found a job back in the Bahamas as a research

spk_0 assistant it wasn't unusual to be the only black person and the only woman on her dive team

spk_0 or in the lab but all of that was about to change in 2018 Alana got a call from an organization

spk_0 called Diving with a Purpose founded by members of the National Association of Black Scuba Divers

spk_0 they're a multi-racial team of underwater archaeologists specializing in the documentation

spk_0 and preservation of artifacts related to black history and the transatlantic slave trade

spk_0 they were making a documentary with Samuel L. Jackson and the director wanted Alana to appear

spk_0 on screen as one of the featured divers we were talking and chatting he was asking

spk_0 asking questions and he said oh by the way you have the part i was like i do it was like yeah

spk_0 didn't it won't tell you no this is amazing he's talking logistics to me and i'm like what is

spk_0 happening after the break we'll discuss how exploring both sides of her heritage helped Alana to

spk_0 truly embrace her racial identity we'll also talk about meeting Samuel L. Jackson and Alana's

spk_0 mission to save the coral forests of her childhood i know about the documentary and you know about

spk_0 the documentary but our audience might not know what we're talking about so in your own words

spk_0 can you explain what this documentary is about it takes a look at the transatlantic slave trade

spk_0 through the lens of the shipwreck that it left behind what that meant was i was traveling the world

spk_0 and teaming up with historians researchers experts in the field of archaeology history storytelling

spk_0 community leaders bringing those intentionally sunk stories to the surface and letting people know

spk_0 that slavery was a global enterprise everyone was involved and the number that we think we know

spk_0 of how many black people were trafficked from africa and or sold into slavery is very small

spk_0 because the rest of them are under the ocean and the ocean members

spk_0 i want to focus a little bit on like we talk about imposter syndrome in the world like did you have

spk_0 an imposter syndrome moment where you're like what i'm a biologist this isn't biology or were you

spk_0 kind of like this is fate if i'm in i didn't have imposter syndrome about

spk_0 underwater archaeology i had imposter syndrome about my intersectionality and how i looked and that

spk_0 i was being asked to represent black people and my entire childhood i wasn't considered black

spk_0 nor white i was othered that experience manifested in me not feeling like

spk_0 i'm the correct person to be talking about this experience i didn't expect you to say that

spk_0 like i expected you to say something about like oh i wasn't sure if i belonged on this project

spk_0 because of my science background no i was afraid that i wouldn't belong on the project because

spk_0 i wasn't dark enough and this was about slavery correct it was wild and i really wrestled with it

spk_0 because the first episode that we filmed was in cornwall where my dad was from and the entire

spk_0 premise of the show is exploring my mother's ancestry and this was the first time as an adult

spk_0 being in the country of my father and exploring his ancestry while also exploring her ancestry

spk_0 at the same time it felt like i had one foot on either side of the line and it was a very emotional

spk_0 experience i felt horrible but at the same time i felt empowered and vindicated i felt

spk_0 responsible and i also felt like a victim i don't think anything else on this planet could have

spk_0 brought me to this space this confidence space that i'm in other than working on that documentary

spk_0 i now stand confident in my intersectionality that i am a proud black woman and that's who i am

spk_0 and no one can tell me otherwise or take it away from me i'm really glad you did it i'm really

spk_0 glad you said yes i mean for so many reasons it's it's an offering to the world but it seems like

spk_0 there are also a lot of kind of ways that it served you the experience educated you challenged you

spk_0 empowered you helped you explore some really tough stuff that you might not have been

spk_0 able to confront otherwise and you weren't alone

spk_0 on after spending so much professional time in white spaces like what was it like to be with like

spk_0 black divers it felt like coming home usually you know i'll be on a dive boat and i'm either the

spk_0 only female or i'm the only black person or i'm both and the usual energy are like big white

spk_0 men who are like oh i use this much air or oh i use that i need this much weight or hey can i help

spk_0 you with that you can't lift this when sir excuse me i'm an instructor please step out of the

spk_0 way so i can set up my own gear thank you very much to go into this community that looks just like me

spk_0 that i've had the same experiences that i've had the same enthusiasm for these quote-unquote white

spk_0 interests that i was teased for in school is just i knew a lot about biology and they knew a lot

spk_0 about history and archaeology it's something i don't really know much about and because i am a scientist

spk_0 and a smarty pants i want to know everything it is they know and so we would have these amazing

spk_0 exchanges of this is the fish you're looking at or this is the artifact you're looking at this is

spk_0 how you map it this is how you do a resurvey like it was so much fun because i came home to a tribe

spk_0 of people who already loved me and who wanted to show me everything about their world while we can

spk_0 sit back and relax and just exchange everything that comes with being black and in the ocean space

spk_0 it was the hardest thing i have ever been asked to do but the adventure in between the

spk_0 bonds made the friends made was unforgettable once in a lifetime opportunity while watching and

spk_0 slaved as someone working in ecology i found myself wondering how much longer this history can survive

spk_0 on the ocean floor because i know that large-scale fishing vessels drag nets called bottom

spk_0 trawlers across the sea bed which destroys coral forests and underwater ecosystems but what could they

spk_0 also be doing to the relics that alana and her team are trying to protect is there a tremendous

spk_0 urgency right now to uncover the shipwrecks and the artifacts that were left over to me it seemed

spk_0 like it might be like now or never like oh my gosh if we want to understand black history like we've

spk_0 got to do this now is that accurate or do you have a sense yes we were in the english channel

spk_0 and we were searching for this ship that was named f 35 i don't think anyone had really put

spk_0 eyes on this ship in a very long time much less physically been down there themselves

spk_0 but imaging had brought back that there were piles of manillas the currency that was exchanged for

spk_0 African captives oh my gosh and also an amazing artifact an elephant tusk that was also down there

spk_0 and an elephant tusk was worth way more way more than the life of an African captive i think

spk_0 the estimation that was told to us was that an elephant tusk was worth 15 or maybe 20 African

spk_0 captive lives and f 35 had all of that history in this one small spot but when you zoom out of

spk_0 that imagery the scraping of bottom trawlers was everywhere around this site it is a miracle

spk_0 that that site had not been destroyed it's almost like they stopped just before they got to it

spk_0 and started just after and so it was so important that that site be mapped as best as possible

spk_0 imaged as best as possible and that we bring back artifacts to continue to understand those stories

spk_0 and tell those stories like it's possible that we've lost so many so many so many diving in like

spk_0 Michigan that water was cold cold cold cold but because the water was so cold it was preserving

spk_0 this shipwreck that we were exploring a steamship that had caught fire and sunk and was also a part

spk_0 of the last trek in the underground rear road to Canada they would take escape slaves on as waitstaff

spk_0 as cooks and disguise them for the trip but when they arrived they would let them go and to

spk_0 lend a hurry off before anyone caught them so that cold water was protecting that shipwreck chance

spk_0 just chance was protecting the shipwreck in the English Channel climate change and how we consume

spk_0 this planet is putting all of these stories closure important puzzle pieces to black ancestries

spk_0 putting that at risk and if we don't engage in climate action if we don't transform climate

spk_0 anxiety or climate ignorance into climate action we're really going to lose out on so so many things

spk_0 greater than it is we can fathom i could not agree more girl it's wild okay and we are wrapping up

spk_0 but i have to ask did you meet in real life did you meet Samuel L Jackson yes i got to meet

spk_0 Samuel L Jackson in person he came out on the boat with us with diving with the purpose in the keys

spk_0 and said something sweet or positive or empowering or hilarious to every person doing their giant stride

spk_0 off of the boat into the ocean so i came up and he's standing there kind of super cool like and he's

spk_0 looking at me and he's like yeah man i don't like oh boy like Sam i'm so sorry we don't say that

spk_0 i'm not Jamaican wrong island he's like you're you're not and i'm like no i'm from the Bahamas

spk_0 y'all don't say that in the Bahamas i'm like no we say what's going on or what you say and he was

spk_0 like oh okay girl what you saying and i was like i'm so good i'm so good and he's like all right

spk_0 have a great dive and i'm like thanks did you ever in your life think that like your journey

spk_0 diving and like exploring the ocean would give you moments with Samuel L Jackson absolutely not

spk_0 like first of all before i did my dine stride into the ocean i was science communicating

spk_0 to Samuel Jackson i was telling him why reefs are so important to our oceans if someone told me

spk_0 before enslaved that i was going to have that experience i i i i i would i would laugh and tell

spk_0 them out there they're a liar in a way every single part of you is important to the world i'm so

spk_0 glad that you are visible in the way that you are that you are on tv that you are super popular

spk_0 on social that you are unapologetically increasing representation in so many different ways

spk_0 thank you i just want to end with you just explaining it to us like what's your job right now

spk_0 so at the moment i do have a nine to five despite all of the adventure and being involved in

spk_0 Intellivision on social media i work at the world's first land-based commercial coral farm for

spk_0 re-freshteration and we're on a mission to restore the world's dying coral reefs by encouraging

spk_0 corals to grow at accelerated rates and we also have the capacity to encourage them to grow to be

spk_0 more resistant or resilient to a warmer more acidic ocean it'll be project our planet to be in a

spk_0 very near future having grown up on grand bhamma island and that's where you work now like you must

spk_0 have seen coral reefs change significantly since you were young do you have hope like do you believe

spk_0 that our corals will be okay you heard the story of my childhood and when i was little reefs were

spk_0 huge they were glorious i could hide underneath them they were colors i had never imagined and

spk_0 were home to the biggest fish i'd ever seen in every time i visited they were bigger and even more

spk_0 colorful than the last one i would see and just within my short lifetime i don't see those reefs

spk_0 anymore i have GPS coordinates to memories of splendor and i cannot find those reefs i cannot find

spk_0 those coral heads i can't find those fish there they're gone i am actively trying to

spk_0 bring that back because when i'm handling those corals i am hovering over i am touching i am caring

spk_0 for reefs of the future that will not be for me in my lifetime they're going to be for

spk_0 generations to come that's what conservation work is it's about ensuring that these ecosystems are

spk_0 there for their own sake and they can continue to serve themselves and also so that it can

spk_0 continue to serve us and future generations can have those sights and smells and sounds and even

spk_0 tastes of what we had as kids or what we experience as researchers and explorers are adventurers

spk_0 and it's really fulfilling to be able to work in a place where i could do that and be at home at the

spk_0 same time well i cannot think of a better way to wrap this up thank you so much alana thank you for

spk_0 your stories and all of this time that you have given to us today my god i really could talk to you

spk_0 all day that was so beautiful thank you since we taped our interview alana has left her job at the

spk_0 coral farm and is now working as a private dive instructor and a freelance science communicator

spk_0 she has plans to attend grad school in the near future and i for one can't wait to see what she does

spk_0 next thanks for listening to going wild if you enjoyed the show and want to support us please follow

spk_0 going wild on your favorite podcast app and leave a review it really helps this episode was hosted

spk_0 by me dr ray win grand written and produced by kary ad harman sound design and engineering by

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