A young marine conservationist is using social media to engage the public in her seabird protection and rescue work. Penguins are among the beneficiaries.

Cape Town

A team from Cape Town's Two Oceans Aquarium, led by conservationist Martine Villion, is using social media to highlight their efforts in protecting marine wildlife at the city's busy V&A waterfront. The team rescues seals and other species from hazards like fishing lines and plastic debris, while also raising public awareness about the challenges faced by seabirds, particularly the critically endangered African penguin.

Villion's outreach extends beyond social media, including a locally produced line of penguin-themed socks that supports both conservation and local job creation. By sharing stories and educational content online, Villion aims to inspire greater public engagement and encourage more people to contribute to marine conservation, regardless of their background or education.

Using social media savvy to help South Africa's seabirds

Cape Town's V&A waterfront draws thousands of visitors every year. It also attracts lots of wildlife like these seals. A team from the Two Oceans Aquarium ensures that humans and animals don't get in each other's way in the harbour. Conservationist Martine Villion heads up the team, who share their work and rescue efforts on social media. They disentangle seals from fishing lines and other plastic debris, and rescue sunfish and other species that get into difficulty in the harbour. Probably through luck, or through my parents' guidance, or through friends that I knew. And there's so many people that don't have those opportunities. So for them to see a future for themselves is really inspiring. Posting about their work on social media helps thousands of people to learn about protecting marine wildlife and seabirds. One group of birds, and one unique species in particular, holds a special place in Martine's heart. It's the iconic and critically endangered African penguin, which is facing an increasing number of challenges. One of the greatest issues we have is the lack of food availability. So they just aren't finding enough food out in the wild. Issues such as climate change has also had a huge impact on their population numbers. And of course, just climate-related events and maritime activity is also a big problem. Hi, my name is Martine Villion and I'm a marine conservationist in Cape Town with an absolute passion for penguins. For over a decade, Martine has dedicated her work to the conservation of seabirds and penguins. Whether it's studying them in the field, or volunteering to feed and rehabilitate them, she's used her growing social media platform to educate people especially about African penguins, as they were declared critically endangered in 2024, just one step away from extinction, a fact that many people seem to have missed. It's been incredible being able to share those stories with people, especially when they are uplisted to being endangered. A lot of people were commenting they had no idea they were endangered. They had no awareness around the status of the African penguin, they had no awareness around the issues they were facing. So I think that was very impactful to reach people that didn't know about it. But it was a surprise that people didn't know, so it's a great opportunity to learn what the public are seeing and engage with a different audience. Martine's love of penguins launched another creative initiative a few years ago, Designer Penguin Socks. They're manufactured locally by women in Cape Town, with some of the profit going directly to the South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, or SANCOB. I wanted to give back more in a different way. I had a love for unusual socks, could never find the perfect penguin sock, so I decided to create my own and give back to SANCOB. The beautiful bonus about WADAWN, it's contributing to conservation, it's empowering women through job creation, locally created products, local cotton, locally made, local humans. It really is a beautiful contribution back to South Africa. Not just our South African, our African penguins, but the humans themselves that work here. Outside working hours, Martine still finds time to appreciate the marine wildlife she cares about so much, both in the aquarium and in their natural habitat. She believes her outreach work will inspire a new generation of conservationists, helping to ensure that the marine ecosystem around the Western Cape remains a safe haven for seabirds and marine life. I hope that more people are realizing, having access to social media and being exposed to so many different conservation issues that are facing them, that hopefully these people are driven to themselves, put their voice forward for those animals, that more people will realize you don't have to just get a degree in conservation to help the animals.

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