Impact Storytelling Podcast (Ocean and Water Conservation Stories)

Sabine M. Probst Saavedra
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Impact Storytelling is a podcast hosted by documentary filmmaker and NGO director Sabine M. Probst. Each episode features engaging conversations with experts across diverse fields, including nature conservation filmmaking, photography, arts, science, and environmental organizations. Sharing diverse ways to communicate for nature conservation.

  1. 6d ago

    Powerful Antioxidant Compounds that Help Algae Respond to Environmental Stressors

    In this episode, I’m joined by Sara Roosvall, a marine science researcher and hobby artist currently studying in the Marine Ecology Programme at Nord University.Sara holds two Bachelor of Science degrees in Marine Science and Biology from University of Gothenburg. Her research focuses on brown algae and the role of phlorotannins — powerful antioxidant compounds that help algae respond to environmental stressors such as light, UV radiation, temperature, and salinity.In her work, Sara has studied three species of brown algae and compounds that are not only important for the survival of algae in changing marine environments, but are also attracting interest from the cultivation and pharmaceutical industries because of their potential health-related properties in humans.Alongside her thesis research, Sara also explored how algae change their antioxidant and pigment levels with age. Her curiosity led her even further into marine pigments when she began experimenting with sea urchin shells, discovering delicate purple-pink tones hidden inside after milling them.

    27 min

  2. May 18

    Genetic Data to understand Biodiversity

    In this episode, I’m joined by Cornelia Pia Erk, a marine biologist and conservation geneticist working at the intersection of molecular ecology, field research, and ocean conservation. Originally from southern Germany, Cornelia’s journey into marine science began through diving—an experience that shaped her understanding of marine ecosystems long before she entered the lab. She went on to study biology at the University of Regensburg and later specialized in marine biology during her Master’s at the University of Algarve. Her work focuses on using genetic data to understand biodiversity, population connectivity, and species boundaries—key information for protecting marine life in a rapidly changing ocean. She has a particular interest in cartilaginous fishes, including sharks, rays, and chimaeras—an evolutionarily ancient group that remains surprisingly understudied.

    44 min

  3. May 4

    Deep-Sea Meiofauna Research

    In this episode, I am joined by Hiroka Winter, an undergraduate biology student at the University of Nevada, Reno, and an emerging researcher in marine ecology. She was part of the Pack Research Experience Program for two semesters. Hiroka worked in the lab of Elisa Baldrighi under the leadership of Jeffrey Baguley. Her research focuses on meiofauna—microscopic organisms living in deep-sea sediments—and their role as indicators of environmental health.Most recently, Hiroka took part in a restoration expedition in the Gulf of Mexico, collaborating with scientists from organizations like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of the Interior. This work contributes to ongoing efforts to understand and restore deep-sea ecosystems impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill—one of the largest environmental disasters in U.S. history.From overcoming self-doubt in her first semester to collecting deep-sea sediment aboard a research vessel, Hiroka’s story is one of curiosity, courage, and discovery at the smallest—and deepest—scales of life.More about this topic: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/habitat-conservation/mesophotic-and-deep-benthic-communities-restoration

    26 min

  4. Apr 21

    Data-limited Marine Species and Fisheries - from Blue Crabs to Sharks

    Sally Dowd is a marine scientist and the Co-Founder, President, and LeadScientist of the Twin Fins Alliance. Her work focuses on improving ourunderstanding of data-limited marine species and fisheries, particularly wide-ranging predators such as coastal sharks. During her PhD research, shecombined ecological modeling with interviews with recreational fishers alongthe North Carolina coast to investigate shark distribution and identify seasonalhotspots in an understudied land-based shark fishery. Beyond research, Sally ispassionate about collaborative science, education, and storytelling—workingwith stakeholders, students, and the public through workshops, films, writing,and outreach initiatives to connect marine science with the communities whodepend on the ocean.https://www.twinfinsalliance.org

    38 min

  5. Apr 6

    Fragmented Plastics & Soft Tissue Coral Health

    In today's episode I am joined by Makayla Ward, an undergraduate zoological sciences student at Southern Illinois University Carbondale whose research explores how environmental stressors affect aquatic ecosystems. Growing up in a small town in Arkansas, far from the ocean, her curiosity about the unknown world beneath the water led her into marine and freshwater research. Makayla has worked in the Harmful Algal Bloom Lab studying the impacts of toxic cyanobacteria on freshwater food webs, and she conducted an independent research project examining how fragmented plastic pollution affects coral health, using a rare soft coral species from Japan. Alongside her research, she has gained hands-on experience in fisheries science, aquaculture systems, and science outreach as the first Women in Ocean Science Ambassador at her university, where she helps connect students with marine research and conservation.

    43 min

  6. Mar 23

    Madagascar Whale Shark Project

    In this episode I’m joined by Stella Diamant, a marine biologist, conservationist and founder of the Madagascar Whale Shark Project. Madagascar’s first dedicated whale shark research and conservation programme. She has spent the past eight field seasons studying endangered whale sharks and other marine megafauna through long-term photo-identification, acoustic tracking, feeding ecology, genetics, and pollution research. Her work combines rigorous science with community engagement, training Malagasy students, collaborating with local authorities, and helping shape marine protected areas to ensure that conservation action is rooted locally. As a free-diver and underwater photographer, Stella brings both scientific expertise and deep personal connection to the ocean, working at the intersection of research, sustainable tourism, and policy to better protect sharks and the ecosystems they sustain.Cover Photo by Stella DiamantMadagascar Whale Shark Project:https://www.madawhalesharks.orgSeen Blue Conservation:https://seenblue.org

    46 min

  7. Mar 9

    From Coral Reef to Continental Shelf Seabed Research

    In this episode, I am joined by Tara Williams, a third-year PhD researcher based at the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus and part of the Convex Seascape Survey, a five-year international project investigating how much carbon is stored on the continental shelf seabed, how vulnerable it is to disturbance, and what that means for climate-informed marine management and protection.Tara’s PhD combines modern and historical sediment coring, geochemical analyses, habitat mapping, and archival research to explore how seabed carbon and biodiversity are distributed, how they have changed over time, and how human activities such as trawling or development may place this hidden carbon at risk. Her work reframes the muddy seafloor, often overlooked and misunderstood, as a dynamic, complex ecosystem that plays a critical role in climate regulation and conservation decision-making.

    33 min

  8. Feb 23

    Filmmaking for Environmental Change

    In this episode, I’m joined by Natasha Benjamin, Associate Director at Blue Frontier, a marine scientist, filmmaker, and ocean advocate working at the intersection of storytelling and ocean policy.Based in Northern California, Natasha has spent over two decades in ocean conservation and communications. With a B.S. in Marine Biology from Boston University and an M.S. in Marine Policy from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School, she brings scientific and governance perspectives into her films. Through her documentary work, she uses storytelling to make complex ocean issues human, visible, and actionable, from disappearing kelp forests to high-seas fisheries and community-driven conservation. Find out more about Natasha's work: https://www.natasha-benjamin.com

    59 min
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About

Impact Storytelling is a podcast hosted by documentary filmmaker and NGO director Sabine M. Probst. Each episode features engaging conversations with experts across diverse fields, including nature conservation filmmaking, photography, arts, science, and environmental organizations. Sharing diverse ways to communicate for nature conservation.

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