SeaLegacy’s Photographers Capture Nature in Peril

Climate scientists predict that the Arctic’s summer sea ice will be nearly gone in about 20 years, threatening a vibrant ecosystem that includes seals and polar bears — and a way of life for indigenous people. It is one of the many endangered places to which photographers Cristina Mittermeier and Paul Nicklen have trekked to document what is at stake as human activity changes the planet in irreversible ways.

Through SeaLegacy, a nonprofit they founded in 2015, they are fundraising for expeditions to create beautiful, compelling photographs and videos for conservation groups that work on issues like climate change, sustainable fisheries, and the livelihoods of people in coastal communities.

“It truly is amazing what conservation groups do not know about communicating,” says Ms. Mittermeier, SeaLegacy’s executive director. “You have to present your visuals in a more appealing and digestible way.” The philanthropic community has invested heavily in addressing environmental challenges, but support for communications and marketing is almost nonexistent, she says.

Ms. Mittermeier and Mr. Nicklen, who both have backgrounds in wildlife biology, work with two other photographers and three filmmakers and hope to expand their organization’s network to include many more. The group shares the images with partner charities like Conservation International and Oceana, which use them on websites and in educational and fundraising materials.

So far, SeaLegacy has financed four expeditions to places like India’s southern Tamil Nadu state, where fishermen face challenges of climate change and pollution, and the biodiverse waters of the Salish Sea, which are threatened by population and industrial expansion along the coast of British Columbia and Washington. Five more expeditions are planned for the coming year.

An average expedition costs $50,000, but trips to places like the Antarctic Peninsula, which require a specialized ice-cutting ship and a larger crew can cost upward of $1.3 million.