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Azores expedition 2026: Wet & windy start

Update from our marine conservation volunteering holiday in the Azores archipelago, working on whales, dolphins and turtles

Rainbow over Horta, Azores
Rainbow over Horta, Azores

It was great to welcome our first whale & dolphin research team (and most of their luggage) to get the 2026 expedition underway. Team 1 seem to have endless enthusiasm for the days ahead. We have been able to complete the normal project briefings, presentations and equipment training over the first couple of days… and the missing bag also arrived. Success all round.

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‘Seeing the environmental and human impacts on coral reefs made me want to work to ensure the longevity of their biodiversity’


At just 27 years old, Tess Kneebone has already travelled extensively – from Costa Rica and Mexico to France, Morocco and across the United States. So, when a competition to join a marine conservation expedition in the Maldives with Biosphere Expeditions appeared on her Instagram feed, it was no surprise that she jumped at the opportunity.

What Tess could not have anticipated was just how deeply the experience would affect her: it reshaped her ambitions, strengthened her sense of purpose and introduced her to conservation in its most tangible form.

‘I’ve never felt more like myself than working on coral reef surveys with other ocean lovers,’ she reflects, her enthusiasm tangible.

Tess Kneebone standing on the deck of a boat, smiling into the camera
Tess Kneebone
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Azores expedition 2026: Arrival

Update from our marine conservation volunteering holiday in the Azores archipelago, working on whales, dolphins and turtles

A blue whale swimming in the ocean
Blue whale

Sometimes the hardest part of an expedition is starting, and this naturally means departing. Which isn’t always straightforward.

I was aiming to leave home on Friday 13th. That day, I woke up to a blanket of snow, followed by a power outage and then our first lifeboat call-out of the year on Loch Ness. First steps are not always easy!

A whale blowing air and water
Blue whale blow
Blue wail tail as it dives
Blue whale fluking
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Azores expedition 2026: Preparations and heading ‘home’

Update from our marine conservation volunteering holiday in the Azores archipelago, working on whales, dolphins and turtles

A pod of dolphins in front of Pico island
A pod of dolphins in front of Pico island

Planning has been underway for several months and next week the Azores Expedition begins.

This marks the 20th expedition in the Azores. So, it’s time for the initial introductions. I am Craig Turner and I’ll be your expedition leader.  

Expedition leader Craig Turner standing at Horta harbour, with yachts in the background
Craig Turner
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How to Protect Marine Life: Small Actions That Make a Big Difference

A pod of dolphins swimming across a coral reef

Imagine standing on a beach at sunrise. The ocean looks powerful. Endless. Untouchable.

Waves roll in as they always have. The horizon stretches beyond sight. It feels impossible that something so vast could ever be fragile.

And yet, beneath the surface, change is happening.

Coral reefs are bleaching. Fish populations are declining. Plastic is entering marine food chains. Ocean temperatures are rising.

What happens in the ocean does not stay in the ocean: it affects climate stability, food systems, biodiversity, and ultimately, us.

The question many people ask is: How can I protect marine life?

The answer is both simpler and more empowering than it may seem.

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From Citizen to Top-Notch Science: Biosphere Expeditions Celebrates Recognition in ‘Nature Communications’, in Paper About the Status of Coral Reefs Worldwide

Media release – 17 February 2026

Biosphere Expeditions volunteers recording coral reef data in Musandam, Oman (c) Kelvin Aitken

17 February 2026 – Biosphere Expeditions, the award-winning wildlife conservation NGO, is proud to announce that citizen science data from its Maldives and Oman coral reef projects have been used and acknowledged in a recent peer-reviewed paper published in Nature Communications, one of the world’s leading scientific journals. 

The paper warns that ‘the impacts of ocean warming on coral reefs are accelerating, with the near certainty that ongoing warming will cause large-scale, possibly irreversible, degradation of these essential ecosystems’.

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‘Diving while writing on a slate makes you feel like an avid researcher – like you are contributing to something beyond yourself’


For Loulou Ojjeh, Biosphere Expeditions played a pivotal role in her journey towards becoming an ecologist when she joined its Maldives expedition in 2025.

Despite having completed only 20 dives and questioning whether she was truly ready, Loulou quickly realised that she was far from being an anomaly. ‘Many participants shared similar doubts’, Loulou recalls finding out.

Portrait picture of Loulou Ojjeh
Loulou Ojjeh
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Citizen science helps protect Sweden’s brown bears through critical denning period

Media release – 3 February 2026

A brown bear in a forest
Bear (c) Andrea Friebe

Sweden’s brown bears are a conservation success story, but their recovery brings new challenges. A ground-breaking citizen science project that has been running in Dalarna county since 2019 shows how volunteers from around the world can help local scientists in bear conservation.

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What Is Ethical Wildlife Tourism (and How to Do It Right)?

2 people looking at a large elephat surrounded by greenery

Wildlife tourism is everywhere. From whale watching and safaris to volunteering with animals abroad, experiences involving wildlife have become a major part of global travel.

At the same time, the term ethical wildlife tourism is used more loosely than ever, often without much clarity about what it actually means.

Most travellers genuinely want to do the right thing. They want to support conservation, avoid harm, and travel more responsibly.

But when every operator claims to be “eco”, “sustainable” or “ethical”, it can be hard to tell the difference between meaningful conservation work and well-marketed exploitation.

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Bürgerwissenschaftler leisten wichtigen Beitrag zum Wolfsmonitoring in Niedersachsen während sich die Jagddebatte verschärft

Medienmitteilung – 27. January 2026
(Version auf Englisch)

Wolf (c) Christiane Flechtner

Die von Biosphere Expeditions durchgeführte Wolfsschutz-Expedition 2025 hat erneut einen wichtigen Beitrag zum offiziellen Wolf-Monitoring-Programm in Niedersachsen geleistet. Die seit 2017 jährlich stattfindenden Bürgerwissenschafts-Expeditionen sammeln weiterhin Daten, die in manchen Jahren die jährliche Datenmenge im Bundesland Niedersachsen verdoppelt haben.

Vom 5. bis 18. Juli 2025 untersuchten 19 Bürgerwissenschaftler mehrere Wolfsgebiete und legten dabei in zehn Erhebungstagen mehr als 650 Kilometer zurück.

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