Ocean Storytelling Fellow
Dive deep, document marine life, learn from local fishermen, and create stories that help protect the Caribbean.
Welcome, Ocean Storyteller!
The Ocean Storytelling Fellowship brings together divers, writers, filmmakers, photographers, environmental thinkers, and creative entrepreneurs for a hands-on four-week experience in the Colombian Caribbean.
This is not a vacation. This is not a traditional internship. This is a creative field experience for people who believe the ocean is not just something to admire — it is something to understand, protect, and tell the truth about.
You will learn from the sea. You will learn from local people. You will create work that helps others care. Planting Good Seeds partners with local dive professionals, fishermen, artists, guides, and community leaders to create a new kind of ocean experience — one where diving, storytelling, conservation, and community come together.
"The ocean doesn't need our admiration. It needs our attention."
You Will Walk Away With
- Real field experience in the Colombian Caribbean
- Scuba diving or ocean-based learning alongside local dive professionals
- Storytelling and documentary practice in a living marine environment
- Community-based research experience with fishermen, entrepreneurs, and artists
- A stronger creative portfolio — writing, film, photography, or multimedia
- Fundraising and outreach experience before and during the fellowship
- Deeper understanding of conservation, tourism, and local ocean economies
- A final storytelling project you can share with employers, collaborators, or audiences
Fellows are responsible for program costs, travel, housing, food, and personal expenses. Planting Good Seeds provides fundraising coaching to help accepted fellows raise support for their experience.
The Journey
Phase One — Raise Capital & Elevate Your Support Network
Community-Backed Support Campaign
Before arriving, fellows begin by building their personal support campaign. This phase is not just about raising money — it is about learning how to communicate your vision, invite people into your journey, and build a network around the work you want to create. You will learn that support is not something to be begged for. Support is something we build by clearly communicating what we are here to do.
Phase Two — On-the-Ground Market Research & Ocean Immersion
Colombian Caribbean — In Person
Once in the Caribbean, fellows begin the fieldwork. You will dive, observe, interview, and document. You will spend time with local dive professionals, fishermen, entrepreneurs, artists, and community members to better understand the relationship between the ocean and the people who depend on it. Activities may include scuba diving or dive training, underwater photography or video, interviews with fishermen and dive instructors, beach cleanups, marine life documentation, local storytelling walks, and research into tourism, waste, reef protection, and community opportunity. The goal is not to arrive with answers — the goal is to pay attention.
Phase Three — Find Your Niche & Create Your Final Story
In Person
In the final phase, fellows turn their experience into a creative project. This may be a short documentary, a photo essay, a written article, a mini-campaign for ocean conservation, a social media storytelling series, a community interview project, or a proposal for a future ocean-based initiative. Your final project should help people understand something meaningful about the Caribbean, the ocean, and the community around it. By the end of the fellowship, you will leave with more than memories — you will leave with a body of work.
Fellows May
Who This Is For
We are especially interested in people who are:
- Writers, filmmakers, photographers, and content creators
- Scuba divers, marine biology or environmental science students
- Journalists, storytellers, and creative entrepreneurs
- Curious people who want to understand — not just experience — the ocean
- Travelers looking for deeper purpose and real contribution
- People willing to learn, listen, create, and contribute
This fellowship is ideal for people who care about the world and want to create work that moves people — not tourists who want to consume a place, but storytellers ready to help others see what they have been missing.
Ready?
Apply for This Fellowship
Applications are open year-round. No experience required — just drive.
Operating Inside
Ready to plant your seeds?
Applications are open year-round.
