Blog Posts
FEATURED The Short Documentary Seaweed, A Love Story
March 2025
Nicole Miller SCUBA dives and films 70 kilometers of Wellington’s coastline, using art and innovative technology to reveal the hidden beauty and alarming decline of the region’s seaweed forests to the public. Find out more and watch the trailer here!
FEATURED Underwater Forests on TV 1 Seven Sharp
June 2025
Dive into Wellington’s giant kelp forests! Thanks Seven Sharp for joining us and sharing the love for seaweed!
Want to help? We are looking for partners and sponsors to help us protect and restore kelp forests around New Zealand. Watch the feature here…
Underwater Vision by Melanie Newfield
June 2025
How can we show people what is happening hidden from view? This is a question which has been troubling Nicole Miller…
Read the full article on Substack and follow Melanie and subscribe for more!
Forest & Bird Magazine - Seaweed, A Love Story
June 2025
“I always saw Wellington as this lively, bustling capital city, full of people. I now see it as a place teeming with another kind of life — these delicate, awe-inspiring underwater forests.” says Rebecca Pratt, producer and director of Seaweed, A Love Story… Read more in the 2025 winter edition of the Forest & Bird Magazine (link to pdf).
On the Radio: Seaweed, A Love Story on RNZ Afternoons
May 2025
Listen to an interview by Jesse Mulligan on Radio NZ Afternoons about the short documentary Seaweed, A Love Story, why the underwater forests along our coast are so important and what we need to do do look after them! Listen here.
Seaweed and Championing the Ocean
May 2025
Writer, swimmer and seaweed fan Shona Riddell is talking to Nicole on her podcast Swim Chat about filming underwater forests and championing the ocean. Listen here (Spotify)
Explore Your Coast in 90 seconds
February 2025
Wellington Video Production Company Catchment Studios managed to capture Explore Your Coast in less than 90 seconds! Thank you for creating this amazing reel and showcasing our work. Watch it here.
Dive Diary in the North & South Magazine
June 2024
To show the diversity of marine life along the coast and Wellington Harbour Explore Your Coast founder Dr Nicole Miller is scuba diving and filming 70 km of coastline. Her dive diary gives you a taste of the process behind the first stage of the project. Read more here.
Monitoring Giant Kelp
Updated June 2024
Seaweed gardens and forests are key coastal ecosystems in the temperate waters of New Zealand. Citizen scientists have started monitoring local giant kelp beds in 2016. Read the full post here…
Seaweed regeneration 17 months after kina removal
May 2024
17 months after the kina removal events at Kau Point a variety of seaweed species are growing again on the reef! Check out this video…
Seaweed on the TEDx Stage
April 2024
Seaweed forests face a number of threats and in Wellington Harbour overfishing of sea urchin predators is a key driver for their decline. Watch Nicole’s TEDx talk here.
Will Land Restoration Improve Cave Biodiversity?
November 2023
To find out we have conducted a cave biodiversity survey ahead of restoration efforts around the cave system on farmland in the Te Kuiti area. Read the full post here…
Controlled Kina Removal from Wellington Harbour
December 2022
And what a month it was! Volunteers removed just under 8,000 kina in four events. Read the full post here…
Kina in Wellington Harbour
Updated December 2022
A lack of kina predators and increasing numbers of these hungry herbivores is bad news for our underwater forests. Read the full post here…
The Big Kina Count
April 2022
Wellington’s dive community is working together to understand the kina population in Wellington Harbour. Read the full post here…
How many kina are there? Well, ...
February 2022
We returned to Kapiti Island armed with camera, tape and pencil to count the sea urchins (kina) and take video transects. Read the full post here…
What Lives In Our Caves? Harvestmen
October 2021
Is it a spider, is it a mite… no, it is a harvestman. Read the full post here…
International Year of the Cave Beetle
May 2021
A true cave dweller (troglobite), this beetle deserves a year of international fame and celebration! Join us as we set out to find some. Read the full post here…
Exploring our Capital
April 2020
Read about Nicole’s passion for scuba diving, the marine reserve, seaweed and pizza & craft beer in the latest edition of the Capital Magazine.
Read the full post here…
3D Cave Mapping
April 2020
What could possibly go wrong if you start your story with ‘Hey, I’ve got this idea. It hasn’t been tried yet, but sounds like a lot of fun!’ Read the full post here…
Our 360 Virtual Dive Tour on the Radio
November 2019
If you love the underwater world but hate getting wet, this is for you. Wellington’s Taputeranga Marine Reserve can now be explored virtually, on your laptop or phone. Read the full post here…
An Extraordinary Cave Survey Trip
October 2019
Many years and uncounted trips trying to get into the head of a remote valley have more than paid off with the discovery of this truly incredible heritage site. Read the full post here…
How Technology Enhances Visitor Experiences...
October 2019
… and Eases Tourist Pressures.
Lascaux Caves – most impressive visitor experience & prehistoric cave paintings made accessible by technology and why it matters to New Zealand. Read the full post here…
