I am building a mobile marine tracking and community outreach initiative to protect humpback whales during their breeding season in Espírito Santo, Brazil, and bring ocean conservation directly to coastal schools.

I am a 25-year-old marine biologist and two-time Antarctic researcher. Recently, public scientific funding in Argentina collapsed. Refusing to let my career pause, I took absolute ownership: I spent months analyzing polar data ad honorem while baking and selling homemade cookies to buy a one-way ticket to follow the whales. This June, I am deploying for a 5-month field season with the NGO Amigos da Jubarte.

• Why is this project awesome?: It strips away stiff academic bureaucracy and puts raw passion and data directly onto the water. My project operates on two simple pillars:
• Active Fieldwork on the Water: Spending my days aboard research boats surveying the ocean to track, log, and photo-identify humpback whale populations in their vital breeding corridors.
• Open Science Communication: Bringing the ocean to the people. I will deliver vibrant, free educational workshops to local coastal schools, translating raw data into human emotion so regular people care about marine ecosystems.

The host NGO provides the field platform but zero financial assistance. I already have the technical skills, an international research grant from IDEA WILD, global backing from the Women in Ocean Science mentorship, and my outbound ticket.
This $1,000 grant is the exact catalyst that removes my final bottleneck: it secures my return transit and shared volunteer housing. Your support keeps a relentless young scientist active on the water for 5 months, turning a micro-logistical solution into immediate, tangible impact for marine life and coastal communities.