Kit Marie chats to Amel sipping a tonic of turmeric and ginger, chatting about marine biology, scuba diving, the ocean, Essex, amongst other things!

Amel is an early career marine biologist, who loves nature and all things marine, especially the UK native oyster and seagrass. Their love for the ocean stems from my parents reading them books like ‘Don’t Eat the Teacher’ about a friendly sharks’ first day at school, animal planet documentaries and trips to Colchester Zoo to see the Sealions – that now almost 20 years later Amel dives regularly, volunteering with their scuba club to clean their aquarium. Amel is a queer person of colour who loves camping, sports and spending time cuddled up with a good book and their cat, Felix!

Some links to things mentioned in the chat:

-   Tiptree Jams & Preserves (https://www.tiptree.com/)

-   Greener Thames Project (https://www.rspb.org.uk/about-the-rspb/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/new-youth-programme-in-kent--essex-to-support-aspiring-environmentalists-from-under-represented-backgrounds/)

-   Tiptree Farm Video including news about the Turtle Dove and Barn Owl projects (https://www.tiptree.com/tiptreevideos/v/how-to-use-twitter-blocks-g9mnf-ynagz-etrsw)

-   Sea-Turtle Camp – The Ocean: Fact vs Fiction? (https://seaturtlecamp.com/the-ocean-fact-vs-fiction/)

-   Big Bend National Park, Texas (https://www.nps.gov/bibe/index.htm)

-   National History Museum Explorers Conference (https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/courses-and-students/student-events/explorers-conference-2022.html)

-   Arnold Schwarzenegger’s message to “anyone who has chosen the path of hate” (https://twitter.com/Schwarzenegger/status/1632823423159107591)

Expand your geography network and connect with Amel via Twitter (https://twitter.com/amelxahursh) and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amelia-hursham-413b1921b/)

==About Coffee & Geography==

The aim of ‘Coffee & Geography’ is to get to know, explore and celebrate the diverse & intersectional range of people and their love for the world. We’ll have fun exploring all the myriad of ways that connects your life to geography. Wait – you don’t think you’re a ‘geographer’? Well, that’s ok! If you have a love and passion for the world then you probably are more than you know.

If you're interested in being a guest or want to find out more, then visit https://geogramblings.com/coffee-geography-podcast/. There you will also find an interactive map to explore the locations of guests and the brews that they drink!

Music: 'Spark of Inspiration' by Shane Ivers (www.silvermansound.com/)

==How you can support the podcast and continue the conversation==

•   Follow us on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/CoffeeGeogPod.

•   Rate, review (https://ratethispodcast.com/coffeegeogpod) and subscribe to the podcast via your preferred platform.

•   Donate via https://ko-fi.com/kitrackley

•   Switch your energy provider to Octopus Energy via this link: https://share.octopus.energy/reed-foal-15. Any referral rewards will go towards Geogramblings education efforts.*

*Octopus Energy are not sponsors of the podcast and have not endorsed these links. The referral links have been posted in a personal capacity to help raise funds to keep Geogramblings educational work sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.