Our love and passion for the oceans drives our desire to conserve the underwater environment so that future generations can experience the same wonder that we have discovered.
An intense curiosity for understanding the inner workings of our ecosystem has led us down a path of academia. We study our oceans to better understand how to conserve them.
Above all else, we are driven by excitement and thrill. There is no better way to stimulate passion than to fill our days with adventure.
Cape RADD is a marine field station that serves as a platform for researchers in the False Bay area of Cape Town. We specialise in projects that monitor and investigate the biodiversity of a global hotspot home to more than 3500 endemic marine species. We aim to better understand our world by using a variety of techniques including transects, quadrats, remote underwater video and mark-recapture, with a particular focus on approaches that utilise citizen science. At the core of our values is passing on our expertise to early career scientists and those with a passion for the ocean.
Jessie has always been a wildlife lover and manages the social media platforms for Cape RADD. She is also a budding photographer, freediver and hiker, and is on hand for student needs - ready to assist with trips, travel and anything else you might need whilst on the field course with us.
"I had never actually been out in the field doing field research. I had done stuff in labs and in classes, but I never had hands on experience, so I saw the Cape RADD field course as a perfect opportunity not only to dive but to actually learn how to take data in the field, learn how to ID animals. It turned out to be all of that and so much more... We got to dive a variety of environments, reef to kelp forests to urchin barrens...
It was so amazing because every day I got in the water, I just knew that was what I wanted to do, I just got happier everyday that I went diving..."
“I found out about this course through my advisor and I am so happy that I did because I really enjoyed it...
I got to hone in on my SCUBA diving skills and I got to learn a lot about researching in the field...”
"I wanted to come to Cape RADD to gain more experience in marine sampling techniques, and to discover new ecosystems that I didn’t know anything about and improve my diving skills. I think its mission accomplished for it all.
I would advise anyone to come to Cape RADD.”
I throw the grid down over the kelp on the beach and look up. Antonietta, my marine biologist guide, smiles encouragingly and says, “That’s it.” We count the squares with kelp in it, including fronds, Read more…
Standing at shore, you have no idea a lush jungle lies ahead. The thick fronds of the kelp carpeting the surface only give a hint of the world below. We are about to enter the Read more…
I am stuck in the kelp. A few meters ahead of me, marine biologist Mike Barron strides effortlessly through the thick fronds and onto the rocky shore, patiently waiting and encouraging me as I make Read more…
Cape RADD students and volunteers always love to get involved in our regular harbor cleans right on our doorstep here in Simon’s Town. Simon’s Town harbor is actually a very pleasant and relatively clean harbor Read more…
Explore the Great African Sea Forest in our 360° virtual dive!
The Travel Taste Trio joined Cape RADD on a Snorkel for Science some weeks back. Here’s a vlog of their experience!
Give us a call
+27 62 331 7530
