The narrative behind climate change has become an all too familiar one. The anxiety-inducing logistics behind the crisis itself, the narrow timeline we have remaining to save ourselves, and the daunting magnitude of the challenges that lie ahead have been stated time and time again. While we could once again repeat those metrics and tell you the gravity about what’s at stake, the story here has a bit less to do with the story itself, and more to do with how we’ve grown accustomed to telling that story. In particular, there’s one team trying to subvert the narrative around how we talk about, and subsequently address, the ongoing climate crisis.
A team of new-age explorers and storytellers have embarked on a two-year global expedition called “Edges of Earth.” This team of strategists, graphic designers and content creators aim to highlight the positive progress happening when it comes to conserving, restoring and protecting the ocean. By focusing on unfiltered, organic, and gritty storytelling, Edges of Earth seeks to expand the spotlight beyond the organizations and individuals typically featured in the media surrounding the ocean narrative. And they aim to focus largely on the success stories in conservation that have largely gone untold. Their mission is to inspire a new generation of ocean advocates by demonstrating how everyone can leverage their unique skills in the fight for healthier oceans while amplifying the voices of unsung ocean stewards to the forefront.
Leading the Charge: Andi Cross
Andi Cross, a seasoned brand and growth strategist, leads the Edges of Earth expedition. After a successful career at New York’s top agencies, including Ogilvy & Mather and Huge, Inc., Cross spent over a decade working with leading brands in her previous corporate role. She also has made significant contributions to the venture capital sector. Since 2018, she has served as the Brand Strategist in Residence at New York-based venture capital firm, H/L Ventures, supporting mission-driven founders in growing their innovations into successful enterprises. Inspired by her work with H/L Ventures and her move from New York to Australia in 2019, Cross decided to channel her skills towards supporting businesses laser focused on making a positive impact. Today, through her impact consultancy called WILDPALM, she supports startups, scale ups and enterprise businesses around the world, applying her strategic expertise to mission-driven goals—with a focus on building sustainability strategies in house for these organizations.
All the while, Cross and her team—including Adam Moore (Head of Operations & Logistics) and Marla Tomorug (Creative Director & Head of Content)—have worked with leading nonprofits in the ocean conservation sector, in addition to their work alongside for-profit entities. Over the course of five years, the team has observed that traditional methods of ocean conservation advocacy, such as world-class underwater photography paired with key talking points from well-known advocates, are losing their effectiveness in the age of social media and increased global ocean literacy. “To reach more people, we need a change in the way we’re telling the ocean’s stories online,” Cross asserted when speaking to Forbes back in 2023. Through Edges of Earth, she and the team are exploring new ways of engaging people in the ocean conservation movement.
Cross further shared, “We are getting bombarded with doom and gloom messaging about our planet. Pushing a fear-focused narrative is a tired strategy at this point. Today, we need to show how much work
is happening around the world to restore, conserve and protect the planet—celebrating the amazing people on the frontlines of the climate crisis, whose stories are barely told. We believe this is what will inspire more action. When you see what type of change is possible, you can then believe it!”
Expanding the Reach of Ocean Conservation
While Cross and her team are working alongside for-profit businesses to help shape and structure their sustainability strategies, they are also providing content creation and storytelling support to people they meet in the field. Cross, Moore and Tomorug have been on expedition for a year, since June, 2023, working alongside scientists, researchers, conservationists, activists, nonprofit founders, dive professionals and local and indigenous community leaders to help share their stories through the Edges of Earth platform. Since April 2021, they have been building strong alliances with publications to help spread these stories of human ingenuity, positive ocean wins and impact as broadly as possible. Today, the Edges of Earth platform includes regular contributions in ocean, dive, travel and business journals, as well as their own blog.
Cross is a professional scuba diver and certified freediver with Scuba Schools International (SSI). In fact, she and her team were appointed the first-ever brand ambassadors in the organization’s 50-year history. The team also works with Mares, a scuba diving gear provider with a 75-year history, which outfits the team for any and all diving conditions as they explore many challenging environments underwater. The team is also in partnership with Marine Conservation Institute, which is a science backed organization that helps to plot which marine protected areas (MPAs) are successfully delivering on their management and enforcement goals. Cross works closely with Sarah Hameed, Director of Blue Parks & Senior Scientist, to determine which MPAs to highlight and which serve as the best examples of successful conservation efforts to date.
Additionally, the team was granted an Explorers Club flag to carry throughout the duration of the expedition. The Explorers Club is a 125-year old membership organization that “contributes to advancing human knowledge of our natural world through discovery and exploration.” The flag is a symbol that an expedition is contributing to the club’s archives, and that the team will provide a detailed report at the expedition’s conclusion about key findings, learnings and actionable next steps.
A Comprehensive Expedition
The Edges of Earth expedition will visit all seven continents and explore over 50 countries. Celebrating their one year anniversary as of June 2024, the team has already explored and documented South Australia, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan, Cambodia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Andaman Islands, Thailand, states in the USA, Colombia and Peru. Recently, the team completed a full road trip through Central America, the Yucatan Peninsula, Baja, California, and now is driving across the United States to conduct their year-mark gear swap, as they head to arctic territories next to kick off their second year in the field.
The team has meticulously planned the 24-month expedition, which naturally has involved a constantly evolving schedule with new and unforeseen circumstances occurring along the way. “You cannot predict nature, and you have to always be aware that things will change while on an expedition of this scale and size. We have suffered personal loss, health issues, natural disasters, you name it. But all the while, our team has managed to stay positive, hopeful, and laser focused on our goals,” Cross explained. “This is not something that just anyone can do. The fact that Marla, Adam and I have remained a tight-knit unit
throughout it all is truly amazing, given some of the conditions and situations that we have been in together. Nothing about living on the edges of earth is glamorous or easy, and I’m beyond proud that we have made it to the one year mark. We’ve covered much ground and worked with so many amazing and impactful people that are fighting tirelessly for the blue planet.”
At each location, Edges of Earth has been teaming up with local organizations, including ocean nonprofits, eco-tourism operators, dive professionals, tourism boards, scientists, researchers,
mission-driven businesses and local leaders that have a positive progress story to share with the world.
Redefining Ocean Content Creation
Cross emphasizes that the content produced by Edges of Earth is raw and authentic rather than polished and flawless. “Something that we’ve learned from exploring so many places is that nature is messy. It’s not perfect. It’s beautiful BECAUSE of those imperfections. When we edit our reality, we are promoting a false narrative. The way that we create content is showing you what it ACTUALLY looks like out there,” Cross explains. The style and approach that the Edges of Earth team takes to content creation is attempting to be as natural as possible, showing the world through the lens of the people on the ground who are protecting what they call home. Leveraging her experience working alongside brands and businesses of all sizes, Cross hopes this organic approach will inspire a broader audience to engage with the ocean. “I want our work to reach a different audience—one that’s not already obsessed with the ocean.”
In June 2024, Edges of Earth announced a collaboration with the Climate Change High-Level Champions, enhancing their commitment to authentic content creation and storytelling through the Ocean Breakthroughs initiative. By amplifying the personal accounts and climate action in some of the most remote and impacted coastal communities around the planet, the Edges of Earth team will highlight these stories and personalized experiences through first person interview-style stories on the Climate Champions’ website as well as via social media. Local and indigenous groups have given Edges of Earth an intimate look into their worlds to share how they are taking action against the climate crisis, and what they’re doing to preserve their communities. Edges of Earth will bring to life each of the five Ocean Breakthroughs—centered on marine conservation, ocean renewable energy, shipping, aquatic food, and coastal tourism—by spotlighting diverse voices, stories, and solutions.
The collaboration will showcase personalized accounts that align with the Ocean Breakthroughs to fast-track meaningful solutions. These Breakthroughs outline a roadmap for transformative and
ambitious action at the scale of entire systems, contributing to the delivery of global campaigns led by the Climate Champions’ while acting as a compass not only for non-State actors (NSA) but also for governments.
Collaborating with Edges of Earth gives life to the Breakthroughs, spotlighting coastal communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis and uplifting local climate action to scale solutions on a global level. The first story—a conversation with Hafsa Jamel, climate activist and Programme Manager at the Lanka Environment Fund (LEF)—showcases the impact of extreme heat, heightened monsoons, and increased natural hazards like droughts, cyclones, and coastal erosion on the tropical island nation, and the
nature-based solutions Hafsa and her team are overseeing to help the country to cope and adapt.
At the COP21 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, governments agreed that mobilizing stronger and more ambitious climate action was urgently required to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. To connect the work of governments with the many voluntary and collaborative actions taken by cities, regions, businesses and investors, nations decided to appoint two High-Level Champions. The Climate Change High-Level Champions for COP25 and COP26, Gonzalo Muñoz and Nigel Topping, established the Climate Champions Team to help deliver on their mandate to enhance ambition and strengthen the engagement of non-State actors in supporting Parties, working with the Marrakech Partnership, to deliver the goals of the Paris Agreement. H.E. Ms. Razan Al Mubarak and H.E. Ms. Nigar Arpadarai are the Climate Change High-Level Champions for COP28 and COP29.
Inspiring Global Ocean Advocacy
Edges of Earth’s mission is not only to document and share conservation efforts but also to inspire individuals worldwide to take action for the oceans. By showcasing diverse examples of how people can integrate their professions with their passion for conservation, the expedition aims to demonstrate that everyone can contribute to healthier oceans. “We’re hoping to get more people excited about the possibilities of contributing to the climate and ocean narrative. There’s opportunities everywhere” Cross says.
By living alongside global partners and teams for weeks at a time, this team brings a unique, immersive perspective to their content. As the expedition progresses, Cross and her team remain dedicated to amplifying the voices of those tirelessly working to protect our oceans, fostering a global community committed to ensuring the health and sustainability of our blue planet for future generations.