#TIDAL POOLS ARE FOUND IN FREE#

And it has a special history: it was one of the few beaches where people of colour could come and enjoy a day at the sea in a whites-only area before 1994. It was the first tidal pool I shot in Cape Town and so has a special place in my heart. MaidenвЂ™s Cove has two tidal pools hidden between enormous granite boulders. Still, many families like to use it as a place to cool off on a summer day because of its proximity to the city centre and Sea Point restaurants. Found along the Sea Point promenade, it rarely gets as much attention as it deserves. I like to think of Milton as being the forgotten child in the Cape Town tidal pool family. It is a well-known photographer hotspot thanks to the colourful beach houses lining the tidal pool. The pool is one of the larger pools in the Kalk Bay area and another popular spot for swimmers throughout the day. I really like that it is quiet and unassuming. Glencairn Tidal PoolД«ecause itвЂ™s shallow and filled with soft white sand, Glencairn is a good spot for children to swim. I hope my photographs bring attention to the beauty of Cape TownвЂ™s tidal pools, and that they help to shift the perspective of those hesitant to brave the cold waters to find the treasures within.Дuring the Covid-19 lockdown, the City of Cape Town hired a team of scientists from Anchor Research and Monitoring and The Beach Co-Op to conduct the cityвЂ™s first ever biodiversity survey. That information is now being used as a baseline for further research of life in the tidal pools, as well as to help NGOs raise awareness of the abundance of marine life that inhabits the pools. The work continued through the Covid-19 lockdown, when a team of scientists fromВ Anchor Research and Monitoring The Beach Co-Op, a local non-profit and the City of Cape Town took advantage of the absence of humans on the beaches to conduct the cityвЂ™s first biodiversity survey.

Now all tidalВ pools that are managed by theВ City of Cape Town are cleaned primarily using eco-friendly methods вЂ“ such as using high pressure hoses and environmentally friendly chalk-based paint. Thanks to her hard work вЂ“ and a team of like-minded communities вЂ“ the pilot projects were a success.

#TIDAL POOLS ARE FOUND IN FREE#

It was in the early days of exploring the pools that I first heard about local free diver Lisa Beasley and how she had been championing a pilot project to clean the tidal pools using eco-friendly methods, rather than toxic chemicals and aggressive removal of sea life from the walls. Whether the sea is wild, with windswept waves crashing over the walls, or so serene that you search for flashes of little silver fish swimming past the myriad brightly coloured anemones, I found I wanted to capture these stories.ДЇrom the quirky local communities that take part in daily dawn swims, to sundowner picnickers, coastal foragers, free divers, yoga SUPers and even non-profits exposing children to the wonderful world of life beneath the waterвЂ™s surface, there is always something happening if you take the time to observe. The more IвЂ™ve photographed the tidal pools, the more IвЂ™ve come to realise that each has its own identity вЂ“ and a distinct community that uses it.

Tidal pools are found in