Respected ocean expert Katy Soapi continues to advocate to protect Tetepare, one of the last untouched places in Solomon Islands
Scientist Katy Soapi’s earliest memories are of the sea. She grew up on Rendova, a lush island in western Solomon Islands, and life centred around the ocean.
“I remember when the big waves came, we would dive under them and come up laughing on the other side. Being part of those natural elements brought me so much joy.”
At school, she excelled in chemistry and would later go on to study medicinal plants, fascinated by the possibility that nature could hold cures for modern diseases. She studied in Fiji, Australia and the UK and later became the first woman from Solomon Islands to achieve a PhD in natural sciences.
Yet Soapi kept being pulled back to her first love – the ocean. And what would end up being her most personal and satisfying work, defending one of the Solomon Islands’ most precious places, Tetepare island.
