Father and son unveil 'Explore the shore' at Two Oceans Aquarium

Professor Charles Griffiths and his son, Matthew Griffiths, launched their new book titled, Explore The Shore which was released on Wednesday, November 19.

Around 100 guests attended the book launch at the Two Oceans Aquarium, where the co-authors showed a short video presentation related to their book and fielded questions from their guests. 

Professor Griffiths from Claremont said his new book, Explore The Shore, aims to provide a visually attractive and easy-to-read account of the different types of coastline, the groups of organisms that live there, and the issues that these systems face.

“A unique feature of the book is that each short chapter is matched to a YouTube video so readers can click on the QR codes provided to watch video footage on that same topic,” he said.

Professor Griffiths has been on the staff at the University of Cape Town (UCT)  for more than 50 years and is currently an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. Even though he is retired, he is still employed in a post-retirement contract position, tasked with teaching postgraduate students and supervising research.

Professor Griffiths said making this book with his son provided a good bonding experience.

“It allowed me to share my expertise on marine life and combined it with Matthew’s skills as a filmmaker and content creator,” he said. 

Matthew, from Sea Point, said it was great to collaborate with his dad on this book, where they combined their skill sets.

“While creating Explore The Shore, I've been discovering so many amazing and wonderful things about our coasts and really hope this book shares that with a wider audience,” he said.

Matthew currently works as a content creator, focusing mostly on video, motion graphics, layout, and design. He said he was fascinated to work on this book, as he had never realised how much life exists under the rocks near Sea Point, where he lives. “It’s a really strange and wonderful world in those rockpools if you know what to look for. There are so many animals that are disguised as plants, for example,” he said.

Professor Griffiths has previously worked on other marine life themed books called Two Oceans - a Guide the the Marine Life of Southern Africa, Freshwater Life, and Field Guide to Insects of South Africa, to name a few.

Explore The Shore is available at major book retailers, though if you would like to find out more, please visit Explore the Shore on YouTube or visit their Instagram page on  @Explore_TheShore.