Jayda G went from environmental toxicology to the Grammys. Now she’s creating ‘science you can dance to’

DJ Jayda G has featured plenty of collaborators throughout her career, but her latest – a herd of manatees – might be the most unique.

The grammy nominated artist sampled the marine mammals for her new track If We Only Knew.

She describes the song – recorded during the filming of the new documentary Blue Carbon – as “science you can dance to”.

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“Its at that intersection of climate and music,” Jayda told the Big Issue. “That’s a special place.”

It’s a “special place” that Jayda G – real name Jayda Guy – is passionate about. She’s a world acclaimed producer and DJ with a master’s degree in environmental toxicology. Her 2019 debut album Significant Changes was an homage to her master’s thesis, which analysed the impact of chemicals on killer whale populations.

Now, she’s released Blue Carbon, a new documentary about the climate crisis. It is, she claims, a “story of hope”.

“We all know that there are tons of awful things that are happening with the environment, and it seems like it’s like a downward spiral, but there are also so many amazing stories out there,” she said.

“When we put, time, energy, and resources behind the things that really matter, we can make a really huge change.”

The term ‘blue carbon’ refers to carbon captured by the ocean and the world’s coastal ecosystems. Salt marshes, sea grass meadows and mangrove forests absorb CO2 as part of photosynthesis, the process by which plants generate food and oxygen.

One hectare of mangroves stores five times more carbon than a similar area of forest on land.

“[Coastal ecosystems] are really good at pulling at carbon out of the atmosphere, much faster than, let’s say, the Amazon rainforest, which has gotten a lot of PR over the last few decades for being the ‘lungs of the planet,’” Guy explains.

Blue carbon coastal ecosystems cover just 2% of the total ocean surface, but account for 50% of the ocean’s carbon absorption. These precious ecosystems also prevent coastal erosion and flooding, provide a habitat for endangered wildlife, and offer food security for vulnerable coastal communities.

Such areas are under threat. According to the World Bank, more than 50% of the world’s original salt marshes were lost during the 20th century, while up to 35% of mangroves were destroyed through deforestation in the 1980s and 1990s.

But they can be revived, a “story of hope” that Guy wants to share. From France to Brazil, the documentary team flew around the world to visit communities innovating in the face of huge challenges. In one memorable segment, they visit Vietnam to meet a single man has replanted an entire forest of mangroves.

“In the 1970s, the US Army poured [chemical herbicide] Agent Orange all over the mangrove forest, and killed huge swathes of it,” Guy explains.  “And this one man, Dr [Vien Ngoc] Nam, has totally replanted it over 40 years. And we now have flourishing, healthy eco-system.”

These ecosystems are delicate and interdependent; at one project Guy visits, Colombian conservationists explain how crocodiles carve canals in the mangroves. This keeps the water flowing and in turn ensures the forest stays alive.

The project is working with reformed poachers to preserve this unique habitat.

“In Colombia, for example, you have locals, researchers, NGOs, and the government, coming together for a common goal,” she said.

“When you have all those people coming together for a common goal, it’s just amazing what you can accomplish.”

Everyone can make a difference, Guy adds. “Find out your own blue carbon ecosystem,” she said.

“And if you just live too far inland, find out your where your local nature reserve is, go visit it, find out what people are doing to keep it alive and thriving. Get involved.”

Blue Carbon is streaming on Water Bear in the UK.

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