Simangele Sithole is a PhD candidate in the Integrative Biodiversity and Conservation Sciences research team. Her work focuses on exploring ways to leverage blue carbon to develop sustainable financing solutions in order close the protected area funding gap in Africa. Simangele holds an MSc in Hydrology from South Africa with a specialization in water quality and has extensive experience as a conservation ecologist, focusing on ecosystem service valuation to demonstrate the benefits derived by communities adjacent to protected areas. Simangele is affiliated with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife in South Africa, a wildlife and biodiversity conservation entity. She is passionate about science communication and uses film and photography as media to communicate conservation and scientific information.