All Posts By

Kirsty Richards

Whale shark in Oslob Philippines with AtmosphereExploreUnderwater Sightings

Swimming with whale sharks at Oslob: To go or not to go?

In my role as Atmosphere’s Marine Biologist, a common question I get asked is “the whale sharks at Oslob, should we go even though they feed them?” My previous work involved researching shark diving, shark behaviour and, as one of my favourite things to do is dive with sharks, I feel I’m in a fair position to delve into a conversation about this potentially contentious subject with our guests. There…
Kirsty Richards
25th March 2019
Mission 2020 is a platform for organisations from the global dive community to come together and pledge to change their practises to help protect and conserve our oceans by World Oceans Day 2020Sustainability

Mission 2020 – An environmental challenge for 2019… and beyond!

Here at Atmosphere Resorts & Spa, we are conscious of our environmental impact and have made great strides in limiting any negative effects we may be having on the beautiful environment around us. For 2019 we have decided to challenge ourselves further and have signed up to Mission 2020. Initiated by Fourth Element, Mission 2020 is a platform for organisations from the global dive community to come together and pledge to…
Kirsty Richards
27th January 2019
christmas critters of dauinMarinelifeScuba Diving

Christmas Critters of Dauin

Christmas tree worm (Spirobranchus giganteus) Aptly named to be at the top of our list, Christmas tree worms are a type of tube-building polychaete worm. Their multicoloured (and tree-like) spiral tentacles can be seen poking out of holes they’ve board into corals and are used to catch passing prey which is then passed down into their mouths. Popular with photographers, these brightly coloured underwater Christmas trees will disappear in front…
Kirsty Richards
25th December 2018
Marine Biologist Dauin PhilippinesAtmosphere StaffScuba DivingSustainabilityUnderwater Sightings

“Wanna move to the Philippines?!” – Sure!

"Congratulations!! I am happy to let you know that we have chosen you for the position!!!” - The email I received from Julia (Atmosphere’s HR Manager) at 3:30am one July morning. Four long, dark winters in London and the prospect of a 5th approaching quickly was enough to easily tempt me back to the tropics. 7 weeks later I was walking back across the green lawns of Atmosphere as their new…
Kirsty Richards
13th December 2018