We are the Cove by Duncan Kenny

What if a place could speak?

Along the sheltered shores of South Devon, a small cove becomes our guide, observing, remembering, and inviting us into the intricate web of life that unfolds with every tide.

We Are the Cove is a lyrical and scientifically grounded journey through a living coastal ecosystem. Told through the voice of the cove itself, the story reveals the hidden rhythms of the sea and the remarkable creatures that depend on it.

As the seasons turn, the cove introduces us to the unseen architects of the ocean: spring plankton blooms that sustain life across the planet, summer swimmers drifting above fragile seagrass meadows, autumn’s astonishing octopus and crab, and winter’s grey seals navigating storm-driven seas to raise their young.

Blending natural history, conservation science, philosophy, and poetic storytelling, marine researcher and conservationist Duncan Kenny creates an intimate portrait of a place that is both deeply local and universally connected to the health of our oceans.

At its heart, this is a book about listening, to water and wind, to wildlife and ecosystems, and to the quiet processes that sustain life on Earth.

We Are the Cove is both a love letter to the sea and an invitation to care for it. A reminder that the coastline is not separate from us.

We are part of it.
We are the cove.