Jonah Cantor-Lark arrived at the Gazette without much to his name. Without professional experience, he felt Flora had hired him out of optimism, not confidence. As the “Department Mom” (a title its holder vehemently refused), Flora did her best to encourage and reassure Jonah. Deep down, however, he never quite shook the feeling that he didn’t belong in the Environment Department’s close-knit family.

Flora’s firing, however, brought the Department closer together than ever before. Thanks to Heidi’s principles, Elodie’s kindness, and the Captain’s bravery, Jonah finally found his sea legs. In the months after Flora became Managing Editor, Jonah worked with the Captain, Elodie, and Geneviève to investigate illegal whaling along Seldona’s shores. True to his word, Jonah patrolled “the low seas,” poring over financial disclosures and government regulations while the Captain took to the ocean. Though it took some time, Jonah eventually felt he lived up to being called the Captain’s “first mate.”

With the support of his found family in Environment, Jonah left his post at the Gazette a few years after Flora’s retirement to found an environmental non-profit. The organization, Open Seas, advocates for sustainable, transparent environmental policy with a special focus on Seldona’s rivers and oceans. Writers from the New Glabe Gazette are regular contributors to Open Seas’ journalistic blog, which Jonah edits himself.