Well, expedition 26 to which I belong is already halfway through! I can hardy believe it, the time is passing more quickly everyday.
I arrived here in November as a newly qualified diver with zero science training, (normally i’m a fashion designer) and armed only with a keen desire to learn as much as I could to be a part of this expedition, and do whatever I could to help conservation. Now, three weeks later I can identify different corals, invertebrates and other benthic life forms as well as fish in the reigon, and am able to collect data for the projects here.
There are so many other things to contribute here as well. I have been whale watching out on one of the Islands (sadly saw no whales), I’ve taught an english lesson in the village school, and assisted the fish monitoring programme, where we meet all the fishermen coming in intheir pirogues, to count, weigh and identify the fish in their catch.
I’ve found a use for my design skills too. I’m designing bags for the local womens group to make and sell and I’m helping to draw a map of the world on the wall of the kids club, “Alo Alo”. There are also costumes and scenery to be made for a play the children will be performing about conservation of the different undersea environments.
The weather is getting hotter by the day, luckily the palm fringed beach is a stones throw from our cabins, so taking a dip in the sea to cool down is never a problem.
I arrived here in November as a newly qualified diver with zero science training, (normally i’m a fashion designer) and armed only with a keen desire to learn as much as I could to be a part of this expedition, and do whatever I could to help conservation. Now, three weeks later I can identify different corals, invertebrates and other benthic life forms as well as fish in the reigon, and am able to collect data for the projects here.
There are so many other things to contribute here as well. I have been whale watching out on one of the Islands (sadly saw no whales), I’ve taught an english lesson in the village school, and assisted the fish monitoring programme, where we meet all the fishermen coming in intheir pirogues, to count, weigh and identify the fish in their catch.
I’ve found a use for my design skills too. I’m designing bags for the local womens group to make and sell and I’m helping to draw a map of the world on the wall of the kids club, “Alo Alo”. There are also costumes and scenery to be made for a play the children will be performing about conservation of the different undersea environments.
The weather is getting hotter by the day, luckily the palm fringed beach is a stones throw from our cabins, so taking a dip in the sea to cool down is never a problem.
Sarah Perrin (Volunteer)
