Staff Q&A with Annabel Bennett, Expedition Manager
In the fifth instalment in our series of Q&As with Blue Ventures staff, we ask Annabel Bennett, our Expedition Manager, some searching questions about science, conservation and superpowers… What is your scientific background? I have a degree in marine and...
Letter from 217 civil groups to EU fisheries ministers
Introduction by Jo Hudson, Conservation & Research Assistant, London As negotiations on the reform of the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy, or CFP, enter the final and decisive stage, more than 217 civil society groups are calling on EU fisheries...
Cyclone Haruna response update (3)
Blue Ventures is continuing to respond to cyclone Haruna, which hit southwest Madagascar as a powerful category 2 storm exactly one month ago on 22nd February 2013. For previous updates about the situation, please follow the links here and here and here. Since the cyclone...
Cyclone Haruna response update (2)
Blue Ventures is currently responding to cyclone Haruna which hit southwest Madagascar as a powerful category 2 storm on 22nd February 2013. For previous updates about the situation please follow the links here and here. Haruna is the biggest cyclone that this region...
Cyclone Haruna response update (1)
On Friday 22nd February 2013, cyclone Haruna made landfall over the southwest coast of Madagascar as a powerful category 2 storm, significantly affecting the communities in the Velondriake area where Blue Ventures works. Two weeks later, the road to Toliara (200km to...
Update from Velondriake following tropical cyclone Haruna
On Friday 22nd February 2013, tropical cyclone Haruna made landfall over the southwest coast of Madagascar as a powerful category 2 storm, with heavy rain and wind speeds of around 150km/h. The village of Andavadoaka and the communities in the...
The sweet taste of success in Saturday School
by Marzia Garin, former Education and Youth Coordinator, Madagascar In mid-November, the children at Saturday School had a very special guest: the Swiss NGO ADES (The Association for the Development of Solar Energy). ADES travelled down to Andavadoaka to teach...
Making moves towards Madagascar’s first mangrove carbon project
by the Blue Forests Team, Madagascar Madagascar’s 5,600 km coastline includes Africa’s third largest extent of mangroves: an estimated 213,000 hectares! These “blue” forests take and store significant amounts of carbon dioxide and support a diverse and in many cases...
Culling me softly…
by Hayley McKenzie, Blue Ventures volunteer, Belize The divers hunt in a pack, eyes peeled for the distinctive feathery spines peeking out from behind a rock, huddled into the reef or perched on top of a spur. On sighting a...
Blue forests: behind the scenes…
by Samir Gandhi, Blue Forests Research Assistant, Madagascar A lot has changed for me in 12 months, undoubtedly for the better. Just over a year ago I was stuck in a dead-end office job; now, I am working for Blue Ventures...
Schools (not) out for summer
by Marzia Garin, Education and Scholarships Coordinator, Madagascar It’s September in Andavadoaka, and like many places across the world, the school year is about to begin. However, unlike many places across the world, these students are genuinely excited about the...
Diving deep in Belize
by Jen Chapman, Country Coordinator, Belize The queen conch (Strombus gigas) fishery in Belize is valued at approximately US$ 3,000,000 per year and engages over 3,000 licensed fishermen nationally. Despite non-destructive fishing methods (free-divers collect conch off the seafloor by...
VIP expeditions
by Thomas Forwood, volunteer, Belize Generally speaking, life at Bacalar Chico Dive Camp (BCDC) is routine. You get up at 5am, breakfast is at 8am and lunch is at 1pm. In between is diving, marshalling duties and other enjoyable responsibilities,...
Mission possible
by Viviane Jeannie, Scholars Coordinator, Madagascar Part of my job as scholarship coordinator is to purchase school materials for each new school year for all of our sponsored students. In the 2012 – 2013 school year, that meant shopping for...
Calling all mothers: Safidy has a new home and maternal & child health programme!
by Dr Clarisse Razanamampionona, Safidy’s Doctor, and Samantha Cockburn, Medical Elective Student. Safidy is part of Blue Ventures’ integrated Population, Health, and Environment (PHE) approach to conservation in the Velondriake area of southwest Madagascar. Safidy, which means “choice” or “freedom...