Discovering new depths…
By Colin Engel, Blue Ventures volunteer, Belize Taking part in a conservation expedition, such as those run by Blue Ventures in Belize, offers a wide variety of challenges and rewards. Volunteers will have expectations of the expedition and of themselves, together...
Studying the impact of overexploitation on coral reef fish communities
By Dr Yann Frejaville, Fisheries Scientist, Madagascar Acquiring better knowledge of the ecosystems we belong to is a clear goal for those who work towards the sustainable use of natural resources. Coral Reefs are incredibly complex ecosystems which we are...
Diving in Madagascar
by George (Bic) Manahira, Blue Ventures Dive Manager & Coral Reef Monitoring Coordinator, Madagascar Running parallel to the southwest coast of Madagascar is one of the longest reefs in the world. It starts south of Toliara, the regional capital, and...
A simple yet difficult life
by Thomas, Blue Ventures Research Assistant, Madagascar Vezo history – Who are the Vezo? The indigenous coastal people of western Madagascar are known as the Vezo. The word Vezo originates from the Malagasy verb “to paddle” and is indicative of a...
Lemurs, Larium and Leanne Rimes: the adventures of the overland tour
By Martine Botha, Blue Ventures volunteer, Madagascar Day One After our first humid night in Antananarivo, we arrived for breakfast at the Hotel Raphia to meet the rest of our fellow BV volunteers and to feast on a standard Madagascan...
The beauty of the baobabs and the birds
By Karen Toque, Blue Ventures volunteer, Madagascar It was time for a break from diving to allow the nitrogen bubbles that had built up in our blood over the past five days spent underwater to leave the body. We decided...
Team bonding in tropical seas
By Colin Engel, Blue Ventures volunteer, Belize It had taken me a few days to settle into the basics of camp life during the previous week, so this week was for me one of beginning to challenge myself in ways...
World population will reach 7 billion by the end of October
By Kame Westerman, Velondriake MPA Project Coordinator, Madagascar According to the United Nations, world population will reach 7 billion at the end of this month. The majority of this growth is in developing countries, where communities are highly reliant on...
Eagle explorations
By Karen Tocque, Blue Ventures volunteer, Madagascar It was blowing hard from the south – about 35 knots and lifting the sand up into your face on the way down to dinner. We weren’t diving for a couple of days...
Time flies when you’re having fun!
By Sabine, Blue Ventures volunteer, Belize Week one of our expedition was pretty exciting; arriving in Sarteneja, moving in with my Belizean host family, getting to know all the other volunteers and staff members, as well as absorbing new scientific...
Going the extra mile for BV, literally.
While some newlyweds spend their honeymoon lying on the beach and sharing candlelit dinners, Kate Turner and her husband Will chose to celebrate their marriage by volunteering with Blue Ventures in southwest Madagascar. Of course, in between scuba diving, conducting...
Malagasy celebrations: Part two
By Samuel Blyth, Independent Researcher, Madagascar The second village that I worked in was quite a change from the Vezo communities that most volunteers and visitors to the coast spend their time in. Going to Marofihitsy to survey was potentially...
Malagasy celebrations: Part one
By Samuel Blyth, Independent Researcher, Madagascar Belo-sur-Mer and the surrounding communities have a lot to offer residents, tourists and the occasional independent researcher, such as myself. Having been here for over two months, it is about time I shared some...
Your own idyllic island
By Jon Bailey, Blue Ventures volunteer medic, Belize Expedition 12, Bacalar Chico Dive Camp (BCDC). The camp has seen a number of upgrades and repairs, but as of the start of this week, camp life has returned to normal, and...
Embarking to the Barren Isles: Blue Ventures begins in a third site of intervention
By Tanguy Nicolas, Blue Ventures Maintirano project coordinator, Madagascar I’ve had my feet back on the red island for nearly 6 weeks now, but have only really begun to settle in recently. My first time in Madagascar was back in 2007,...