Turning the tide on marine plastics
Let’s set the scene, we’re on a beautiful white sand beach, dotted with palm trees; a remote tropical paradise, miles away from human habitation. As the tide retreats what’s that left behind in the strandline? Intermixed with the usual bits...
Women in Lamboara: Preparing for the future
by Cicelin Cicelin RAKOTOMAHAZO and Dolce RANDRIANANDRASAZIKY, Blue Forests southwest team, Madagascar “Planting mangroves is not a question of money, but a question of our future”, said a group of women from the island fishing village of Lamboara, situated in the...
Making my mother proud…
I feel like I’m gaining skills that will help me to accomplish my goals and hopefully continue to make my mother proud as well.
A little step for me…. One giant leap for octopus fisheries management
Not only was it my first time in the “Old Town”, the beautiful heart of Zanzibar’s Stone Town, where the labyrinth of alleyways transport you to another time, and the historical monuments and museums bear witness to the cultural and artistic...
Update from the Pacific Northwest: Greetings from the Blue Ventures outpost in Oregon
[avatar user=”trevor” size=”thumbnail” align=”left” link=”http://blog.blueventures.org/author/trevor/” target=”_blank” /] by Trevor Jones, Geospatial Analyst; Manager Blue Carbon Science, USA Like the extensive channels of a mangrove ecosystem, it’s been a long and meandering route since I moved to Madagascar in July, 2011 to help establish...
A Muddy Mangrove Experience for Expeditions!
Mere hours after the annual conference for Blue Ventures had ended in Andavadoaka, our eighth, and final, expedition of 2014 began! Typically, when the cars arrive on-site, volunteers have the chance to unpack, shower and get acquainted with their new...
Through school I know that I’m capable of achieving much more…
I know that staying and finishing school will help me get somewhere where I’m fully satisfied. Doing something other than living day-to-day, doing small jobs, hauling cement or moving rocks. Through school I know that I’m capable of achieving much...
Girl power
My goal in completing school is to become a midwife. I see the need for women to have someone they can go to and trust with anything, especially young girls.
Dreaming of university
I don’t know of anyone else who had dreams of going to university as a kid. It isn’t something that many people from here do. No matter what happens, I have to keep trying, I have to find a way...
Education filled me up almost more than a bowl of rice…
Something magical happens. When I’m at school or studying in the youth clubs with Blue Ventures, it’s like learning is the medicine that cures my hunger.
Uncovering the hidden power of Population-Health-Environment programmes
Have you ever wondered how offering family planning to communities in Madagascar might be affecting the size of fish in the Mozambique Channel? Or how working with octopus gleaners may be impacting women’s use of contraception? Or how seaweed farming...
Student Conference on Conservation Science in Bangalore, India
by Cicelin RAKOTOMAHAZO, Socioeconomic Scientist – Blue Forests, Madagascar This was not only my first time on a flight but also my first time travelling outside of Madagascar. I was heading to Bangalore, the third largest city in India, to...
Putting Madagascar on the (Google) Map
by Leah Glass, Blue Carbon Project Manager, Madagascar I’m writing this blog whilst drifting down the Sambirano River in northwest Madagascar on a traditional pirogue. On a ‘normal’ work day I’d be on my way to visit one of mangrove...
Staff Q&A with Trevor Jones, Geospatial Analyst; Manager, Blue Carbon Science
In the latest instalment in our series of staff Q&As, we ask Trevor Jones, Geospatial Analyst; Manager, Blue Carbon Science, some searching questions about science, conservation and superpowers… What did you want to be when you were growing up? Outside....
Mandeha magnarato: a weekend fishing in Nosy Marify, Barren Isles
by Cecile Fattebert, Barren Isles Conservation Officer, Madagascar This summer I set foot in Madagascar for the first time in order to work with Blue Ventures, where we’re moving towards creating Madagascar’s largest protected area and the Indian Ocean’s largest community-run marine...