Volunteer blog by Isabel Butcher
I never understood how people on Big Brother, Ship Wrecked etc could spend so much time doing so little. Just sitting around babbling inanely to each other (the only apparent explanation being the evident lack of brain cells between them)....
Research trip to Belavenoke by BV Volunteer Kristy Benz
We meet outside the huts, ready to go. Our valuables (cameras, toilet paper and biscuits) are in dry bags, the rest of our supplies for the next three days are slung over our shoulders in backpacks. We’re off to Belavenoke...
Time for afterthought by Ida Vincent
Leaving Andavadoaka is hard for anyone who visits this unspoilt area of Africa. No matter how long you stay – 3 weeks, 6 weeks or indeed 9 months – it never feels enough. Coming back to the real world is...
Seagrass Mapping by Field Scientist Tristan Brown
After a recent visit from an American research company, SeagrassNet, Blue Ventures have gone on a seagrass mapping mission. So far in expedition 33, with the help of some very keen volunteers, we have managed to find and map 3...
CARPE DIEM by Ben Fry
After one of the best sleeps I’ve ever had, in a proper bed, and for more than four hours, I awoke to an absolutely pristine environment. Cameras out (and unlikely to be put away anytime soon) we all started taking...
BBC Photo Journal
Andavadoaka, the location of Blue Ventures’ conservation research site, is featured in a new photo journal on the BBC website about shark fishing in Madagascar. The article quotes Blue Ventures’ scientist Volanirina Ramahery about the threats shark fishing poses to...
WTM’s World Responsible Tourism Day
WTM’s World Responsible Tourism Day is taking place on 14 November 2007. The day is dedicated to raising awareness of the significance of minimising negative impacts of tourism and to encourage the protection of tourism destinations and host cultures. The...
Primates under threat of extinction
IUCN and the International Primatological Society have recently released a report in collaboration with Conservation International, highlighting the need for further conservation efforts of endangered primates. The report states that 29% of all the worlds primates are on the verge...
Volunteer Blog by Kristy Benz
We are now three weeks into expedition 33, and I think it would be safe to say that the time has been largely devoted to one thing: fish. And I don’t mean eating fish. So much of our work on...
Blog by Blue Ventures Expedition Manager Ruth Rosselson
I’ve finally done my first science dive after taking up the post of expedition manager at the beginning of October, and it was fantastic! 🙂 The boat (along with Marcellin, the boat driver) took me, two staff members and four...
Campaign against Measles and Malaria
Madagascar is currently undergoing the biggest campaign in the country’s history against malaria and measles. According to BBC News Malagasy people are receiving 1.5 million mosquito nets and almost 3 million children will be vaccinated against measles. The campaign is...
The dysfunctional wrasses by Anna Williams and Julia Cox
Once upon a time in Madagascar there lived the very unique wrasse family. Christmas with the wrasses was an elaborate affair. Every year the wrasses gathered at Grandpa Napoleon’s reef house. Grandpa Napoleon was a big fish, to say the...
Atlas on vegetation of Madagascar
The science team at Botanical Gardens Kew has recently announced the release of an atlas mapping the unique vegetation of Madagascar. The atlas is one of three conservation projects concerning Madagascar that the team at Kew is currently working on,...
Viva La Madagascar – written by Ben a BV volunteer
After two days in a dorm in Madagascar and with the grand sum of 40,000 Ariary to my name I finally made it to the departure point in Tana. On arrival relief was fast replaced by excitement at the proposition...
English Teaching in Andavadoaka
A small number of international volunteers took part in a regular programme of English teaching sessions for locals involved in eco-tourism ventures. Whilst it was difficult to plan and prepare sessions due to lack of teaching experience and time, they...