Category: Uncategorised
Expedition 36- veloma in verse!
So let’s talk about expedition 36 You may at times have felt it a bit fixed what with no viz, we’ve all been in a bit of a tizzWhat with all the storms, we’ve all been a bit forlorn. No...
Blue Ventures Carbon Offset Review
Industry watchdog Which? commends Blue Ventures’ Carbon Offset Blue Ventures’ innovative non-profit carbon offsetting programme has been highly rated by companies watchdog Which? in its new report on the UK carbon offsetting industry. The report, which looks at the rapidly-growing...
Blue Ventures Open Day March 2008
This week, Blue Ventures held an Open Day for the village. We had posters, made by the volunteers, about the inter-relationship between the mangroves, seagrass and reefs, what a marine protected area would mean for the fishing stocks (and what...
Village Stays
BV has recently introduced the opportunity of ‘village stays’ for our volunteers. A report from Lucy Ferguson highlights the joys of life in a vezo community: The home stay was hilarious! They picked me up after breakfast last Saturday and...
A day in the life of a BV volunteer
5.30am. I can hear the sound of a bell ringing some distance away. I open one eye and look at my watch. 5.30am. The sun is rising and it’s time to wake up and get kitted up for the 1st...
Mapping Velondriake
Raj (from the BV head office) is currently conducting GIS field research in Andavadoaka to map the coral reefs of Velondriake. The aim of the trip is to produce a habitat map of the Velondriake Marine Protected Area Network, for...
Two Blogs this week!!
The first comes from volunteer, Monika Calitz: Week one of Blue Ventures Expedition no. 36 was exciting – filled with activities and experiences. After three days on the road through the wonderfully diverse landscape of Madagascar we arrive in Tulear....
Bid on eBay – support the School Scholarship Fund!
Please help raise money for the Andavadoaka School Scholarship Fund. A past volunteer, Catherine Petronino (Expedition 15), is currently hosting 3 eBay auctions on behalf of students from the “College Sainte Famille” in Andavadoaka. The students are selling hand-embroidered items and...
Message to the next volunteers
Welcome to Andavadock (sic),You might be in for a bit of a shock.I’m not going to talk about mozzies nor deet, Instead here’s a kelikely poem all about feet. It all begins very, very small,Just when you think you are...
Don’t worry, Be happy!!
Don’t Worry, Be HappySung along to the tune of the Bobby McFerrin song. Words by Charlie & Becks Don’t Worry, Be HappyHere’s a little song I wrote,You might want to sing it note for note,Don’t worry be happy Came to...
The UK’s first community Marine Protected Area
Recent news suggests that UK communities are becoming increasingly aware of the degradation to the marine environment occurring in their local area. 10 years of discussions, conflict and compromise has led to approval for a marine conservation area off the...
Expedition 35 says goodbye
As expedition 35 draws to a close, the 16 volunteers that began are now down to a lucky nine. Nine for whom six weeks will never be enough. I pity those who departed before the expedition ended, to return to...
The Perfect morning in Andavadoaka
Ingredients: Loads of fun peoplePlenty of high factor suncreamWaterBok bokCoffee 1) Begin by rising from a restful slumber at 5am. Emerge from your hut to view the full moon setting over the western horizon. Wait until the reflecting light on...
Alarming rates of mangrove habitat loss
The current decline of vast areas of mangroves is an environmental problem that must be urgently addressed: new figures show that 20% (3.6million hectares) of the world’s mangrove area has been destroyed since 1980. The loss of mangrove ecosystems causes...
Rare Victory for Madagascar Tortoises
Conservationists are celebrating a double victory over tortoise smugglers in Madagascar. Earlier this month, a Nigerian man was arrested with 300 tortoises and another 20 have been returned to their habitat after being seized on a neighbouring island. But campaigners’...