Vallée de Mai staff gets training from Earthwatch Institute |27 June 2016

Vallée de Mai Field Research Assistant Mariette Dine joined a research programme with the Earthwatch Institute in April which was held on Curieuse and Praslin islands. 

Earthwatch Institute is an international environmental charity which aims to engage people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment. In Seychelles, their research programmes include studying the coral reef communities around Curieuse Island alongside learning about the socio-economic impacts on coral communities. 

Mariette was based on Praslin Island and her team focussed on conducting surveys of the local community of their fish consumption.  These surveys will provide information on the dependency of the Praslin community on the local fish stocks and how vulnerable these stocks might be to impacts such as fishing or coral bleaching events. 

Mariette commented on the training: “The Earthwatch Scientists Dr Julien Clifton, Dr Sarah Laborde and Katherine McGavin all made sure we were getting as much out of the programme as possible in order to sharpen our skills and broaden our minds. The open group discussions were insightful, as everyone could share their knowledge and experience in a friendly environment. The course also gave us the boost we needed to keep pushing ourselves forward in achieving our goals, in order to be successful in our career path.”