Earth Day Activities

To commemorate the International Earth’s Day on the 22nd April, the Banyan Tree Resort situated at the Intendance beach in the South-Western coast of Mahe organized a tree planting activity and Exhibition with the participation of the Hotel Staff.

The activity kicked off in the morning with tree planting by the Resort Staff, Management and visitors staying at the Hotel. A total of approximately 100 different plant species mostly seedlings were planted throughout the Resort compound area. The aim of the activity was to rehabilitate some areas at the Resort with young plants.

Visitors to the exhibition

An Exhibition was also set up and displayed by the wetland area, to illustrate some activities conducted by the Marine Conservation Society of Seychelles (MCSS) as well as its aim and objectives. The Intendance beach is one of the southern beaches of the Island that are being monitored by the MCSS Staff during the annual turtle nesting season, (September-February). Every week MCSS personnel patrol the nesting beaches in the South of Mahe for presence of nesting turtle or turtle tracks (Hawksbill or Green). The presence of MCSS staff at those nesting area also deters any poaching activity. Nesting is a time when a turtle is most vulnerable to be poached. All the patrols, tracks, turtles and nests are recorded and entered into MCSS turtle database.

The Intendance area is also one of the four sites being used in a new study being implemented by MCSS and GIF to provide better environmental information to both local communities and technical experts to assist the planning process. This project is the first Large Project funded by the Mangroves for the Future in Seychelles and will be on-going for 24 months and we will keep you updated of activities.

The newly recruited MCSS project staff, Researcher Uzice Samedi and Asistant Researcher Ms Catherina Freminot, were also present to provide the Hotel Staff and guests with information regarding the conservation and protection of marine species. Brief information was also given of how one should behave when encountering a nesting turtle on the beach, be it day or night in order for it to successfully complete the nesting process. A small hand-bag with educational items about conservation was also given to all the participants for their efforts, courtesy of the Hotel Management.

The exhibition and souvenirs given to the participants