New SMA students... introducing Isabella....

My first encounter!

My name is Isabella Oreddy and I’m a 1^st year Seychelles Maritime Academy (SMA) student doing my work attachment with Marine Conservation Society Seychelles (MCSS), based at the Banyan Tree Wildlife Conservation and Rehabilitation Centre. On day one, Monday, I did my first turtle patrol on Anse Intendance, but sadly there were no tracks or any turtle related activities. However, I did see some turtle nests that were already there before, and that was quite amazing for me because it was definitely my first observation of turtle nests. I did record some anthropogenic activity; this is the amount of human activity that occurs along the beach and in the water near shore, which could hinder a turtle’s emergence. My most exciting day was on Friday because I encountered my first Hawksbill turtle, though it did not lay after attempting to dig up an egg chamber in an area with hard ground.  I had the chance to measure and take pictures for photo identification as she was leaving the beach; I also saw lots of turtle tracks on different beaches that MCSS monitors.  I’m really having a great time and learning a lot, it is more than expected and I still have a whole month to keep learning!

Volunteering on the spot!

Friday's patrol got a bit more exciting when we met some tourists ...a mother and daughter visiting Seychelles from France.
Seems like Anse Bazarca had become their favorite beach after they had the opportunity to see a turtle emerge from the sea a few metres from them!.... I could sense their excitement and love for sea turtles as they told me the whole story and showed images they had captured. Ever since that encounter they have been spot checking the same beach in the hope of having more encounters....
After meeting the Monitoring team they both decided to tag along with us to patrol some other beaches....but unfortunately no more encounters but still great to spot tracks and new nests.

It was a great couple of hours together and the 'unexpected volunteers' enjoyed it .... thinking about it now.... we never exchanged names!!..... talking about sea turtles was all we did!....nonetheless... many thanks for your information and for tagging along ladies!

Good luck for the future girls

Celeste & Lynn

Celeste and Lynn have almost reached the end of their work attachment with us. They have well been involved in almost all of our day to day activities and tasks. MCSS strongly believes that education is the key to conservation, so it is always great to have the opportunity to pass on knowledge, skills and experiences….. we thank the Seychelles Maritime Academy for the opportunity…. Here is a last few lines from the girls…..

Cleaning the tanks

 During this last week we were taught how to do beach profiling  to monitor sand movement on the nesting beaches, basically checking the nesting platform for turtles. The nesting season is starting to pick up now…. it’s unfortunate we didn’t see that much turtles… but at least we had the opportunity to see two, sadly we didn’t get a chance to see hatchlings.

Celeste with her 2nd encounter

Lynn on a mapping site high up!

Our time here was quite interesting we learned a few things we didn’t know already , the MCSS staff were very welcoming and friendly which made our time here even better! Thumbs up for team!