Marine volunteer work...I have been working!

It's been 3 weeks since I arrived on Naifaru and I still haven't let you in on the work I've been doing! I know all my posts so far have been about the fun trips and events on the island, but believe me, I have been working as well!

I signed up to the marine programme here for a couple of reasons. One is I wanted to get back into the subjects I studies at uni. And the other is I've loved all the time I've spent out diving, fishing and boating in the last few years and decided to see what it would be like to work in an area I loved to do for fun.

The marine programme here is still quite new and

Main marine centre building

construction has been underway for the last few months to build Atoll Volunteer's marine centre.

Turtle enclosure under construction

The centre will be the hub for all of Atoll Volunteer's marine programmes as well as the site of several tanks for rehabilitating sick and injured turtles. I've been helping Tess (the resident marine biologist) set up individual programmes basically from scratch. 

First up is the turtle rehabilitation and conservation programme.

Turtles at Felivaru

Turtle and egg poaching is still common here, and sick or injured turtles are occasionally found around the islands or pulled in by fishermen in their nets and lines. Our programme will provide a safe place for turtles to rehabilitate and recover before being released back into the wild.

Researching turtle biology and rehab, as well as going through husbandry manuals from other rehab centres has taken up a big chunk of my time. I've got the first draft of a husbandry manual together and now it's double checking the manual against best practice elsewhere and setting up the systems to make it happen (checklists, buying equipment, training programmes for other volunteers and staff etc...)

Maldivian anemone fish

I saw my first green turtle on a dive yesterday at Kuredu Island! Such a buzz! It was amazing to be so close to it and see how graceful it was swimming along. It is cool to be able to do something practical to ensure they will be around for a long time to come.

Galaxia

Next up is a coral survey and gardening programme. This programme will be in 2 parts. Firstly, ongoing baseline measurements and diversity monitoring of coral reefs around Naifaru (and possibly other islands) will begin, followed by setting up coral gardens and monitoring their development and growth.

Tess has been teaching me coral identification with theory lessons followed by a snorkel to reinforce the learning. I have about 20 genus' sorted, only 52,000 or so to go! And I spent a good part of my scuba dive yesterday naming the coral as I swam along (I had to laugh when I realised what I was doing!)

Physogyra

While the marine centre is still not officially open, we have already held one event here - a tree planting afternoon for World Environment Day. Students from the nature class at the local high school came along and helped Atoll Volunteers and Naifaru Juvenile staff plant 20 coconut trees and about 30 other trees around the centre. Now, I'm out watering them every day...except when thunderstorms come along!

Kids tree planting

Weekly beach clean ups are also held around the marine centre. There are a couple of sections of beach with pristine white sand near the centre that have loads of rubbish wash up on them. Cleaning up these beaches is our way of doing something practical about the marine pollution here and it means we have a gorgeous beach right outside our front door to enjoy!

Well, there's a brief overview of what I've been up to so far. Let me know if there is a particular programme or area you would like to know more about and I promise to try and update you a bit more regularly in the future!

How we get to the office