Marine Conservation Expedition in Seychelles

( 2 Reviews )

Company : GVI
Location : Cap Ternay
Duration: 2 weeks to 3 months
Approx Costs: 2500 to 3000+ £ Pound (UK)

Join an internation team of volunteers and scuba dive in the Indian Ocean on this critical conservation expedition.

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Travel to the crystal clear waters of Seychelles as a member of an expedition and work on critical marine conservation projects amongst the beautiful islands of Seychelles.

On this program, you will contribute towards various conservation-related surveys aimed at providing data to the Seychelles Parks and Gardens Authority (formerly Seychelles National Marine Park Authority – SNPA) and local government on coral reef, fish and invertebrate research and assist with the development of environmental education awareness.

You’ll spend a large part of your time on this expedition scuba diving and as such you need to be qualified to at least PADI Open Water, or equivalent before joining the program.

Program Highlights:

Learning how to identify fish, coral or invertebrates in the Indian Ocean.
Earning your PADI Advanced Open Water certificate.
Complete GVI & PADI’s unique qualification, the PADI Reef Ecosystem Diver (RESD) Specialty.
Exploring different dive sites around the tropical island of Mahe, searching for ‘mega-fauna’ in the area, such as sharks, rays, and dolphins and learning more about the wider ecosystem.
Developing the techniques needed to survey coral reefs.
Participation in local ecosystem surveying including seagrass monitoring, mangrove species identification and nudibranch diversity checks.

Costs / Benefits

Since we opened our doors in 1998, we have spent over 65% of all funds directly on our projects. It is our mission to support field operations in the long term. Rather than abandon programs that recruit fewer volunteers we strategically invest from our fully staffed sites to help maintain our presence across the globe. The remaining 35% that is not directly invested in our programs covers the cost of volunteer recruitment, the operations of our head office.

Cost for the program by duration:
2 weeks - £3,245
4 weeks - £4,145
6 weeks - £5,095
8 weeks - £5,945
10 weeks - £6,845
12 weeks - £7,695

Requirements

- 18+
- English
- Criminal Background check
- PADI Open Water Certification (or
equivalent)
- Medical History
- Good physical fitness

Booking / Enquiry

Booking Enquiry

The best thing that I could have done during summer

I joined the Seychelles expedition three years ago just for a month. I wanted to use my free time in summer to do something meaningful and I couldn't have asked for more. Everything was very easily planned and even though I didn't have much experience traveling alone, I felt very secure and I gained so much confidence in the trip.
About the placement, the Seychelles are by far the most beautiful place that I have seen. Our base in Baie Ternay was two minutes far from the sea and had everything that was necessary. The staff were always very helpful and made us feel like a family. Regarding the workfield, we had many usefull workshops and fish surveying training before going into the actual work. For any novel divers, the Advanced course was a great way to make a step forward into your diving career and it gave us more confidence with our diving. We went diving once or twice a day and every dive was paradise. The Baie has a beautiful coral reef filled with life including all kinds of fish, turtle, rays and sharks! Also, we did work with local children and some clean-ups that were a lot of fun.
This trip made me realise a lot about what I want to do in my future and it definitely felt like a step in the right direction.

By: Irene Gonzalo
Nationality: Spanish

An Amazing Experience

Having never volunteered abroad before I was unsure of what to expect but my whole experience with GVI was excellent. Everything was very clear and well organised from beginning to end.
I spent 6 weeks at the Cap Ternay base. It is situated in a remote but absolutely stunning area of the main island is the Seychelles, Mahe.
The staff were excellent on base. They all very knowledgeable and always available to help out if needed. We learnt a lot from the about the coral reef and local marine life.
The diving was the best part of the program. We were diving usually twice a day, five days a week. During February and March the water was always clear and consistently around 29/30 degrees. There is a lot of diversity in marine life and it was not uncommon to see turtle, rays and sharks on our dives.
During the evenings and weekends we had free time to explore different parts of the main island, travel to other islands or just relax on a local beach. It was always fun to meet the people and eat the local food.
The other volunteers were always so easy to get on with as everyone had a passion for marine conservation and wanted to get stuck into the project. I've continue to talk to a lot of the people I met and have friends all over the world now.
I would recommend GVI to anyone wanting to volunteer abroad for a number of different projects and would definitely suggest their Marine Conservation program in the beautiful Seychelles.

By: Richard Godfrey
Nationality: British