GVI: Curieuse - Seychelles Environmental Conservation Short Term Internship

Join an international group of interns and gain practical conservation experience to develop your career whilst contributing to conservation efforts on an island paradise.

Description:
On this program you'll find yourself working with critically endangered sea turtles who nest on the island, you'll experience studying nesting success among hawksbill and green turtles, you could also collect data such as tag numbers, carapace (shell) measurements and number of eggs laid or carrying out nest excavations in order to measure hatching success. You can even help us track down sicklefin lemon shark pups for our catch and release project that gathers information on the population and growth rate of this understudied species. As an intern, you’ll be on rotation between the different projects which gives you the opportunity to really make a difference in a variety of different ways while at the same time giving you a wide range of professional skills and experience for your future career.

Program Highlights:

• Lemon Shark Project: we are conducting a capture, release and recapture study of the lemon shark population using P.I.T. (Passive Integrated Transponder) tags.


• Hawksbill Turtle Surveys: we conduct year-round, weekly patrols of the beaches, recording data on nesting turtles and tagging females, monitoring the beaches for signs of nesting activity, and marking nests when we locate them.


• Mangrove Distribution Surveys: Curieuse Island has one of the largest remaining areas of mangrove forest left within the Seychelles inner granitic islands.


• Giant Tortoise Census: we conduct an annual census of the giant tortoise population and record key measurements on growth and distribution.


• Beach Profiling: our beach profiling studies monitor changes in beach width, slope and area annually in July and August, and contribute to a long-term data set describing annual changes in our beaches.


• Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) Surveys: we are conducting BRUV surveys to assess the populations of carnivorous and scavenging fish species along the remote north shore of Curieuse Island.

• 24-hour emergency phone


• 24-hour in-country support


• Airport pick-up (unless otherwise stated)


• All necessary project equipment and materials


• Comprehensive training program that encompasses theory lectures, group study and field practise


• Location orientation Long term experienced staff


• Meals while on project (except on work placements for long term internships)


• Safe and basic accommodations (usually shared)


• Welcome meeting