We have collected a sample of the comments, memories and reflections of some of our recent volunteers and some of our permenant staff members to provide a snapshot of a day in the life of a Blue Ventures expedition. Please click on the name of the person you want to read about.
Volunteers:
Neil
Neil Madigan, 24, from the UK, was on the December 2004 expedition.
Emily
Emily Carroll was on the December 2004 expedition and is now at Edinburgh University studying Biology.
Leda
Leda Smith, 26, from Alaska (Blue Ventures’ first volunteer from the Arctic!), joined us between February and April 2004, working actively on our outreach and education programme in Andavadoaka village. Here she describes some of her memories from the project.
Andrew
Andrew Ritchie, a Blue Ventures research volunteer from Australia who was on the December 2003 expedition.
Catherine
Catherine Burgess, a doctoral student from Cambridge University, joined us as a research volunteer in May 2004.
Jess
Jessica Jambert-Grey worked with us for almost 6 months in Andavadoaka, where she became actively involved in developing our social research program.
Will
Will, a biologist from Liverpool University volunteered with us in June 2004.
Mike
Mike, a Blue Ventures research volunteer who was on the February 2005 expedition.
Check back soon to see more stories.
Malagasy Scholars
Ny Aina RAKOTO
Ny joined BV for Expedition 31 in August 2007.
Life Outside Diving
Outside of diving, Blue Ventures expedition life is certainly busy, but we hope that you will find that you can be as active or as inactive as you wish. Each week there is at least one compulsory day off diving. There are plenty of distractions to keep you occupied, from trips into the nearby baobab forest to volley ball tournaments on the beach. Every few weeks, volunteers are able to take a long weekend off for a longer excursion of their choice, with or without the guidance of our staff members.
There is also the opportunity for volunteers to extend or continue their diving qualifications and/or assessment programmes. In the past many of our volunteers have wanted to undertake short speciality diving courses, most commonly in underwater photography, underwater search and recovery, and first aid. This can be arranged in advance by talking with Blue Ventures staff in the UK, or by discussing your plans with our Diving Manager in the field. There is a small supplementary fee for additional diving courses taken in the field.
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'Brilliant and thoroughly fulfilling. An unforgettable experience due to the quality of the staff, the charity's aims and the site.'
'Everything about it was amazing and something I will talk about for a long time.'
Mike Cowdy, February '05.
'I would like to say a massive thankyou to everyone involved in BV. I had an amazing time over there, learned a lot and made some important decisions regarding my own future whilst on site.'
Neil Madigan, December '04.
'The group dynamic that BV attracts is uniquely appropriate, with no single demographic isolated and all minds eager to learn and explore. The site on which BV is located in Andavadoaka is a peak which overlooks all that is intended to preserve and support so that in generations to come we as volunteers and staff may return to find it unchanged.'
Lindsay Bazett, August '04 |
