Expedition Leaders
Marine Conservation Volunteer Program in the Seychelles

Tim Kirkpatrick - Country Director - Seychelles

Tim is originally from the Cotswolds in England and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to GVI and the Seychelles expedition. A PADI Scuba Instructor, he studied mechanical engineering prior to moving to Durban in South Africa. Here, he built the boat that first brought him to the Seychelles, via the islands of the Indian Ocean, a 44 foot catamaran. First time around, Tim remained for 3 years, skippering and falling in love with the islands. Having spent 4 years on the sea he then turned his attention to the land and became an expedition leader on the Africa overland routes. In a two year period he completed 4 trans-Africa expeditions from London to Harare in Zimbabwe covering 60,000 K’s. He has since completed 2 transatlantic passages, lived and worked in the Caribbean as dive master/yacht technician and skipper, in Madagascar after 4 years where he skippered a 60 foot trimaran, worked as a PADI Underwater Instructor rating, set up and managed Zanzibar’s first diving centre, and he started and ran a live aboard diving business in Pemba, Tanzania. Tim washed back up on the shores of the Seychelles after joining the GVI team, ready to renew the love affair that started some twenty three years again.

Genevieve Gammage - Expedition Staff

Having worked for a mortgage firm in UK for three years Gen knew office life wasn’t for her and she wanted to continue her travels. Always having had an interest in Marine Biology she wanted to volunteer within the field to see if this was a path she wanted to take. Gen arrived in the Seychelles in April 2007 to commence a 10 week volunteer phase. She loved everything about the experience and came to the conclusion that this was something she wanted to pursue further. She subsequently stayed on for an additional two phases as an intern having completed her PADI Divemaster qualification. Gen has returned to the Seychelles Expedition, after a quick trip home to see her family and complete her RYA Level II Powerboat Driving certification, as a permanent staff member in January 2008. You can always find her busy around the base, teaching volunteers their coral and fish species, coordinating the community development programme, driving the boat, and generally ensuring everyone is having a great time! In October 2008 Gen was promoted to Expedition Manager, not bad going for a sectary of a mortgage firm.

Richard Kearton - Expedition Staff

Richard has had various jobs in his life and came out on the GVI Seychelles Marine Expedition in April 2007 intending to stay for 5 weeks. He loved the experience and way of life so much that he extended his volunteer stay to 10 weeks. Richard could not get enough, and quickly volunteered his knowledge and expertise to help GVI renovate their Satellite camp facility on Curieuse Island. With all of Richard’s experience, his dedication, and strong work ethic, he was quickly snatched up to be an intern on Curieuse. He stayed on for 6 months helping the construction process and has returned again in 2008 as a full time staff member. Since he has been in the Seychelles, Richard has gone from having 0 diving experience to working on completing his PADI Divemaster certification and now has around 100 dives under his belt. He has developed a love of the ocean and all the marine life found in and around it. He is a certified RYA Level II Powerboat driver and has perfected his Creole cooking skills! The Seychelles and Richard seem to be a perfect match!

Rochelle Johnston - Expedition Staff

Rochelle comes from New Zealand where she studied Marine biology. She did her masters studying the ecology of a brittle star and the effects of marine reserves. She has been involved in teaching science to children from New Zealand, Australia to England and Scotland. She has also been involved in research projects around the world including conservation of turtles and eelgrass monitoring. Rochelle is a PADI dive instructor, EFR first aid instructor and also has a boat driving licence. If she isn’t exploring the depths of the big blue, you may find her travelling the four corners of the world, surfing waves or searching for powder.

Rachel Mowll - Expedition Staff

Rachel grew up in Devon, England. She completed a BSc in Geography and Tourism Management before heading to Mexico to volunteer on GVI’s Pez Maya Marine Expedition. After staying on for a further 6 months as an intern, she decided it was time to swap the ocean for the mountains and spent the next 5 months working and skiing the French alps. Realising that her passion lies with the marine world, she jumped at the chance to head over to GVI Seychelles in January 2008 to work as an intern. Being a qualified dive master and boat driver, she was the perfect candidate to become a permanent staff member in June. Rachel has travelled and dived around the world and has an abundance of stories to share!

Hazel Long - Expedition Staff

Hazel grew up in West Yorkshire, England. She graduated from the University of Hull with a Masters degree in Physical Geography in 2006. During her time at university she learnt to scuba dive with the Sub Aqua club which she became president of in her final year of study. Following her degree, and 2 years working in the UK to raise funds, she decided to pursue her passions for diving, conservation and travel by completing a 10 week phase as a volunteer with GVI Seychelles marine expedition. She spent the next 3 months as an intern, and following that became a permanent member of staff. Hazel excels at training volunteers in fish, coral and invertebrate identification, as well as educating local children, helping to broaden their understanding and awareness of the underwater world.

Ben Herrington - Expedition Staff

Ben grew up in Byron Bay, Australia. He left home to begin a career working on sailing yachts around the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef in Northern Queensland, Australia. It was during this time that Ben got a taste for diving! After 18 months, he headed overseas and spent close to 5 years sailing on a number of private Yachts between the Mediterranean and Caribbean, gaining more experience and his Yacht master qualification along the way. He deciding he needed a change, and headed to the Seychelles as a 10 week volunteer with GVI Seychelles in April 2008. After spending 1 three month phase as an intern, Ben is now a staff member and is in charge of the boating and marine operations side of the expedition. Ben is also a very keen photographer and when on an ocean diving or sailing, he can be found throwing himself down a mountain on a snowboard!