Seychelles Environmental Conservation Short Term Internship

Overview

Join a team of international volunteers, interns, staff members and partners as a short-term intern to assist on priority conservation projects. Whilst working with an abundance of flora and fauna you'll be living the island life, surrounded by the striking azure waters of the marine park.

If you are looking to learn more about conservation, contribute to a meaningful project and spend some time in an incredible location, you don't have to look any further. You'll receive comprehensive training and mentorship, giving you the opportunity to learn skills in a wide range of activities to impact your future career.

You could be working with critically endangered sea turtles which nest on the island; studying nesting success in hawksbill and green turtles, collecting data such as tag numbers, carapace (shell) measurements and number of eggs laid or carrying out nest excavations to measure hatching success. Or, you could be helping us track down sicklefin lemon shark pups for our catch-and-release project, gathering population and growth rate information on this understudied species.

Or, get involved with recording the rate of coastal erosion with our beach profiling surveys, collecting growth and reproductive data for the endemic and unique Coco de Mer palm tree, assisting in our annual census of the island's Aldabra giant tortoise population and keeping tabs on the growth rates of hatchlings and juvenile tortoises in the nursery.

Our monitoring program and work schedules change seasonally; which projects are available will depend on the time of year you visit - speak to our team for further details. 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 broad range of professional skills and experience for your future career.

The internship encourages participants to develop their own ideas and introduce new aspects to help further their contribution to the conservation of an incredible species. Interns will be given specific leadership responsibilities as well as weekly assignments and evaluation from their mentors, who will monitor their progress throughout their stay at the hub.

After a successful internship, qualifying candidates may be given the opportunity to work for GVI or selected partner organisations in Seychelles, or in other countries around the world where GVI operate. Over 50% of GVI staff are recruited from our alumni database. Qualification for positions is at the sole discretion of Global Vision International.

HIGHLIGHTS

Living in one of the most visually stunning countries in the world, and working alongside local partners

Gaining unbeatable practical field experience, skills and qualifications which will help you to boost your future career, whether it be in conservation or not.

Experience the island's amazing wildlife: watch as a female hawkbill turtle crawls out of the sea to lay her eggs, help sea turtle hatchlings in their journey to the sea or release a baby shark after collecting valuable measurements.

Snorkeling in crystal clear waters alongside coral, fish, turtles, eagle-rays and reef sharks, and spotting dolphins from the boat.

Experiencing breathtaking sunsets, making lifelong friends and having an amazing and unique adventure amongst some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.

Program Details

Program Type: Internship

Location: Africa - Seychelles - Curieuse

Wildlife Conservation Animal Care

Life On Base

What's It like?

If you’d like to find out what the experience of joining a GVI project is really like, simply contact us and we’ll put you in touch with one of our many Alumni.

We’ll try to match you to an Alum based on your location, nationality, age, stage of academic career, gender, and program interests. This allows you to gain insights into the experience that is most relevant to you.

Depending on your location you might be able to speak to an Alum over the phone or online, or meet up with them face-to-face at a coffee shop nearby. We also run a series of small events around the world where you can speak to GVI Alumni, Ambassadors and staff members.

Live Updates

Follow GVI Volunteer-In-Curieuse's Facebook page for live updates straight from the field. Get an idea of the types of projects you might be involved in, meet our staff and participants, experience life on this GVI base, hear about free time activities, and learn about the local culture and environment.

GVISeychellesCurieuse

Arrivals

When it comes to support, we ensure that each participant is provided with unparalleled, 360 degree support, from your initial contact with the GVI Family, all the way through your program, and even after, as you become part of the GVI Alumni Team.

As part of this promise, we will ensure, whenever possible, that one of our dedicated staff will be available to meet you at the airport. We will arrange with you prior to your departure that, should you arrive in the agreed upon pick up window, a member of our staff will be there to welcome you, easily identifiable in a GVI t-shirt or holding a GVI sign and wearing a friendly smile. This means there will be someone there to greet you as you land, and from there you will be transported to your GVI base to start your adventure and meet the rest of your team.

Meet The Team - Senior Field Management

Alan Grant

Program Manager

This is Alan, the Program Manager at GVI’s base in Curieuse, Seychelles. He joined GVI as a Science Officer back in 2014 and became the Program Manager a year later! Alan is originally from Scotland and studied Marine and Freshwater Biology at the University of Glasgow. Alan has had a lot of experience in his field, working at an array of different field stations around the world. This includes completing shark research in the Bahamas. All-in-all Alan would sum himself up using the terms: island, tropics, and sharks - an interesting mix to say the least!

Chris Mason-Parker

Regional Director for the Seychelles and Greece

This is Chris. He is GVI’s Regional Director for both the Seychelles and Greece. He joined GVI over ten years ago, starting our as a Science Officer based in Mexico. After this he transferred to the Seychelles.

Chris has had an interesting and varied upbring. He is from the UK, heis half French, but grew up in Hong Kong. These early years of Chris’s life is what fueled his passion for travel.

Meet The Team - In-Country Staff

Victoria Beasley

Science Coordinator

Meet Victoria, the Science Coordinator at GVI’s Curieuse base in Seychelles. Both Victoria's parents were veterinarians so she has a lot of experience with animals, spending her life surrounded by them. She also comes from a family of keen divers and completed her dive certificate at the tender age of 13, fair play! This diving is what sparked her interest in conservation and inspired her to pursue a career in it.

Your Impact

All of our programs have short, mid and long-term objectives that fit with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals or UN SDGs. This enables us to report on our collaborative impact across the world in a streamlined manner, measuring which UN SDGs we are making a substantial contribution to. Furthermore, this will help our local partners and communities measure and visualise their contribution to the UN SDGs.

Upon arrival to base, you will be educated about the history of the UN SDGs. You will learn about the specific goals of your location, the long-, mid- and short-term objectives, and also clarification of how your personal, shorter-term involvement contributes to these goals on a global level.

Our aim is to educate you on local and global issues, so that you continue to act as active global citizens after your program, helping to fulfil our mission of building a global network of people united by their passion to make a difference.

GVI’s primary partner on this programme is the Seychelles National Parks Authority. Data collected from your efforts is passed to the Seychelles Ministry of Environment and participating NGOs to be used in creating local conservation policies and is shared worldwide with other conservation teams and efforts. To do this we work on various environmental conservation initiatives, such as safeguarding sea turtles, surveying Coco de Mer nut production, mangrove mapping, Giant Tortoise population censuses, and sicklefin lemon shark monitoring.

This is to offer support to our local partners, assist in the conservation of these islands flora and fauna, and to address many of the UN Sustainable

Development Goals, such as #14 – Life Below Water, #15 – Life On Land, #4 – Quality Education and #17- Partnerships For Goals

Our Partners In Curieuse

Project Objectives

GVI Curieuse Long-term Objectives:

1. Increase scientific knowledge and baseline data on the health of ecosystems on Curieuse Island,

2. Increase awareness of GVI Seychelles projects and the ecological value of the Curieuse Island National Parks in-country,

3. Build local capacity to support long-term conservation of biodiversity and sustainable community development in Seychelles,

4. Continue to minimize our environmental impact on Curieuse Island and raise awareness of environmental issues amongst volunteers and visitors.

Publications

The best decisions in international development and conservation cannot be made without accurate and up-to-date data or informed research. Our many field teams around the world collaborate with local and international partners to analyse data and draw conclusions. In addition, many of our participants have used research they have collected on their various GVI projects to complete their Masters, Doctorate, or postdoctoral studies. We also run a fellowship program which connects postdoctoral researchers at globally-respected universities with our many sustainable development programs around the world to support their research and ensure continuous improvement of our best practices on base.

Training

A GVI program is an investment in your career. No matter which you choose, you will be working toward improving your employability by mastering new social skills, gaining further technical expertise and earning qualifications in many cases. Most of our staff are, in fact, GVI Alumni, and we have helped many of our Alumni discover, move toward, and earn their own personal dream jobs. Each program includes introductory workshops, ongoing presentations, as well as on-the-ground professional support provided by our very own trained staff members. In addition, our training programs are critical for helping us to ensure the long-term impact of our sustainable development projects around the world.

For All GVI Participants

Welcome Presentation

Introduction to GVI as a whole and the work in your specific location. Learn about the short, mid, and long-term objectives of the sustainable development projects at your base, which United Nations Development Goals they impact most directly, and which local partners we work with.

Health and Safety Training

Learn about the Emergency Action Plans in place at your base, the full Risk Assessment, and best practices for personal safety.

Child and Vulnerable Adult Protection Training

Learn about the importance of child and vulnerable adult protection best practices and how to apply them while on project.

Your Program Specific Training

GVI’s ILM Endorsed Leadership Training

This includes several presentations on leadership-related topics as well as practical applications of the topics, weekly one-on-one meetings with an assigned mentor, and a final leadership project.

Biological Survey Techniques

For those looking to start a career in conservation or biological research in general, completing the GVI Biological Survey Techniques program is a great place to start. The program provides the conceptual background and practical experience needed to get your own biological surveys in the field up and running. Its broad theoretical approach allow course participants to master skills that can be applied to any natural environment around the world. It can also be added to the programs of any participants on a conservation program who will be working with GVI for a minimum of 8 weeks.

Qualifications

Exploration

Cultural Immersion

Engaging intimately with a new context teaches not only global awareness but adaptability and critical thinking, skills highly valued in the modern marketplace. Local and cultural immersion is encouraged on all our programs around the world, and is also one of the most enjoyable aspects of your experience. Luckily, there are many activities you can get involved with in your free time, or before and after your program. On our community programs the focus is on cultural topics, while on marine or wildlife programs the emphasis is more on the environmental element. Use your evenings and weekends to explore diverse and eclectic topics like Theravada Buddhism in Laos or how plastic pollution and climate change affects Indian Ocean coral.

Our Ethics

Below is a list of core ethics and best practices we believe are essential to the operation of high quality, ethical volunteer and sustainable development programs. We believe that all responsible volunteer and sustainable development operations should focus upon these principles. If you are considering volunteering, these are some of the key considerations you should question, to ensure that your time and money contributes towards positive change.

Our 10 Ethical Commitments

Locally Driven, Collaborative Projects

We aim to design all our projects in collaboration with local organizations and communities and ensure that they are locally driven.

Clear Objectives & Sustainable Outcomes

We aim to clearly define short-, mid-, and long-term objectives with sustainable outcomes for all our projects.

Impact Reporting

We aim to track, record, and publish the impact of each of our projects.

Working Against Dependency

We aim to build in-country capacity by assisting local organizations in becoming self-sustaining.

Responsible Exit Strategies

For each local organization we work with, we aim to have a plan in place for withdrawing support responsibly.

Clear Roles & Specialized Training

We aim to ensure that ever participant is assigned a clear role and that they are fully trained and supported to carry out their work by specialized staff.

Respect for all

In all our actions we aim to respect the skills and efforts of all and seek to protect the rights, culture and dignity of everyone who engages with GVI.

Local Ownership

We work to ensure that credit for the results of any project, along with any data collected, research conduct, or Intellectual Property developed, remains the property of local organizations.

Transitioning from the Orphanage Model

We do not condone and aim to withdraw support of orphanages and residential care centers.

Child and Vulnerable adult policies

We will live by our Child Protection and Vulnerable Adult policies.

Continual Development

As an organization, GVI is committed to striving toward best practice, and to educating both our potential participants, our partners, and the world at large about them. Both the volunteering and sustainable development sectors are increasingly, and rightly, under scrutiny. Many recent local and global articles highlight poor practices and questionable ethics. GVI is widely recognized for striving to apply global best practice in the volunteering, education and sustainable development sectors throughout our operations by reputable organizations such as ChildSafe.

However, global best practice is always evolving and we dedicate both time and resources to engage with internationally respected experts and learn from the latest research to ensure our programs both fulfil their potential to create maximum positive impact, and minimise their potential to create unintentional negative impact. Along with and as part of the sustainable development and volunteering community, we are constantly learning and applying this learning to practice. We do not always get everything right, but we seek feedback from our community members, partners, participants and our staff, and react accordingly. We know are already doing a great job, and feedback we have received confirms this, but we aim to do even better and are continuously refining our operations to improve upon our already excellent reputation.

Parent Info

‘If only every student could do this. It changes your life in all the right ways,’ says Chris Heritage, parent of Luke Herritage, one of our teen volunteers who has participated on two GVI programs, one in Costa Rica and another in South Africa.

We are a parent-run organisation that is incredibly serious about health and safety, and increasing the impact, as well as the long-term career benefits of our programs. Our programs help young people develop the skills to select a career path that is personally fulfilling, and live a life aligned to the well-being of our planet and the global community.

Ken and Linda Jeffrey, whose son Sam volunteered with GVI in Thailand, talk about how the experience affected Sam. He also went on to volunteer with GVI again in South Africa. ‘I know it sounds like a cliche but in a sense, he did go away as a boy and he came back as a young man. Both of us could recommend GVI without any hesitation to any other parent thinking about exploring an opportunity for their children to explore the world and to see different parts of it.’

Parent Info Pack

Download the Parent Pack and learn more about:

Our staff: All our projects are run by staff, selected, vetted, trained, and managed by our central office.
Health and safety: Our safety practices include a child and vulnerable adult protection policy and high participant ratios.
Staying in touch: See what’s happening on base, by following a hub’s dedicated Facebook page.
Free parent consultations: We would love to talk to you about exciting opportunities available for your child.

Support & Safety

We won’t sugarcoat it — traveling abroad is usually a complex process that carries an element of risk. But this is exactly why we’re passionate about providing extensive support throughout the process as well as the highest safety standards during the in-country phase. We believe that volunteering abroad should not only be impactful, but an enjoyable experience that carries as little risk as possible. This is exactly how we’ve been able to maintain our reputation as the most highly respected volunteering organisations in the sector over the past two decades.

Support

Once a participant books, they will be assigned a personal support coordinator who will oversee their pre-departure journey. The support coordinator helps to bridge the gap between program enrolment and arrival at one of our field bases. Your personal support coordinator will ensure that you are provided with all the necessary information required to apply for visas, background checks, and any other documentation.

Safety

Upon arrival at the airport participants will be greeted by a GVI staff member. All GVI staff are our own and all our programs around the world are run by our staff. All GVI field staff are background checked, Emergency First Response and safety trained. The minimum staff to participant ratio on GVI’s programs is one to six, although on several bases we have a ratio of one to three. When finishing the experience, participants will provide feedback on all aspects of their program.

Full Support & Safety Protocols

GVI Curieuse Risk Mitigation

Health & Safety Case Studies

19 Nov

HOW GVI UPHOLDS HEALTH AND SAFETY

It takes courage to book a GVI program, get on a flight, and head off to somewhere new. Volunteering offers a level of cultural immersion that typical backpacking or holidays just can’t achieve. This is why thousands of people around the world participate in paid GVI programs.

1 Nov

GVI’S COMMITMENT TO SAFETY AND SECURITY

As the saying goes: ‘Expect the best, plan for the worst’. Cliched or not, we take it to heart. This tenet is at the core of how GVI operates when it comes to promoting the health and safety of our participants, staff, and local community members at all of our 20+ bases around the world.

6 Nov

HOW GVI REMAINS PREPARED FOR NATURAL DISASTERS

The weather isn’t just a topic for polite small-talk here at GVI. We have emergency action plans in place for all scenarios. So when the weather, or other natural forces, takes a nasty turn, we are prepared to respond to stormy situations.

5 Nov

HOW GVI MANAGES PARTICIPANTS EXPECTATIONS

Once GVI has matched a participant to a program that suits their passions and goals, our team aims to set the right expectations for them. In the event that false expectations around a program are created, the GVI team takes immediate action to ensure that the situation rectified.

What's Included

24-hour emergency phone
24-hour in-country support
Access to Alumni Services and Discounts
Airport pick-up (unless otherwise stated)
All necessary project equipment and materials
All necessary project training by experienced staff
First Aid & CPR training
GVI Leadership course
Live and work in a protected reserve under GVI
Location orientation
Long term experienced staff
Meals while on project
Meals while on project (except on work placements for long term internships)
Safe and basic accommodations (usually shared)
Welcome meeting

Seychelles Environmental Conservation Short Term Internship

Gain practical conservation experience to develop your career whilst contributing to conservation efforts on an island paradise.

Our Impact

Location

Volunteer in Curieuse

Program Information

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Overview

Program Details

Select a Start Date

Select a Duration

Select Add-Ons

Life On Base

What's It like?

Live Updates

Arrivals

Meet The Team - Senior Field Management

Alan Grant

Program Manager

Chris Mason-Parker

Regional Director for the Seychelles and Greece

Meet The Team - In-Country Staff

Victoria Beasley

Science Coordinator

Your Impact

Our Partners In Curieuse

Project Objectives

Publications

Scientific Article

Population structure of the sicklefin lemon shark Negaprion acutidens within the Curieuse Marine National Park, Seychelles

2017

Conference Poster

‘Inter-island nesting distribution of hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) encountered at Curieuse Marine National Park, Seychelles’

2017

Conference Poster

‘The Lepidoptera of Curieuse Island, Seychelles.’

2013

Popular

‘Diving into Conservation in the Seychelles.’

2013

Conference Poster

‘Hideaway for Hawksbills: Importance of Curieuse Island, Seychelles, for Sea Turtle Nesting.’

2015

Journal Article

‘Curieuse National Park Seychelles: Critical Management Needs for Protection of an Important Nesting Habitat.’

2015

Journal Article

‘Baie Ternay Marine National Park - A small bay with a big future.’

2015

Conference Poster

‘Use of Curieuse Island, Seychelles, Mangroves as a Nursery Ground for Sicklefin Lemon Sharks (Negaprion acutidens).’

Annual Report

GVI Seychelles Curieuse 2018 Annual Report

2018

Training

For All GVI Participants

Welcome Presentation

Health and Safety Training

Child and Vulnerable Adult Protection Training

Your Program Specific Training

GVI’s ILM Endorsed Leadership Training

Biological Survey Techniques

Qualifications

GVI’s ILM Endorsed Leadership Certificate

Biological Survey Techniques Certificate

Exploration

Cultural Immersion

Our Ethics

Our 10 Ethical Commitments

Locally Driven, Collaborative Projects

Clear Objectives & Sustainable Outcomes

Impact Reporting

Working Against Dependency

Responsible Exit Strategies

Clear Roles & Specialized Training

Respect for all

Local Ownership

Transitioning from the Orphanage Model

Child and Vulnerable adult policies

Continual Development

United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals