Laisa Laveti – Local Student – Fiji 2011

As a final year student of the University of the South Pacific, studying Geography, Literature and Language and having had some experience as a research assistant I was invited to join C3 as a volunteer for a month on Kia Island.

My job was basically to interpret questionnaires and assist a couple of masters students -Lui and Jonathan in completing data collection surveys. I gained some good field experience and was at the end of it able to do more survey without supervision. The end of the first week was exciting as I had the opportunity to teach classes 5 & 6 during a Reef Ranges activity, which are marine education classes we conduct at Kia District School. The topic was an introduction to Coral Reefs and it was interesting to see how the students can link themselves to the Great Sea Reef that surrounds their district. Most of them were able to identify issues that affected the reef when asked and were able to relate it to their group exercise.

I have fond memoriesconducting surveys-waiting for low tide in order to walk round the island, or hopping in a boat and speeding off in the tranquil blue waters surrounding the island, but when it was high tide we had to climb/hike up the hill over to the neighboring villages which was exhausting to say the least.

I adapted well to community life as I was quite familiar with the lifestyle from other villages I have already visited during my fieldtrips in uni-a compulsory part of all Geography courses. One of the new, exciting things I learnt was fishing with a line and hook, which was taught by the village headman Samu, during a fishing trip in the weekend with two other colleagues from USP.  Apart from that, our house chores were equally shared and we also did community work such as beach cleanup and community clean up during my stay.

Kia is a great place to work and I would recommend it to anybody who is interested in working on the beautiful island.

C3 Internship review – Megan Disley – Madagascar 2011

It’s quite a conundrum, finishing your undergraduate degree and knowing conservation is the career path you want to go down but all the jobs you look at require field experience, and where do you find that experience without volunteering with a gap year company? This was my position after graduating from my undergraduate degree in Marine and Freshwater Biology in 2009. Whilst searching for a solution I came across C3 and applied for an internship with them working inMadagascarand was accepted.

I have been very fortunate during my time with C3 to have been involved in all the amazing projects that are currently running. After completing health and safety tests and briefings I was thrown into the field work on my third day with a trip toNosyHaraMarineParkfor sea turtle nesting survey work which C3 are currently conducting inNorthern Madagascar. Sites are monitored every quarter with a project aim of collecting information the endangered sea turtles’ nesting sites and to use this information to help establish community based monitoring programmes. The islands of Nosy Hara Marine Park are beautiful with the camp set up right on beach front at Ampasindava where I learnt to sahafa rice and grate a coconut (which apparently now makes me marriage material in Madagascar!) as the sun set.

When I first arrived in the Diego office the other interns were already out in the field traveling around theNorth East coastconducting surveys for the SocMon project. Towards the end of their time in the field I joined them in Ambolobozobe where I had my first experience of sleeping on concrete floors and collecting water from the village wells, and my first walk behind (and ride on) a zebu and cart. Getting involved in the interviews was fascinating, giving a real insight into how people live inMadagascar, and everyone was so friendly and happy to provide information.

When not in the field there was plenty of work to keep me going in the Diego office (work levels do vary depending on the number of interns) from data entry and analysis to writing lectures for the Marine Resource Centre which C3 runs at the University of Antsiranana on a Friday afternoon which interns are welcome to attend.

Not all my time was spent working, free weekends were spent exploring Diego and its local beaches and nature reserves (Ramena, Emerald Bay, and Montagne d’Ambre) where I saw countless amounts of Madagascan wildlife: birds, chameleons, geckos, lemurs, and even an elusive fossa!

My second turtle surveying trip to Ampisikina was an interesting experience traveling by a rather delayed taxi brousse and what seemed like endless hours on a vedette, which we dubbed as a floating gargotte dropping off biscuits and beer to every village along the way, followed by a walk behind a zebu and cart, the journey in total taking an epic 48 hours to travel 50km as the bird flies. But for all the frustration that local transport can involve there really is no better way to seeMadagascar, after all the experience is in the journey!

I was also fortunate enough to be involved in the recent month long field trip to Sahamalaza National Park, which C3 were invited to visit for surveying and staff training. Between four locations we were taught about the behaviour of the Blue-eye Black Lemur, and surveying techniques for Reef Check, Seagrass Watch, and Mangrove surveying. It was an incredible opportunity for us to survey an area of Madagascar where no NGO have previous explored, having some amazing experiences along the way including seeing a green turtle chomping on seagrass, watching some amazing sun sets and sunrises, washing under a waterfall, and clambering through a muddy mangrove forest.

Not only have I gained invaluable field experience during my time with C3 (even now in my final week I am about to embark on another turtle survey trip to Nosy Hara Marine Park) and seen first hand the challenges of running an NGO in a developing country, I have worked with some fantastic people and had the opportunity to really experience the true culture of Madagascar seeing some incredible sights along the way!

C3 Internship Review – Tim Morley – Masters Student – Madagascar 2011

When undertaking my MSc in Marine Environment Management I signed up for a summer placement in Madagascar expecting an excellent dataset and a great experience; I got just that and more working with C3.

After a few days of logistical stuff (health and safety and scientific research tests) I was briefed in the field work that was to be collected by the team over the course of a month along Madagascar’s northeast coast. I can’t think of a better way to experience a country than to travel through it by foot or zebu cart visiting small villages and coastal communities along the way and passing through some fantastic habitat. Of course for some of the longer parts of the journey we had to use local transportation known as a ‘taxi brousse’, not the most comfortable way to travel but it has to be experienced and is always funny to look back on.

My research required surveying of coastal village residents on how they use their natural resources. Despite not speaking French, or more importantly Malagasy, the villagers could not have been more helpful and friendly (surveys were translated by Malagasy staff along the way); it was amazing to see them so keen to talk and learn about marine issues such as fishing.

My first day of field data collection set the tone for the rest of the excursion; a walk through farmland and good quality forest to get to Ampasimadera before pirogue (small canoes) travel across the river, a long walk along a pristine beach to Ambonihara and another short pirogue journey into the village – which the Malagasy fell out of at one stage, to the amusement of everyone. I enjoyed every minute of it and couldn’t wait to get to see and do more. As expected with field research amenities were a bucket of water for a shower and the woods for a toilet, plus a fire for cooking; which the other interns will vouch actually vastly improved my cooking skills!

After the first day the experience continued to be once-in-a-lifetime. Whether it is watching fishermen make a net, living on a tropical island, walking through a very muddy mangrove or mapping out land use I can’t imagine my trip being as good without any of them; although I could have done without the rat running over my face in the middle of the night once!

Of course the experience isn’t just about the work and scenery. There were plenty of opportunities to see Madagascar’s famous wildlife, not just on the field trip but also when travelling on weekends off whilst back at the office. The northeast region has a number of places well worth visiting for different reasons: the beaches at Ramena and la Mer d’Emeraude, the Montagne d’Ambre rainforest national park and the Montagne des Français baobab reserve. Whether it was snorkelling on coral patches, impersonating David Attenborough’s pygmy chameleon speech, searching for lemurs and leaf-tailed geckos or exploring bat caves each one of these areas offered something unique and truly memorable.

Half of my placement was spent in the C3 headquarters in Diego where accommodation was in the offices. The town of Diego is very friendly and full of restaurants and bars to relax in; more importantly the supply of traditional street food is excellent and very inexpensive. Whilst writing my report C3 were very accommodating allowing me to work solely on my report for university, after typing up all the field data for both myself and their reports. The staff provided excellent guidance, and were always happy to help with any problems or requests I had. I was very appreciative of this, although I did at times wish I had been an intern so that I could go back into the field – but that will have to be next time.

I thoroughly enjoyed doing my MSc placement in Madagascar and would entirely recommend it to anyone else studying in the field of wildlife conservation and marine management who has a particular interest in the socioeconomic impacts of conservation efforts; provided they have the patience to work in a country where a short walk means a 2 hour trek and a bus departure time of 10am means when the bus is full at 1pm!

C3 Internship Review – Mariel Harrison – Madagascar 2011

Following completion of my Biological Sciences degree in 2010 and fieldwork in Mozambique and Ghana, I spent 3 months as an intern with C3 Madagascar in summer 2011.  This is a blog about my experience here; what I did, the highs and the (very few) lows.

There were a number of different projects running during my internship, and I was fortunate to be able to take part in all of them.  In all, I spent seven and a half weeks in the office in Diego, six weeks on field trips (one of which was a marathon five weeks long) and had six weekends free to explore the beaches and national parks of the region (Ankarana, Montagne d’Ambre, Montagne des Francais, Ramena and the Emerald Sea).  As is the case with the majority of interns, my first week was spent reading up on C3′s research in preparation for the literature test which must be passed before work can begin.  I was then given a couple of lectures to write for the Marine Resources Centre (MRC) which C3 runs on Friday afternoons at the University of Antsiranana.  Interns are welcome to go along to the lectures and assist with the English lessons which precede them.

The second project I assisted with was the Marine Conservation Roadshow with the Antsiranana boy scouts, which C3 took to a couple of small fishing communities.  They performed a series of short sketches, which I helped write and make the costumes for.  The performances aimed to highlight the threats facing Sea Turtles, Dugongs and Sharks.  I accompanied the scouts on their weekend trip to Ampasindava, part of the Nosy Hara Marine Park on the west coast, taking photos and videos for them to show at the Volvo Adventure Awards in Sweden; where they were finalists in June.  When the scouts left on the Sunday morning, I stayed in Ampasindava to take part in the sea turtle nesting tracks monitoring programme, which involved visiting two of the islands in the Nosy Hara Archipelago to count, measure, photograph and mark all the turtle nests and tracks on the beaches.  The islands are incredibly beautiful, and on the day I went out we saw dolphins, turtles and nearly an elusive dugong!  On the same field trip, a couple of Masters students were interviewing shark fishermen for their dissertations, but unfortunately no fishermen came in on the day I spent waiting on the beach for them.

For most of my time in Madagascar I was involved in the preparation and data collection for the SocMon project; an assessment of the socioeconomic needs of coastal communities in the north east of Madagascar. I spent five weeks traveling the coast from Sambava to Ambolobozokely in five taxibrousses, three pirogues, two boats and walking behind six zebu carts, visiting 25 villages, cooking over wood and charcoal fires and sleeping in accommodation varying between tents on a beach, school house floors and a very generous woman’s bed (and yes, she was sleeping in it at the same time, as was another intern, but it was the best three nights sleep I had on the whole trip!)  The interviews we carried out were fascinating, the places we visited were beautiful, and everyone we met was welcoming and eager to talk to us, all of which meant that the lack of running water, electricity, ‘normal’ toilets and showers, the slow and often uncomfortable transport and days of rice and beans three times a day were easily compensated for.

There were countless animals to be seen; lemurs, chameleons, bright green geckos, snakes, birds, turtles, sharks (admittedly dead…) and even a frog brightening up the inside of a particularly cramped cab of a taxibrousse at 3am.  Similarly, for every meal of rice and beans, there was one of freshly caught fish or kindly donated pumpkin, the excitement of seeing vegetables again for the first time in days when we got nearer to bigger roads, and the delicious chicken which was killed for my birthday dinner.  On long walks behind slow, rickety and slightly out of control zebu carts there was always something to look at; vanilla, coffee and coconut plantations, rice paddies, primary forest, mangroves, rivers, estuaries and villages.  Buckets shower in cobwebby shacks over long drop toilets were made up for by bucket showers behind a tree under the stars and the milky way.

I had the opportunity to work on so many different projects (it really depends on what’s going on while you’re here and how many other interns there are for the work to be shared between) and that I got to see so much of Madagascar (although Diego is a great place to live as well, with plenty of bars and restaurants to visit, as well as the more typically Malagasy markets).

I came to Madagascar wanting experience of conservation with small communities in a developing country, and that’s what I’m going home with.  What’s more, I got to work with some fantastic people, visit amazing places and experience a new culture.  I would recommend an internship here to anyone who has patience and is willing to adapt to unpredictable circumstances and life at a different pace; mora mora as they say in Malagasy

C3 Internship Review – Olivier Raynaud – Madagascar and Comoros 2010

Last year, my master’s degree required a final internship, which accordingly to my school, could focus on any environmental issue. But in order to decide what I truly wanted to do with my life, I desperately needed much more than that; I sought an inspiring, stimulating, and unforgettable experience.

After spending four months with C3 in Madagascar and the Comoros I got it all.

Once in Diego, I was offered to work on a socio-economic study concerning stakeholders of one the most outstanding place I’ve seen; the Nosy Hara Marine Park. Aside from this personal research, I was able to participate in all of C3’s projects and field trips, constantly working with local communities, and I even got to spend a few weeks monitoring turtles in the Comoros. I therefore led my own project, participated in awareness raising campaigns and took part in C3’s research on endangered marine species, while making the most of two beautiful countries and ways of life.

Thanks to C3’s approach to conservation, its amazing local staff, and the quality of the other interns, I turned in a rock-solid master’s thesis, defended it like my own life, and was from then on absolutely certain that my professional occupation would not solely be a means to earn money, but instead a captivating ethical task.

This internship allowed me to discover exceptional places and wonderful people, but moreover, I precisely identified what really gets me going. To cut a long story short, if it was not for C3 I would clearly not be currently working on an atoll right in the middle of the Pacific. So thanks again!

Elizabeth Windemeyer – Mauritius 2007

Towards the end of an aquarium internship I needed to start searching for the next step in marine conservation. My desires to learn about community centered conservation research led me to apply for the internship opportunity with Community Centered Conservation (C3). I was the first intern for Mauritius and anxious to be a part of the initial developments. I learned more than I even imagined. I acquired a taste of what kinds of obstacles must be overcome for such influential research to occur. I gained an understanding of the dire importance to obtain support from locals. I saw how C3 developed positive relations with university staff, fishermen, their neighbors, and many more islanders.

As an intern I was also able to interact with locals and learn about the cultural melting pot Mauritius is comprised of, from Muslim to Buddhists. I also saw the grant writing process and how to successfully finance projects in a developing country. Conserving the biodiversity of the Indo-Pacific, an ocean surrounded by developing countries, presents challenges that C3 boldly addresses. As a result, they carry out unique, valuable, and innovative research topics that truly impact marine conservation around the world. The internship provided me with life experiences in what it takes to set up a new organization, how to adapt to different cultures, introduced me to the Indo-Pacific and some of its biodiversity, and gave me some great friends I continue to keep in contact with.

I truly appreciated C3’s approach to establishing relations with Mauritians. They were never pushy but never taken advantage of either. They maintained healthy relations at all times. I also appreciated the respect and opportunities they gave me as an intern. They were always open minded to any new ideas I might have and supportive of trying some of them too! They truly provided an environment of growth, intellectually, culturally, and personally.

On a personal note, Mauritius was a beautiful island full of unique foods, fabulous markets, and great beaches. I still miss some of the foods and cannot find anything comparable! Weekends of exploration could guide you to gorgeous sugar cane fields, immaculate temples, or even just a secluded beach. C3 truly equipped me with unique experiences I almost always get asked about in an interview. In addition, I acquired skills I apply on a regular basis and memories I will never forget.

Esther Copete – Comoros 2008

Being stuck in a dead end job I decided to take the internship in Comoros to get some work experience and prepare myself for the competitive conservation and development job market. What I didn’t realize at that time was the enormous impact it would have in my personal life: I met wonderful people who taught me about their way of life in the Muslim culture of Comoros. Here I gained project management skills and was involved in the planning, monitoring and managing of the ecotourism project and looked after project teams. My internship inspired my passion for marine conservation and made me aware of the multi-faceted nature of the subject and the many ways to participate in coastal community development. I am now focusing on environmental education for sustainable development in coastal areas. Esther Copete