A small boat boldly emblazoned with the words “Reef Rescuers,” bobs up and down on the ocean off of Cousin Island Special Reserve, Seychelles. As the skipper Jacques steadies it, two other occupants, Paul Anstey and Chloe Shute, Nature Seychelles’ Reef Rescuers, prepare for quite an unusual job. They plan to tow a 24 metre rope fully laden with corals to a reef for transplantation without losing any in the water. The corals have been growing in an underwater nursery and are ready for transplanting.

Monsanto suffered a major blow with a jury ruling that the company was liable for a terminally ill man’s cancer, awarding him $289m in damages. Seychelles’ Pesticide Authorities confirm that the pesticide has been widely used locally for over 30 years, but under very strict regulation.

by S. Marivel

Nature Seychelles has published its 4th issue of the Conservation Boot Camp magazine – Stories from the Field. The magazine compiles stories from participants of the innovative Conservation Boot Camp (CBC) programme based on Cousin Island Special Reserve. The programme is just over a year old and has received 30 participants from 16 countries so far.

Cousin Island Special Reserve is a feast for the senses. A thriving carnival of colour and light, pulsing to the drum of the crystal-clear breakers that surround it, and festooned in a blanket of tropical heat. The island’s feathered tenants fill the air with their lyrics, and the earth tirelessly shifts, day and night, with life.