WiseOceans celebrates 11th anniversary of joint Marine Discovery Programme with Four Seasons Resort |06 June 2023

WiseOceans marine biologist and educator Liane undertaking maintenance at one of Petite Anse in-situ coral nurseries (Photo credit: Joe Daniels Photography)

WiseOceans is a marine conservation and education organisation that works globally to strive towards a future with healthier oceans. Founder Abbie launched WiseOceans in Seychelles in 2011. In 2012 we partnered with Four Seasons Resort Seychelles to provide a bespoke Marine Discovery Programme at Petite Anse.

A WiseOceans Marine Discovery Programme typically includes tailored guest activities, an associated coral reef restoration project, community and employee engagement, and participation in both local and international conservation initiatives.

On May 15, 2023, we celebrated 11 years of the Petite Anse Marine Discovery Programme, marking the day with numerous events across the week. Since the start of the year, we have undertaken over 400 guest activities, led 19 employee engagements and relaunched our ‘Schools Programme’ which sees local primary schools visit our Coral Cabana to learn about their marine environment.

In addition, our partnership with Four Seasons has also supported our wider work here on Mahé, through the provision of our marine education and training initiatives. Our most recent project, the Marine Scholarship Programme 2022/2023 increased training and access for young adults in Seychelles to obtain a career in marine science and conservation.

Launched in 2018, the associated reef restoration project, the Petite Anse Project, has been similarly successful. This project aims to restore 10,000sqm of degraded limestone and granitic reef using the coral gardening technique.  Since its launch, we have grown over 5000 corals in our in-situ table nurseries, shown over 3500 guests the nursery, given over 550 demonstrations, and received 125 sponsorships which has enabled us to restore 95sqm of reef!

We want to take this opportunity to thank Four Seasons Resort Seychelles, who continue to support this long-term project, but also to our teams, past and present, for their dedication, to our in-country partners and supports, to our followers and you, the readers.

We hope you enjoy a summary of our celebrations and hope to see you at the Coral Cabana in the near future!

Contributed