Take a tiny nature reserve 29ha in size. Throw in 50 years of conservation success that saved endemic bird species, increased the numbers of hawksbill turtles nesting, and propagated hope in restoring coral reefs. Add a giant sized passion for nature conservation from individuals. Create a program that allows young people to partake in real-life conservation in paradisiacal settings. What you will get is the off the beaten track Conservation Boot Camp (CBC). It happens monthly for a lucky few on Cousin Island Special Reserve, Seychelles.

2018 was an incredible year in terms of bad news on the media. Confusing news, fake news, alternative facts, pseudo-science, and just terrible public portrayal of leaders. But, pull away from the media circus and do a deep dive onto the real world and one can see that 2018 was in fact a year of hope.

A Seychelles fruit bat (Pteropus seychellensis) flying into or trying to perch on power lines at Sans Souci, in the hills of Mahe Island was the cause of a power outage that occurred in the South of Mahe at 9.30pm on Monday 25, according to a news report in the TODAY in Seychelles newspaper. It took the Public Utilities Company (PUC) nearly four hours to restore electricity to the affected areas stretching from the districts of Roche Caiman to Grande Anse.

The combined efforts of conservation and scientific research took this songbird from near extinction on 1 island to thriving on 5 islands. "The Seychelles warbler is definitely the most amazing success story in the history of Seychelles," says Dr. Nirmal Shah of Nature Seychelles.