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.

It takes sturdy sea legs, perfect timing and the precision of a drill to transplant corals. Not only do you need good weather conditions to seamlessly move a rope fully laden with corals to a transplantation site, but also the perfect mix of cement to ensure that corals hold to the reef when they are planted.

At the end of April, Cousin Island was privileged to receive Royal Society fellow, House of Lords peer and former Principal of Jesus College, Oxford, Professor Lord John Krebs and his wife Sarah Phibbs.

It was December in Canada when I heard help was needed on Cousin Island’s Special Reserve. I hadn’t even heard of the Seychelles but I packed my things and hopped on a plane without expectations. A few planes, trains and countries later, I landed in paradise.