16 members of the LEAP Junior Club from Port Glaud Primary and Anse Boileau Secondary schools spent last Friday exploring Port Launay Marine National Park, through snorkeling, defying the cloudy and rainy weather that lasted throughout the day. The activity was organised by the Locally Empowered Area Protection (LEAP) project team of Rafaela Gameiro, Jack Coupland, and Lydnen Gomme as part of ocean education and awareness for the club. Its aim was to help the children appreciate the diverse and vibrant marine life that exists beneath the surface of the ocean at their doorstep.

In 2022, Nature Seychelles outplanted 4,000 coral fragments, grown in 4 underwater nurseries in the Cousin Island Special Reserve Marine Protected Area (MPA), according to the environmental NGO.

Take a moment to imagine yourself on a beach in unspoiled nature. As the sun rises over Praslin Island, the sky is painted in a myriad of stunning hues. Taking in the breath taking view, you realize that something is happening nearby. As you watch, dozens of tiny Hawksbill hatchlings appear from the sand. This is a spectacle that only a few lucky people ever experience. On Cousin Island Special Reserve, it started in mid-December 2022 to the delight of the turtle team monitoring this species.

In a previous article, we wrote about the effects of climate change on Cousin Island's turtle habitats and infrastructure. The turtle team continues to grapple with the problem of turtles emerging from the sea and being unable to find a suitable spot to nest because the beach is severely eroded. They either turn back because they can't climb steep slopes or nest below the tide line where their eggs are at risk of being washed away.