Lagoon Protection Project

The project takes place on the beautiful Mauritius Island, a real paradise for tourists from all over the world. Unfortunately, tourism is partially responsible for the destruction of its nature and lagoons.

The Lagoon Protection Project takes action between Blue Bay Marine Park and Pointe d’Esny’s lagoon, at the South-East of the island, an area still relatively spared from mass tourism. With the help of the volunteers, the team fights against the destruction of the lagoon and its ecosystem.

 

    

Arrival

You will need to land at Sir Seewoosagur International Airport any day of the week and a member of the team will be waiting for you in the arrival hall with your name on a sign. Depending on which time you arrive, you may be driven to the local supermarket before moving into your appartement.

The airport is located about 15 min from the place you will stay at.

In the next few days, you will attend a couple of lectures in order to get to know the NGO, its missions and the marine world.

Volunteers will primarily be involved in collecting data for the Lagoon Monitoring project. The project aims to monitor the state of the Blue Bay Lagoon and Marine Park, through assessments of the health and diversity of the different coral species, the diversity and abundance of a wide range of fish species as well as recording the levels of the various human activities that take place throughout the lagoon and Marine Park.

The vast majority of monitoring will involve volunteers travelling by boat through the lagoon and conducting surveys at the various sites that we are monitoring. Volunteers will be trained to carry out the various survey methods used to collect our data in a strictly scientific manner.  Volunteers will also be trained to identify different fish species and corals through a series of workshops.

Increasing local communities’ awareness and knowledge regarding coastal and marine biodiversity is also one the NGO’s mission with which the volunteers will help.

A weekly schedule will be given to the volunteers at the beginning of each week so that they know what is planned. It may however change, mostly due to the weather.

Here is a list of activities that you may take part in during your stay (please note that this is for your information and that you may or may not take part in all the activities listed below):

  • Beach / kayak / stand up paddle patrolling (to report any illegal fishing activities)
  • Sea turtle protection project
  • Snorkeling/lagoon monitoring
  • Stand up paddle/snorkeling initiation
  • Beach cleaning
  • Half a day excursion
  • Etc.

Activities can start between 7 and 9h in the morning and usually end between 13h and 16h. Some patrols may however take place early morning and arount 17h.

 

Days off

You will have your weekends off unless a special event is taking place. You may either choose to enjoy the beach (5 minutes walk for the closest one) or choose to explore the island, here are a few ideas:

  • L’Île aux Aigrettes
  • La Vallée de Fernay
  • The 7 coloured earth
  • The Pamplemousse garden
  • Etc.

 

You will share a villa near the NGO’s office. It has private  rooms and bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room.

You will be 5 min walking away from the restaurants and the beach. You will also find in towns a lot of cabins selling local and cheap food. The biggest town of the area, Mahébourg, is 10 min away by taxi and so is the nearest supermarket.

Period                                 Cost in Mauritian rupee (MUR) 

1 week                                    23100

2 weeks                                  44100

3 weeks                                  61845

4 weeks                                  77490

5 weeks                                  96390

6 weeks                                  115290

7 weeks                                  134190

8 weeks                                  144585

On top of the Programme Fees, Registration Fees of 190€ apply.

Are included in the Programme Fees: accommodation, airport transfer, your supervision.

Are included in the Registration Fees: administrative and marketing fees, ongoing support from Aventure Africaine, travel costs to visit and experience the projects.

 

 

« When travelling to Mauritius, I first thought that 6 weeks are maybe too much for volunteering at the Lagoon Protection Project. Now that it’s almost over I think that it was even a bit too short! The work was fun: snorkeling almost everyday and seeing those beautiful fishes at the reef was a great experience and sometimes didn’t even feel like work! Moreover, the work with the project team is fun, everyone is open-minded, so welcoming and great company. What I liked about volunteering here is that you really get to know Mauritius with its’ stunning nature and inhabitants. I will miss this time! » Jasmin, Germany

« It was a wonderful experience learning and helping the marine life. It is very rewarding knowing that even though I played a small part, I helped make a difference. If I get the chance to come back I would do it in a heartbeat. » Fatima, USA

« The programme was interesting, diverse, and I had the opportunity to have some insight into marine biology. The staff helped us to organize any activities we wanted to try in our free time, and exploring the island in the time we had there was amazing. » Dalma, Hungary

« It was a great opportunity to learn about something I knew very little about, and to develop my fairly basic snorkelling, kayaking and paddle-boarding skills – all in a really relaxed, positive and fun environment. Generally a brilliant two weeks! » Ellen, England

« The programme and the whole experience was above my expectations. Everything was well organized and structured. » Lucianna, Brasil

Projects : Mauritius

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