Earlier this year, the winner of our #whycoexist competition headed to a private island in the Seychelles for an 8 day, all expenses paid trip.
Coen and his partner, from the Netherlands, experienced the beauty and marine diversity of a near pristine environment.
Accompanied by the Coexist Projects team, Coen was able to witness the unique biomes of the Seychelles, the abundance of ocean life and what a healthy marine environment should look like.
“I’ve been diving in lots of places (Egypt, Maldives, Indonesia, Australia, Philippines, Bonaire) but this was by far the most beautiful place I have ever been. The freedom you have to go to places and be ‘interrupted’ by a school of Spinner dolphins, Risso’s dolphins or a mating pair of Green turtles is absolutely magical. The team has time to explore and really tailor the experience to help you see animals and places you never expected!! The reefs were the most vibrant and healthy I’ve ever seen, with so much fish life! The fish biomass was incredible with tiny anthers, groupers everywhere, snappers in giant schools and sharks circling around them. Every dive felt like a magical dream.”
The trip was also about education and providing opportunities to learn from the Coexist Projects team about conservation work done in the field. With years of experience and thousands of dives, this really was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to learn from leading experts in their fields.
“Seeing the heard work undertaken to understand and help the environment is a real game changer! The researchers carry out very important work both for the local species as well as the greater Seychelles area. Even a remote island like this has plastic pollution which really shocked us. The changing environment with higher temperatures had its impacts as well on corals and other spots around the island. This all the more signifies the importance of research to find out why certain corals are able to withstand these temperatures and how impactful coral bleaching can be.”
This video documents this incredible trip and hopefully will inspire others to enter our next competition.
