The selection process was completed and 24 enthusiastic explorers took part in the first week of the programme during the August–September school holiday, completing their second week in the December holiday. Our headquarters was the GVI Seychelles base at Cap Ternay on Mahé, a great location that provided both indoor space and access to a variety of ecosystems to explore. With Baie Ternay National Marine Park right on the doorstep and Port Launay National Marine Park nearby, we couldn’t have asked for a better ‘classroom’.

Snorkelling was the highlight for all the students. More than half of them had never snorkelled before, but their enthusiasm outweighed any apprehension and they all took to it like fish to water. Come rain or shine, the announcement that the next activity would be snorkelling was met with a flurry of excitement and within minutes the students were ready, their masks and snorkels already on.

Taking 24 students on this ocean adventure was both rewarding and enlightening. In the sea grass, every sea cucumber discovered was excitedly announced. By the time they got to the coral reefs the youngsters were in their element, recognising many different families of fish they had just learnt about in the classroom. Fourteen-year-old Guyan said it all when, having identified the family of every fish I pointed out, he explained, ‘Usually I don’t have a good memory, but I remember stuff I’m really interested in.’

The students continually asked us what the different animals were and as the programme progressed their descriptions improved from ‘I saw a red fish, what was it?’ to a particular favourite from 13-year-old Alvania: ‘I saw a fish, I think it was a butterflyfish and it had the face of a raccoon.’ An excellent description of a raccoon butterflyfish!

As well as the fish, we discovered moray eels hiding in crevices, stingrays resting camouflaged on the sandy bottom, turtles foraging on the reef. Every habitat we explored produced new and exciting creatures, from tiny hermit crabs on the sandy beaches and mudskippers on the rocky shores to stingrays in the mangroves and turtles on the coral reefs. Why were all of these different habitats and animals so important? We began to learn how each animal has a role to play in maintaining a healthy ecosystem and that different habitats provide different things for the animals and plants that live in them: a home, a hiding place, somewhere to find food, a safe place to give birth.

We started discovering more about sharks and how important and awesome they are. To begin with, most of the students had a negative opinion of sharks, thinking of them as scary and dangerous. They all said they had seen a shark before, but when they were asked where, the answers ‘Jaws’ and ‘Sharknado’ revealed that few had ever encountered a real shark in the water. We explored the reasons why sharks have a bad reputation and the students were surprised to learn that it was not justified.

It wasn’t just the students who were keen. Primary school teacher Fred Hypolite joined us on the programme and proved to be an enthusiastic learner who loves the environment. He hadn’t had much interaction with the marine side of it until now and he took every opportunity to ask questions and take notes, then the following term shared with his younger students all he had learnt. Irma Dubois, a previous SOSF Island School Seychelles student, also assisted during the December programme. It was great to see Irma share her enthusiasm for the marine environment with the students and we’re delighted that both she and Fred are continuing to work with us at SOSF Island School Seychelles.

The Marine Explorers Programme ignited in its participants a passion for the marine world and since it ended they have regularly attended weekend snorkel sessions and activities at the Natural History Museum. We’re looking forward to 2015 and seeing these students develop further as marine ambassadors, as well as meeting the next group of students who will take the plunge into this year’s Marine Explorers Programme.