Meet the reef rescuers of Nature Seychelles

It’s always interesting to find out what brought people to their place of work, but for the team at the Nature Seychelles ARC (Assisted Recovery of Corals) facility, it’s especially intriguing. Firstly, because they come from such vastly differing backgrounds, yet fit together like an absolute dream. But they also tell the story of a hardworking community committing their lives to the sea – and who, today, are at the heart of a globally important conservation project.

Click below to meet the team:
• Priya Didon, Coral Aquaculture Officer
• Viktoria Sturm, Science & Technical Field Officer
• Dr Luca Saponari, Senior Science & Technical Field Officer

Priya Didon, Coral Aquaculture Officer

“Islanders all across the world actually feel what it’s like to have a reef degrade,” explains Priya. For her, born and raised Seychellois, the loss of coral reefs is deeply personal. “The impact it has on us is real, if we lose chunks of our islands and, especially for islanders living in smaller developing states, I believe it triggers something inside us. We want to protect our reefs because a lot of people here, directly or indirectly, depend on them.”

Priya grew up on Mahé, the largest island in Seychelles and home to most of the population. So, of all the team she arguably carries the deepest lived understanding of how critical their work is to every islander. “It feeds us, employs us and gives us stability,” she says. The reefs also protect shorelines, sustain fisheries and underpin tourism, which is the backbone of the economy. As Priya puts it, “Seychelles would not be Seychelles without its reefs.” 

Coming from a family of teachers with a deep interest in the environment, curiosity about the living world was actively encouraged and has always been a subject close to, not only her heart, but her daily life. She would follow her grandfather when he went out to the reefs and flats, heading fearlessly into the warmth of the Indian Ocean, teaching herself how to swim in the process. 

Drawn to places where nature outweighed people, studying environmental science at the University of Seychelles felt entirely intuitive. It allowed her to explore her home through the lens of a conservationist and scientist. Internships and fieldwork across both the inner and outer islands gave her valuable hands-on experience with organisations like the Save Our Seas Foundation and the Island Conservation Society. “I spent eight months as a Conservation Officer on the remote Farquhar atoll,” she explains.

Following university, Priya was chosen to be part of a research expedition on board a vessel called the Ocean Explorer, travelling to even more of Seychelles’ 115 islands. It was an exciting expedition “where I got to do my first helicopter ride,” she smiles. “And I also went 400 metres below water in a submersible!” but it also further deepened her understanding of her country’s marine environment and gave her a real sense of the immensity and vulnerability of the ocean which surrounded her every day.

However, joining Nature Seychelles’ ARC team was a professional turning point, as much of her previous experience had been land-based. “When this role popped up, I wanted to challenge myself. It was a great opportunity to understand more of the marine side of conservation.” she explains. “I really didn’t know much about aquaculture in general, so I was guided by my new colleagues. I learned so much and I’m still learning – especially since the coral spawning lab was installed. We're all just learning non-stop every single day.”

As Coral Aquaculture Officer, it’s Priya’s job to make sure “the corals are happy and healthy”, which means she spends a lot of her time at ARC ensuring the conditions are perfect so that the corals can thrive. “There’s a lot of cleaning, maintenance and coral husbandry,” she says, “But I love rearing and taking care of the babies. And we also bring about asexual and sexual reproduction, and that is the really interesting part of the job. We got to learn so much from Dr Jamie Craggs and Kate Craggs.”

A proud Seychellois, this project is deeply felt. Priya is part of history in the making. “Seeing corals actually spawning and being one of the first few Seychellois to see it happen, in person, with my own eyes? That’s just incredibly special,” she says. “We had three spawning events in November,” she recalls, “and it was the same excitement every single time.”

For Priya, her work is so much more than a career, it is a responsibility. Her Seychellois identity and connection to the islands have brought her to a life where she is not only protecting reefs but helping to secure the future of Seychelles itself.

Viktoria Sturm, Science & Technical Field Officer

One might say that Vicky’s career at Nature Seychelles was fated from birth. “My parents honeymooned in Seychelles,” she smiles. “So, my mom said that when she had a baby, she would call her Victoria, because that’s the name of the capital city.” So, it, no doubt, came as little surprise when Vicky began showing a fascination for the sea. Her voracious appetite for documentaries about sharks, whales and more saw her spending many hours immersed in underwater worlds and images of coral reefs, marine life and the science behind ocean ecosystems.

Childhood interest grew into teenage ambition through a high school exchange to Costa Rica, where she volunteered with a marine turtle conservation project during the school holidays. “I just absolutely loved it. And went back to work there again when I was eighteen”. She subsequently embarked on a degree in geography at the university in Mainz, Germany, quickly followed by a master’s in tropical marine ecology at the University of Bremen. It was here that she was introduced to coral reef science. “We began having coral reef classes and I was fascinated. It just made me want to work with them. So, when I was looking for places where I could do my master’s, I discovered Nature Seychelles.”

Her thesis was all coral. Using the Coral Bleaching Automated Stress System (CBASS) she assessed the thermal tolerance of four coral species along the restoration process. It was the first time the system had been used in Seychelles and even when her thesis was complete, and she had been offered a permanent role there, she continued working with the CBASS. She has since trained two visiting master’s students to use it, together carrying out several new experiments.

Today, Vicky spends much of her time underwater, which has meant developing skills quickly. “As a volunteer, I had only done about thirty dives and I didn't have any of my own gear – just an old mask – so the learning curve was intense,” she recalls. “Now I’ve completed hundreds of dives and learned to manage day-to-day tasks underwater”. Of course, this isn’t the kind of diving you see on holiday. It involves practical, hands‑on work such as collecting and fragmenting corals, maintaining and constructing nurseries and outplanting corals to the reef using cement. “We have to undertake tasks like hammering or carrying heavy baskets and at the same time deal with strong currents and heavy swell.” she explains.

This is just part of Vicky’s daily routine now. “In the morning, we prepare all our diving equipment and discuss what we will be doing underwater. We take our truck with gear and materials to load onto the boat, then head to the project site,” Right now, this is Cousin Island Special Reserve, where degraded reefs are being restored. She will collect corals from healthy reefs that have naturally broken off, re‑attaching them to areas impacted by stressors.

“We make around two or three dives every morning. Then come back, rinse all our gear, take a shower, eat and start the on‑land work.” It’s a less glamorous but no less important side to the job. Her day-to-day can see her writing applications and doing data work. Meanwhile, in the land-based nursery, she fixes pipes and pumps in the land‑based, maintains the facility and microfragments corals.

It’s a role with real physical and mental demands, which takes time to get used to. “Reef restoration is part diver, part handywomen and part office worker, all rolled into one,” she smiles. “But that’s also what I love about this job – it has a bit of everything, so it never gets boring. Especially when we go and check the areas we planted one or two years ago and see the corals growing and thriving, knowing exactly which ones I planted. That feeling is just priceless”.

It’s a far cry from her volunteering days, when she began learning the basics of coral husbandry, with all its new language, pumps, filters and aquaculture. “It was so new to me and I learned so much. And now it’s happening all over again since the arrival of the new coral spawning lab,” she says. And while one day a PhD could be on the cards for her, right now she is deeply dedicated to work she views as both exciting and meaningful. “Every night I go to bed and I know I’ve done something that helps.”

Dr Luca Saponari, Senior Science & Technical Field Officer

Working in Seychelles sounds like a dream and, in many ways, it is. For Luca, that dream is spending his days where science meets the sea – building reefs and studying ecosystems. A divemaster with more than 2,000 dives behind him, Luca is as comfortable underwater as most people are on land and it has been part of his life since childhood, when his father first introduced him to the ocean. Alongside learning how to handle equipment and read conditions, his father also shared his love of underwater photography and Luca quickly realised that he was not just capturing images, but documenting the subaquatic stories that unfolded before his eyes.  

However, this passion didn’t arrive overnight, and it took a little while for Luca to fully share his father’s lifelong love. “At first, it was just something we did together,” he admits. “Then one day something triggered in my mind and it became an opportunity to make the ocean and diving my future.” He began training seriously, earning certifications and gradually shaping his career around the ocean. “I had to sacrifice time with my family and friends,” he says. “But they are all very happy for me. My work takes me far from home, but I also meet amazing people and create memories.”

Today, he holds a degree in Marine Biology and a PhD in Biology and Biotechnology, both gained through universities in his home country of Italy. His doctoral research was conducted at a resort lab in the Maldives, where he worked as a marine biologist and researcher for around six years. Here, he conducted field research, reef monitoring and hands-on conservation work until the pandemic paused operations. “They had to close and the research funding ended,” he explains. “So, I went home and had to start looking for a new job. That was when I discovered Nature Seychelles was looking for someone to manage the coral restoration project. I applied and joined in March 2021.”

His time is spent both above and below the water, with his meticulous nature lending itself perfectly to a role which blends science, leadership and fieldwork as he manages the Reef Rescuers project. Underwater, precision and planning matters, and diving everyday can be dangerous. “We work underwater, sometimes with heavy tasks. It’s a different kind of diving compared to recreational or fun dives, but I love having a precise purpose,” he says. On their dives, they carefully select, position and monitor coral fragments, tracking and measuring their growth – and survival.

For Luca, it’s both science and craftsmanship, but his “land-based work” also demands technical skill and strategic thinking. He makes sure the work on the ground supports the bigger conservation picture, be that the management of ARC, coordinating research programmes or looking after his team.

While acknowledging it’s a lot of mental and physical work, it’s clear that Luca has the support of a team he truly clicks with. “There is a nice example I like to give,” he says. “A coral may look like one organism, but it’s a community, a network. Polyps, algae, fish, bacteria – everything is connected and works together harmoniously.” It’s a strong way to view the bigger picture. Where scientists, divers, volunteers and photographers each play a role in something far greater than the individual.

Follow the progress of our work with Nature Seychelles and Coral Spawning International here.