Alphonse
From left to right: George Curd, Christopher Narty, Gail Fordham, and Annie Gendron

Conservation Officer

Gail Fordham

Gail is responsible for the management of the Alphonse Group Protected Areas, above and below water. She leads the Conservation Centre team, implements monitoring of habitats and associated threatened species, coordinates research projects and provides environmental advice to partners. Prior to this, she was based in the UK where she graduated with a Distinction from a Conservation Biology MRes, building upon her Geography BSc. Subsequently, she secured the post of Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Sussex, leading a GIS project investigating primate speciation in the Neotropics. Committed to working in the defence of nature, Gail started out in 2014 volunteering with various NGOs in granitic Seychelles for extended periods; including on Cousin Island, and Aride Island with ICS, where she developed essential field techniques and data skills; as well as completed Advanced Open Water SCUBA training. Gail enjoys peaceful moments on St. Francois atoll, counting waders and terns.

Assistant Conservation Officer

George Curd

George is from the UK and joined ICS at the start of 2019, he assists in all aspects of running the Alphonse Conservation Centre. After completing a BSc in Biology, he spent eight months with the RSPB on a Practical Conservation Volunteer Internship, gaining experience in varied habitat management and qualifications in chainsaw use and off-road driving. George went on to become a Greenspaces Officer with the Kent High Weald Partnership, responsible for implementing the management plans of two Woodland Nature Reserves, and leading a team of community volunteers. One of Georges interests is playing the bagpipes, but rather than bring this instrument to a small and quiet island, he’s instead been trying his hand at the ukulele. George’s favourite place is sitting on a moonlit beach, with the sound of a green turtle nesting behind him during evening patrols.

Senior Conservation Ranger

Christopher Narty

Chris (also known as Topher) is Seychellois. He attended the Maritime Training Centre (MTC) on Mahé in 2000 to 2002. As part of his training he worked for 6 months on the IDC supply vessels visiting the outer islands of the Seychelles. Whilst at MTC he also completed his PADI Divemaster training, following which he went to work as a Divemaster on Alphonse Island for two years. He continued to gain experience of the waters surrounding the Seychelles by working as a dive guide on liveaboard vessels in the outer islands and as a kayaking guide around Praslin and La Digue. His love of the natural world has grown through these experiences and he is happy to be using his keen eye for wildlife and excellent knowledge of Seychelles flora and fauna in his role as Conservation Ranger with ICS Alphonse. Topher’s current interests include fisheries and sustainability.

Aride
 Group photo of the team on Aride Island as of May 2023
Top left to right: Anthony Bentley (Island Manager), Julio Confiance ( Assistant Ranger), Annie Simons (Science Officer- Projects), Emma Cotton (Assistant Conservation Officer). Bottom Left to Right:  Jean-Claude Camille (Maintenance), Laurette Asba (General Assistant), Steve Esther (Conservation Ranger/Boatman), Shana Clarisse (Intern/Volunteer), Leroy Didon (Ranger/Boatman) and Stephann Antoine (Handyman). 

Island Manager

Anthony Bentley

Hailing from the United Kingdom, Anthony has over ten years’ experience in working in conservation for a number of NGO’s. Most notably, Anthony worked for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). He has a passion for photography. He also loves spending time in nature and has great interest in birds.

Conservation Officer

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Assistant Conservation Officer​

Emma Cotton

Emma is from the UK  and has several years of experience working in conservation. Having gained a BSc in Zoology, she has developed a passion for island conservation; working within the Indian Ocean for the past few years including Seychelles, Madagascar and Mauritius. She has a keen interest in island restoration and birds. She enjoys all things nature. 
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Science Officer  - Project 

Annie Simons​

Annie has been working in the field of conservation for several years. After time with the RSPB in the UK she moved to Malta to train in the environmental education before working as a warder for BirdLife Malta. She enjoys hands on conservation carrying out bird ringing, bird rehabilitation and monitoring. 

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Other Staff

Conservation Ranger/Boatman - Steve Esther
Ranger/Boatman  - Leroy Didon
Assistant Ranger - Julio Confiance
Maintenance - Jean-Claude Camille
General assistant- Laurette Asba
Handyman - Stefan Antoine
Student Interns/Volunteer: Shana Clarisse

Desroches
From let to right:  Bernice Brands (Conservation Officer), Leeroy Estrale (Senior Ranger) and Irma Dubois (Assistant Conservation Officer). 

Conservation Officer

Bernice Brands

​Bernice is from the Netherlands, and she has a great interest in the tropics. She has a BSC and MSC in ecology and after trying out the education field, she decided that her heart lies with conservation. She loves the wildlife in the Seychelles and has previously worked on Fregate and Cousin Island. This is her first time on an outer island and she is determined to improve the islands ecosystem and is eager to get involved in the marine projects. 

Assistant Conservation Officer

Irma Dubois

 

 Conservation Ranger

Leeroy Estrale

​At an early age, Leeroy developed a passion for nature. He is eager to learn and understand how Nature functions and to do his utmost at his work of conservation of different species. Prior to his tenure on Desroches Island, Leeroy had worked in other conservation and environment organisations in Seychelles.  Leeroy also enjoys surfing, gardening and chasing after wildlife with his camera in hand.
Farquhar
From left to right: Annie Gendron, Aurelie Hector and Jake Letorie 

Conservation Officer

Jake Letori

Jake Letori is an MSc graduate with over 2-years’ experience working in conservation on the Seychelles’ UNESCO World Heritage Site, Aldabra Atoll in the Indian Ocean. He is highly skilled in remote field environments, undertaking long term monitoring on a wide range of terrestrial and marine biodiversity of conservation concern; but equally adapted to work behind a keyboard where he enjoys dealing with large complex datasets using R, mapping spatial data in QGIS, assisting grant proposals and writing technical reports and reviews to aid management decisions. Jake has also played a role in tourism planning, biosecurity implementation and assisting visiting researchers and film crews. Jake combines this with his passion to share and exchange his skills through training and workshops, also working collaboratively with others through media to raise awareness and engage with local and global audiences with insightful and impactful outcomes. Jake joined ICS in December 2021 as the conservation officer on Farquhar Atoll. He is a water person, addicted to life above, on and below the ocean’s surface. On Farquhar he is most excited anywhere in the atoll’s complex lagoon and outer reefs, exploring seabird colonies or on the search for large apex and mobile marine predators. This is driven by his interests in remote sensing, spatial ecology and tracking of marine taxa, fascinated about their journeys and what drives their behaviours and how humans are impacting them. 





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Assistant Conservation Officer

Aurelie Hector

​Aurelie Hector is a dedicated conservation biologist who started her career with the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation where she lived for three years on Round Island as the Senior Warden. Her work involved the restoration of indigenous vegetation, control of invasive plant species, the surveying and monitoring of seabirds and threatened reptiles, assisting with seabird translocations, managing teams and training aspiring conservation biologists. Aurelie then spent two years as a Zoological Society of London Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) of Existence Fellow, researching the Round Island keel-scaled boa which contributed to its IUCN reassessment. Looking for new opportunities she joined the Seychelles Islands Foundation from November 2019 to October 2021 as the Vallée de Mai science coordinator, where her role was to implement the research and monitoring programmes of forest flora and fauna in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, coupled with a strong educational and outreach component. Aurelie gravitated towards the outreach aspects of SIF and assisted the educational officer in communicating science and conservation, developing an educational booklet about the Vallée de Mai for young students. Aurelie has a passion for illustration and creative storytelling, and wishes to combine her interests with her education (BSc in Biology) to create narrated animations and books for young people on environmental and conservation topics, especially with focus on tropical island ecosystems. Aurelie joined ICS in December 2021 and is fulfilling her journey as an assistant conservation officer on Farquhar Atoll, where she continues to exert her passion and contribute to the protection of Seychelles biodiversity. Aurelie has already travelled to Astove and Cosmoledo Atoll, however Farquhar is the island that has stolen her heart so far. 

Conservation Ranger

Annie Gendron

Annie is a nature enthusiast, studied Nature Tour guiding at the Seychelles Tourism Academy. However, during her previous internship experience on Cousin island, she discovered her passion for conservation. This led her towards a career in the field of biodiversity conservation. She first started to work for ICS on Aride in May 2021 as an assistant conservation ranger and later moved to Alphonse. Annie has expressed her appreciation for the knowledge acquired in such a short time. Her tour guiding skills has been proven to be an asset to ICS, specifically when it comes to engaging with visitors on the island. In such a short period of time she has brought successful changes to further improve the ecotourism activities on Aride and is now acquiring some skills in biodiversity monitoring and conservation on Alphonse.

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Conservation Ranger

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Silhouette
From left to right: Vanessa Dufrene, Nasreen Khan,  Jaymee Jumeau-Clarisse, and Said Harryba

Conservation Officer

Nasreen Khan

Nasreen completed a Master's degree in Environmental Science at the University of KuwaZulu Natal, South Africa.  She has over 14 years experience in biodiversity conservation and research. Nasreen first joined ICS in 2018 and worked as a Conservation Officer on Aride island. Late 2019, Nasreen moved to Seychelles Island Foundation to work as a Science Coordinator and thereafter decided to move back to ICS. Since August 2021, Nasreen is leading the Conservation team on Silhouette and responsible for the implementation of the Silhouette Adaptive Conservation Management Plan, implements conservation programmes and associated projects. Nasreen has had the privilege of working in a few of the world’s most pristine environments including the sub Antarctic and Antarctic. Her work is dedicated towards seeking knowledge and producing scientific data to understand and to mitigate environmental pressures in order to contribute toward the conservation of natural ecosystems and the services they provide. You will find her up a hill or under the ocean. Her favourite bird in Seychelles, is the pirate of the sea, the frigatebird. And her favourite place is Aux Cabris, on Aride Island, watching those spectacular birds.

Senior Conservation Ranger

Jaymee Jumeau-Clarisse

Jaymee joined ICS in April 2021. Her love for conservation began with marine education programs administered by MCSS and SOSF while she was completing secondary education. During these programs, Jaymee learned about the importance of ocean life and how she can help to promote and protect all that co-exist in the marine environment. This is what inspired her to pursue a BSc degree in marine science at Shanghai Ocean University, China. On a good note, Jaymee said that ever since she joined the team on Silhouette she developed a keen interest in terrestrial conservation. "While exploring Silhouette's nature trails I have learned about the native plants of Seychelles as well as the various birds and other endemic animals" says Jaymee. 

Assistant Conservation Officer

Said Harryba​


​Said graduated from the Seychelles Maritime Academy with an Advanced Certificate in Fisheries Science. He also obtained a Durrell Endangered Species Management certificate after completing a short course at the University of Kent in 2019. Said joined ICS as a Conservation Ranger in 2016. As Assistant Conservation Officer on Silhouette Island. He is responsible for the implementation of the biodiversity monitoring programme and Silhouette conservation management plan as well as educating visitors and residents on environmental issues. He has an extensive knowledge of field work ranging from marine to terrestrial work. Amongst all the islands of Seychelles, Silhouette holds a special place in Said’s heart. He notes Silhouette is often referred as “A diamond in the rough” for its pristine forest and well protected biodiversity. This is where he grew up and spent most of his childhood days being outdoors and exploring different parts of the island. The love and care for the wilderness grew on him and had a large influence on his choice to pursue a career in conservation.

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Conservation Ranger

Vanessa Dufrene

Vanessa graduated from the Seychelles Maritime Academy with an Advanced Certificate in Fisheries science. After graduating from the said post-secondary institution, Vanessa  embarked on several career paths mostly in biodiversity conservation. She previously worked for MCSS as a research assistant before she first joined ICS in December 2020. She worked on Aride island for a few months before she was transferred to Silhouette in 2021. Vanessa said that her love for nature has grown throughout the work experience and is privileged to work on Silhouette, an island she describes to have the most interesting and unique biodiversity. In her spare time, Vanessa enjoys going on hikes and dives.​
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