Greetings from beautiful Seychelles!
My name is Dillys and I am a future marine scientist, present filmmaker, and a forever Seychellois. I was lucky to be born in raised in a true island paradise, surrounded by turquoise ocean, granitic rocks, and so much lush tropical flora. Ever since I was a child, I felt connected with nature, I was definitely an outdoor kid. Together with my friends, we explored the surroundings, looking for unusual plants, trying fruits we haven’t seen at home (there was a good reason for that usually), and studying large snails and bugs that we could find under the leaves. We also spent lots of time on the beach, playing in the sand and learning to swim. You see, growing up in Seychelles, your identity is inseparable from the environment, you become part of the place.
But as I was growing up, I also saw changes. I witnessed how our vibrant corals suddenly went white and lifeless; how there were fewer and fewer bird eggs after the mating season. I heard fishermen complaining that fish goes deeper into the ocean, and they could no longer maintain their usual catch. And then there was this buzz phrase everywhere – climate change. But what does climate have to do with the ocean? Turned out a lot.
As I was learning more about the intricate connections between climate change and our ocean, I got that spark of passion and curiosity and realized that I want to pursue these studies professionally. So, I chose marine biology as my career. My aspiration was (and still is) to understand the root causes of the problem and see how we can use science to address them. I believe that even though climate change is a global problem, in the case of small islands, we should explore local solutions that learn from nature and generations-worth of knowledge from local people.
But science alone might not be enough, and it brings us to my second passion – the community.
Nowadays, children in Seychelles learn about the environment from a very early age. Even 7-year-olds know about climate change and marine conservation from their schools, and I think it is fantastic! But I wanted to take it one step further and show them what protecting the ocean truly means. I wanted to create a movie that would tell the ocean story from the perspective of another Seychellois, a story that youth and children can connect with.
With help of a grant from Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust, I secured enough funds to make my idea come true. Now I am also a marine filmmaker and working on a documentary about Seychelles’ marine environment. I feel like every day of my life is filled with purpose: through my knowledge and creative skills, I get to tell a story that is so worth telling.
Through my work, I hope to ignite passion in the next generation of Seychellois ocean heroes; to help our children and youngsters understand that by protecting our unique nature, we are serving not only ourselves but the generations to come. As Seychellois, it is our shared responsibility to look after our country and our ocean, and I believe that working together and joining our contributions, we can make a bit change.
Through my work, I hope to ignite passion in the next generation of Seychellois ocean heroes; to help our children and youngsters understand that by protecting our unique nature, we are serving not only ourselves but the generations to come. As Seychellois, it is our shared responsibility to look after our country and our ocean, and I believe that working together and joining our contributions, we can make a bit change.
Through my work, I hope to ignite passion in the next generation of Seychellois ocean heroes; to help our children and youngsters understand that by protecting our unique nature, we are serving not only ourselves but the generations to come. As Seychellois, it is our shared responsibility to look after our country and our ocean, and I believe that working together and joining our contributions, we can make a bit change.