Staff Spotlight: Yara Tibiriçá

I have been privileged to have travelled to many amazing places, particularly to assist in research projects, including the Coral Sea in the Great Barrier Reef, Vanuatu and the most remote Island of Brazil, the Archipelago of San Pedro and San Paulo . Nevertheless, the most memorable was to the Antarctic last year. I felt like I was on a different planet, well connected to nature. The collaboration between countries in the Antarctic is outstanding, the diving is different from anything I have seen before and everyone is extremely cautious of their own impact on that prestine environment, a lifetime experience.

Prior our arrival here I was working in the Indian Ocean, so this was a great opportunity to learn more about the Atlantic Ocean biodiversity, the threats the coral reefs are facing here and potential solutions for them. I really enjoy to be part of projects such as our coral reef restoration, because you can clearly see its positive impacts, helping to save a critically endangered species (Acropora palmata) is gratifying.

There is a great number of return students, they all highlight they satisfaction with the program structure and learning opportunities. One of our past student is now working here, that is how much she loved the place. She says that the program as a whole was very attractive for her as she could combine lots of dive with learning new skills and contribute to the conservation of our reefs.

It depends on my objective...
If I was just starting my career in science and conservation I would go for the volunteer program which will provide me with a broad experience in different fields and allow me to improve my diving skills;
If I was a lecturer, I would be definitely interested in the school program as it provides me with lots of option to tailor the program for my curriculum and would be a fantastic field trip for any biology course;
If I was in my last year of university or master degree looking for a topic for my thesis, I would go for the internship. This program allows you to collect the data for your thesis and provide you a co-superviser who will help you in the field and afterwards.

We are constantly looking for improvements and to ensure everyone is happy (staff, volunteers and interns) and goals are achieved. People are encouraged to find their own passion and space is given for us to put this passion into the work. When people are able to work with what they love, they do their best and great results are achieved.

Teamwork, dedication and passion. We are constantly looking for improvements and getting feedback from the past volunteers in order to improve our projects. We are also constant looking for learning more and staying updated in our field. Of course the beautiful turquoise blue ocean just in front of us also help!