Author: nsb11

End of a Fantastic Four Weeks

My fourth and final blog can only start one way, and that is by saying a huge thank you to all the staff at Blue Ventures and the people involved with Charity Insights at Imperial. It has been a memorable four weeks that I feel extremely privileged to have had. There is no doubt in my mind that the experience I have gained from this placement will impact my future career positively.

The last couple of days have been busy and it has been enjoyable seeing the project coming together. Furthermore, I discovered a great local café that do all day full English breakfasts that were great at helping me power through the work load.

Far from a blue venture…..

I am feeling extremely comfortable within the office now and powering on with the research project. The data collection is complete and I have begun the write up. My supervisor, along with the rest of the staff, has been very helpful and trusting of me, which has enabled me to feel part of the team.

The work Blue Ventures do in Madagascar is phenomenal. Prior to working in the London office, I was unsure exactly of the scale of proceedings, especially considering they have just celebrated their 10 year anniversary. It is clear the local communities are benefiting hugely from their involvement and I hope they will continue to expand at this current blistering rate.

What a first week…..

06/09/13

Thankfully the temperature dropped throughout the week and I am now able to work without the need for industrial sized fans. Data collection has been the main goal of this first week and it is coming along nicely. I had to devise a way of categorising the houses found in Madagascar that was as precise as possible, whilst also being efficient enough to complete the given area in the allotted time. Using the ‘Ruler’ tool on Google Earth Pro I measured the diameter of various properties and created three size groups (<5m, 5-9m, and >9m) to give a good spread of data.

Blistering Start

02/09/13

My first morning at Blue Ventures’ London HQ is over and I thought it would be a good idea to write a blog now rather than after several beers later on….

A brief overview of who Blue Ventures are, and my expectations of the project seem like a good place to start. Blue Ventures are a science led social enterprise that work alongside coastal communities in order to protect marine ecosystems. Madagascar and Belize are the two main locations that are focussed on. Although the charity is still somewhat in its infancy, they are already becoming well known and respected.