Guide to Day to Day Living

This section is intended to inform volunteers, researchers, and other guests, of the basic etiquette of living on the island. It is important that everyone understands and follows these simple guidelines, which have been developed over many years in order to ensure that you and the island get the best care during your stay. If there is anything you are not sure of please do not hesitate to ask the Wardens or Rangers, who will all be happy to help.

Address to Give Others

Aride Island Nature Reserve, c/o GPO Grand Anse, Praslin, Seychelles

Tel +248 321600, or +248 719778

e-Mail volunteer@arideisland.net

Accidents

Both Wardens are trained and experienced at administering First Aid. In the event of an accident, fetch one of them immediately. All accidents, including ‘near misses’ must be reported to the Wardens. A list of emergency telephone numbers (hospital, police, Seychelles radio) is posted in the Wardens office.

Boat Handling

Everyone on the island may be asked to help with the launching and landing of boats. To ensure everyone’s safety, training is required and will be given to all new residents by the Wardens and Rangers.

Boat Trips

Boats, engines, and other equipment are for island business only. Where possible, all boat trips coincide with the regular shopping boat to Praslin, or staff transport to and from the island, although special arrangements can be made when necessary. Trips to other islands can be arranged around these regular times please ask the wardens.

Computer

Laptop computers are available for use by island residents by arrangement with the wardens. In order to minimise damage caused by salt spray, it should be used only in the office or laboratory when possible and covered or placed in the anti humidity cabinet when not in use. The Wardens would appreciate it if use of the computer is kept to within normal working hours. All island residents will be given their own user name, and their work will be backed up weekly.

Cookers

Each house is equipped with its own gas cooker. The Wardens will show you how to change the gas cylinder. There are also two ovens for use by all island residents, one is at the Wardens house, and the other at the house of one of the Rangers. If more than one person wants to bake, it makes economic sense for everything to go into the oven at the same time. Just talk to one another!

Electricity

All electricity on the island is presently solar powered. Please bear in mind that there will be less power on cloudy days and when lights or radios are used extensively during the hours of darkness. A fully charged solar battery will run lights and radios for at least five to six hours after dark.

e-Mail

Internet access is available, however the connection, being wireless, is very slow relative to European servers and can therefore be frustrating and time consuming. Should you require email contact whilst on the island please arrange to have your mail forwarded to volunteer@arideisland.net which enables it’s daily download with all other incoming mail more easily.

Fish

Fish is regularly supplied by the island's Rangers for consumption by all residents. The skin of certain fish, as it degrades, harbors a bacterium that may be harmful to birds. It is very important, therefore, that any remains are thrown onto the beach for disposal by crabs.

Food

Be sure to store food in sealed plastic bags or Tupperware boxes with sealable lids. Food left unwrapped (even briefly) is fair game for skinks, Fodies, cockroaches, ants, and anything else that may cross its path.

Fridges

There is a gas powered fridge in all the island’s accommodation. The fridges are expensive and difficult to obtain. Please look after your fridge. There is a water-collecting tray in each fridge which must be emptied periodically and sand should not be allowed to build up within or around the fridges. Please do not put bottles of water into the freezer compartment or fill it with bread as this greatly reduces the efficiency of the fridge as a whole and may lead to incomplete freezing of its contents. Freezers should be defrosted periodically by the occupants. If the fridge is not working properly it may be because it has run out of gas. It is important to regularly check, please tell the Wardens, who will show you how to relight it.

Fruit & Vegetables

There are limited supplies grown on the island for the residents, there is not a constant supply. New residents will be shown what can be taken when and how to harvest whilst limiting damage to the plants, please do not take produce indiscriminately. The Rangers know best when and how to harvest, so please ask. Generally there are reasonable seasonal crops of Banana, Papaya, Pineapple, Lime, Lemon, Orange, Pumpkin, Coco-Yam, Bred Lanmar (a type of Spinach), Sweet potato, Cassava, Beans, Cucumber, and Chili amongst others.

Gas Cylinders

Full gas cylinders are kept inside the engine shed. Cylinders come in 24kg, 12kg and 9kg sizes. Replace your empty cylinder with one of the same size and please put the empty cylinder at the side of the engine shed (beside the beach rollers in the boatshed), and not inside the engine shed, so that we can keep track of which cylinders need to be filled. If you are not sure about how to change a gas cylinder, please ask.

Giant Centipedes

The only ‘nasty’ on the island, the bite of the Giant Centipede can be extremely painful and may leave you feeling sick and incapacitated. It is not fatal, nor normally particularly long lasting. Medication is available from the wardens but prevention in this case very much better than the cure. Be careful when walking around at night especially during or after rain, and when clearing piled up logs and other vegetation.

Hill Woodland

Tell the Wardens where you are going on the hill before setting off and what time you expect to be back. People have been known to get lost and have accidents. It is a good idea to carry a whistle, a torch and a radio or mobile telephone with you in case you need to attract attention.

Health & Safety

The Wardens are responsible for the Health & Safety of everyone on the island. Accidents, some of them serious, have occurred on the island in the past. When undertaking activities with any element of risk, exercise common sense and bear in mind that you are a long way from a decent Accident & Emergency unit (Victoria Hospital, Mahe!), and that it is not always possible to launch a boat. Always let someone know where you are going and what time you expect to be back.

Hygiene

Personal hygiene is very important in the tropics. Common problems and their prevention are...

1. General ear infections (coral or swimmers ear) - always rinse ears well with fresh water after being in the sea.

2. Gum disease - use boiled drinking water for brushing teeth.

3. Fungal infections - wash regularly and dry thoroughly, use talcum powder, wear loose cotton clothing.

4. Urinary tract infection - drink plenty of water (also prevents dehydration).

5. Tropical ulcers - rub skin gently when washing, clean with saline solution only and cover all wounds, no matter how small.

Inventory

Inventories of all houses are checked before departure of all residents. If anything is broken and needs to be replaced, please let the Wardens know in good time.

Lighting

Shearwaters are attracted to electric lighting and may fly into your house at night. They should be carried to the beach and carefully released. Likewise, also be careful when wearing a head-torch. When patrolling for turtles or hatchlings at night do not shine torches directly at them as this can be severally disorientating to them. Always use red light, as their vision in this part of the spectrum is very poor.

Mail

The mail goes off the island and is collected from Praslin on shopping days. There is a post office at Grand Anse where incoming mail is kept until someone from the island collects it. The Rangers will also post mail when they go off at the weekend (see ‘Stamps’ section for postage rates).

Maps

A map of the island showing landmarks and the location of painted signs is available to all residents. Please ask the Wardens.

Money

The island can cash traveler’s cheques and exchange foreign currency, in emergencies only. It is therefore advisable to change them at a bank, of which there are several in Grand Anse. Please try to ensure you have sufficient funds for at least two weeks at any one time.

Mosquitoes

It is advisable bring plenty of insect repellent and anti-histamine cream, especially during the north-west monsoon (October to April).

Mouse Traps

Not native to Seychelles, there are mice in all the houses, the garden and throughout the island plateau, these are the only introduced mammals on Aride and are present in low numbers only. Mouse traps are provided in all houses, and residents are asked to set them every night. Please check the traps at least twice a day.

Owls

Another non-native species, Barn Owls are responsible for killing large numbers of terns, and as a result, their numbers are controlled. If you see a Barn Owl, please let the Wardens or the Head Ranger know where, and if possible keep an eye on it.

Radios

In case of emergencies, training on how to use the VHF radio will be given.

Rarities

Observations of any unusual or rare species should be recorded on the blackboard outside the Wardens office. Please record the date, location and any other points of interest.

Rats

There are no rats on Aride, nor have there ever been. There is a strict rat protocol in operation to keep it that way this takes absolute priority when shipping materials to and from the island. It includes not allowing non island boats to land on the beach and checking all bags and boxes of shopping before coming ashore. If you think you have seen a rat, or signs of one, let the wardens know IMMEDIATELY.

Recycling

With the exception of beer bottles which can be taken to shops where the deposit of 2Rs is returned, there are no recycling facilities on Praslin. On Aride, reusable paper, envelopes and containers, especially large plastic water bottles, are always kept and re-used.

Reports and Data

Volunteers and researchers will be expected to complete reports on their work, whenever possible at least a draft form should be submitted before leaving the island. All raw data must be left with the Wardens before departure to ensure that no information is lost.

Rubbish Disposal

Glass, metals, foil, tins and cans are bagged up and taken to Praslin on the shopping boat. Paper products are kept separately and burned at designated areas on the island.

Shopping

A shopping boat is normally run once a week to Grand Anse, Praslin. Residents take it in turns to carry out any island business and buy supplies for everyone. The number of people on each trip is determined by sea conditions and boat loading. Please buy enough supplies to last you two weeks (in case of rough seas the next week) and please try to avoid asking the staff to buy for you on their weekends off.

Skinks  

The skinks on Aride are endemic to Seychelles and are everywhere! In order to prevent unnecessary deaths, leave empty bottles and jars on their sides and cover or turn over basins and bowls.

Snorkeling & Swimming

Snorkeling on Aride's reef can be excellent and you may be lucky enough to see sharks, rays and turtles a the very least, be aware though, that there are often strong currents. Go in twos or more when possible and tell someone on shore where you are going and what time you expect to return. Aride does not presently have a store of snorkeling equipment.

Stamps

Stamps can be purchased from the Wardens but, as there is a limited supply, it is preferable if you buy yourself a batch on Praslin. The rates are as follows ….. International airmail = 3.50 Sr, international postcard = 3.0 Sr, local letter rate = 2.00 Sr (October 2004).

Telephone

There is a telephone in the Wardens office. Personal phone calls may be made from here and there is a notebook by the phone for recording all calls made. International calls will be billed every month and again before departure.

Time Keeping

The normal working day, dependent upon weather and season, is 7.00am to 5.00pm with lunch between 12.00 and 2.00pm, but this is flexible depending on the nature of your work. Tea breaks are generally taken around 10.00am and 4.00pm. Please be aware that it may take you some time to adjust to conditions in the tropics and in the first week or two do not be embarrassed should you be unable to keep up with the Rangers or Wardens. It is important for overall island living and the way that you are perceived, particularly by the Rangers, that you treat your time here as working, and get up and be seen to be ready by 7:00am or thereabouts.

Toilets

Please throw a handful of leaf-litter down the long-drop toilet at least once a day to help the decomposition process.

T-shirts

Volunteers each receive a T-shirt on arrival, for wearing on tourist days. Additional T-shirts are available to each volunteer at cost price for the first two and full price thereafter.

Tourist Days

Open days are presently Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday. Although we may have visitors on other days by arrangement. Tourist boats generally arrive between 09.00 and 10.00am and generally leave between 2.30 to 3.30pm, but this can vary.

Tours

Join a tour when you arrive, this is by far the fastest way to learn about the islands history and wildlife.

Washing

Soaps, shampoo and other detergents should not be allowed to drain into in the marsh. Always empty bowls and buckets away from the marsh so that detergents can be broken down by in situ soil processes, as with other ecological considerations on the island, please take no chances and ask if you are unsure. If you have eco-friendly detergents, even better.

Water

Drinking water is ONLY FOR DRINKING! It is critically important that this is understood from the outset.

Drinking water is obtained from the large blue plastic barrels and the concrete tanks and must be boiled, cooled and filtered before use. To avoid illness, do not drink water from any other source. Also use this water for brushing your teeth. Please do not use the drinking water for any other use.

Drinking water is presently rain water collected from the roof. During a heavy downpour, allow the water to wash material such as leaves off the roof for around twenty minutes. Then, ensuring the gutters are free of debris, use the down pipes to the barrels or tank to collect the water. After a downpour, please make sure that the pipe is disconnected and that the inlet to the barrels or tank is sealed to prevent the likes of skinks from getting in and drowning.

Washing water for showers, dishes, clothes, and everything else should be collected from the well.

Under no circumstances should vessels such as buckets, with any more than 5cm of water be left uncovered for any reason for any length of time. On other islands this has been a cause of death by drowning to certain land birds and reptiles, Aride does not want to contribute to this toll.

Weekends

‘Weekend’ days are Friday and Saturday (on Sunday the island is open to tourists) and, apart from necessary routine tasks such as weather records and turtle patrols these days should be viewed as rest days, particularly for the Wardens and Rangers.

Weekends Away

Weekends off the island can easily be arranged. Simply consult with the Wardens.

Well

Well water is for showering and washing dishes and clothes, all of which should be done away from the well and the marsh so as not to contaminate either. Always close the well lid and if there is any debris inside, please remove it. Do not wash anything inside the well bucket.