Hello, everyone! My name is Olivia and I am the manager for Reefscapers at Four Seasons, Kuda Huraa. I visited the Maldives back in 2018 and fell absolutely in love with it, so I was beyond excited to come back to work in this marine wonderland. Here is a little bit of my journey as a marine biologist, along with my experience as the manager for Reefscapers at Four Seasons, Kuda Huraa so far.
‘Ghost nets’ are discarded fishing gear, drifting from overseas into Maldivian waters. Sometimes, Olive Ridley sea turtles become entangled.
This was me when I visited the Maldives back in 2018. Even though it was the end of the manta season, I still saw so many!
As a girl who was raised in and lived up and down California, I never imagined I would be working in the tropics, let alone the Maldives. My adolescence consisted of regularly visiting the cold and foggy California coastline. Point Reyes National Seashore was one of my favourite places to watch the whales migrating, and Mendocino where my family would have annual abalone feeds. After I graduated high school, I attended Humboldt State University (now California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt) where I dove in lush kelp forests with exceptionally low visibility and officially became a marine biologist.
After I graduated, I spent six years building up my resume and expected to continue as a cold-water marine biologist. It was only while working as the laboratory manager for the Pringle Lab at Stanford University that I considered tropical research, since the lab focused on coral symbiosis using the sea anemone, Aiptasia pallida. This consideration came to fruition in 2021 when I shipped off to the University of Guam to get my master’s degree focusing on the larval survivorship and population genetics of the coral Leptastrea in the Southern Mariana Islands. 3 years and 8 months later, I have found myself in this beautiful island nation of the Maldives, working as the Manager for Reefscapers in Kuda Huraa.
This is me wearing my turtle shell at the Lhaviyani Turtle Festival, photographed with a resident turtle at Naifaru’s Atoll Marine Centre
On a snorkel excursion – such an abundance of amazing reef fish and marine life … it was amazing!
I have been working for Reefscapers for 3 months now, and so far it has been a fun experience! I have been able to help put together coral frames with guests, teach excursion-goers about dolphins and other marine life, and work with such a wonderful team. I have, also, been able to explore other islands for both work and leisure, so it’s been really cool seeing what the Maldives has to offer.
One of the local islands I went to, Naifaru, hosts an annual two-day festival called “Lhaviyani Turtle Festival” and I was lucky to have been able to attend. The first day consisted of talks and discussions from the various scientists from different islands. I got to hear about what innovative ways they’re restoring the reefs, which was truly inspiring. The festival was held on the second day, and I got to participate in a booth hosted by Reefscapers. We played various turtle-related games and made sea turtle shells we could wear, and I also got to talk to the public and made them aware of how they could help save the sea turtles.
I am very grateful to have been given this opportunity, and I am so excited for what’s to come… Stay tuned!
Olivia xoxo
