About Us

Four Seasons Resorts Maldives have been working with local environmental agency Reefscapers (formerly Seamarc) since 2001, under the ever-watchful eye of the company’s founder, Thomas Le Berre. Our wildlife conservation projects are run from two Marine Discovery Centres by a dedicated team of ten full time marine biologists, ably assisted by our interns and apprentices.

In addition, The Manta Trust charity (formerly the ‘Maldivian Manta Ray Research Project’) – headed by founding director Guy Stevens – has been run from Landaa Giraavaru since 2005, employing marine biologists and seasonal volunteers.

Four Seasons Resorts & Reefscapers – working together since 2001

Reefscapers team photo pyramids Maldives Kuda Huraa

Reefscaping Avengers! Striking a superhero pose (Kuda Huraa team, 2023)

Thomas le Berre

Founder of Seamarc and Reefscapers

French coastal oceanographer and founder of Maldivian environmental consultancy Reefscapers (formerly ‘Seamarc’), Thomas has been spearheading the environmental projects at Four Seasons Resorts Maldives since 2001.
In 1992, Thomas obtained the Baccalaureat-C (Mathematics & Physics) with distinctions in Vannes, France. He was admitted to the ENSTA ParisTech, one of the French engineering “Grandes Écoles”. While studying there, Thomas took part in several exchange programmes and studied firstly at KTH Stockholm (Sweden) and then at James Cook University of North Queensland (Australia).
Thomas moved to SE Asia in 1999 and has been living and working the Maldives and Sri Lanka ever since. Along with Marie Saleem, he founded Seamarc (‘Systems Engineering and Marine Consulting’) in the year 2000, and as well as running the company (now known as ‘Reefscapers’), Thomas is actively and passionately involved in each project.

Dr Katrina Himpson

MDC Manager, Landaa Giraavaru

Born and raised in Scotland, Katrina began her career in veterinary medicine; graduating in 2018 from the University of Edinburgh. After practising in both Scotland and South Africa, she completed a Master’s in Biodiversity & Conservation via the University of Exeter (UK) in 2021.
Katrina joined the team at Landaa in 2022 as Resident Veterinarian, and has enjoyed the opportunity to combine her medical knowledge and conservation expertise.
Katrina feels passionately that communities should be connected to their surroundings, and is driven to strengthen this link here in the Maldives. Although she loves caring for all injured animal species, she is also committed to pushing boundaries in conservation research.
Katrina assumed the role of Centre Manager in January 2023, alongside her important veterinarian work.

Read Dr Kat’s blog

Charlie Sleddon-Plant

MDC Manager, Kuda Huraa

Charlie spent his childhood in New Zealand and the Bahamas as a young fisherman/ free diver. From this, he gained a great understanding of marine life. After his local reef died in the Bahamas, he set out to help restore the reefs he depended on.
Originally from the UK, Charlie returned to complete a degree in Marine Biology at Swansea University. He trained as a Divemaster, and worked around the world with various conservation projects focusing on megafauna, fisheries, coral reefs and turtles. He has a keen interest in photography and film-making, producing a video series to educate a wider audience about marine issues.
He looks forward to continuing his journey of saving coral reefs, whilst educating and inspiring others as a Marine Biologist in Kuda Huraa.
Charlie was promoted to the position of Kuda Huraa’s Centre Manager in February 2023.

Read Charlie’s blog

Akbar Ahmed ‘Aku’

Deputy MDC Manager (Landaa Giraavaru); Fish Lab Manager & Aquaculture Specialist

After graduating from school, Aku worked for the Maldivian ‘State Trading Organisation’, gaining valuable experience in a variety of roles (sales, legal credit, logistics, inventory, accounts).
Aku joined Reefscapers way back in December 2009, and is now one of our longest-serving and most valuable team members. Starting as a marine research assistant, he is now in charge of the Fish Lab and leads all of our aquaculture projects at Landaa Giraavaru. These include our Clownfish breeding programs, as well as refining our techniques in algae, phytoplankton and rotifer production (which are essential Lab-grown food sources).
Aku’s wealth of local knowledge and technical expertise makes Aku the perfect trainer, and he plays an essential role in environmental awareness issues, sharing his knowledge and skills with the younger generation of Four Seasons apprentices.

Helen Waghorne

Marine Aquarist, Landaa Giraavaru

Growing up in Singapore, Helen fell in love with the wonders of the ocean at a young age and began diving as often as possible, earning her SSI Divemaster in the USA. She went on to complete an Integrated Masters (MSci) in Marine Biology at the University of Southampton (UK), focusing on tropical marine biology. While at university she participated in internships, workshops and volunteer programs in Ireland, Malaysia, Bermuda, the Maldives and back home in the UK, covering a wide range of topics. She also worked in guest experience within the aquarium industry, and after graduating moved into animal care as an Aquarist.
Helen is excited to join the team at Landaa (in November 2021) to continue and expand the Fish Lab project and zooplankton surveys, while bringing the joys of the marine world to the resort guests.

Read Helen’s blog

Shona Moore

Coral Biologist, Kuda Huraa

Shona graduated from the University of Southampton (UK) with a Masters in Marine Biology and Oceanography in 2020. Whilst at University, Shona discovered her fascination with corals while volunteering in the National Oceanography Centre Aquarium, and her fondness for tropical waters during a field course at the BIOS research station in Bermuda. For her Masters’ thesis, she investigated the effect of dissolved inorganic nutrient uptake on coral growth and symbiont health.
Shona originally joined the Kuda Huraa team in 2022 as a marine biology intern, and was offered a full-time position as our Assistant Coral Biologist. With her return, Shona has brought lots of enthusiasm and innovative ideas, and was soon promoted to Coral Biologist. She is passionately expanding and developing our knowledge of coral spawning within the Maldives.

Shona’s Internship – Shona’s Blog

Alex Burden

Marine Biologist, Kuda Huraa

Alex was a water baby from day one! His keen interest in the ocean inspired him to study a BSc in Marine Biology at the University of Portsmouth (UK) and become a professional diver.
Having understood the danger that our oceans were in, Alex dedicated the next steps in his life to helping to protect the marine world. These aspirations took him to Mexico (surveying reef health); to Greece and Costa Rica (tagging sea turtle species, and protecting their nests); and to Lhaviyani Atoll in the Maldives (helping with marine programs).
Alex joined the Marine Savers team at Kuda Huraa in December 2022. As Reefscapers resident Marine Biologist, he hopes to continue fighting to protect marine life, and to inspire others to do the same.

Read Alex’s blog

Edward Hodges

Marine Biologist, Landaa Giraavaru

Edward graduated from the University of Exeter (UK) in 2021 with an MSc in Marine Vertebrate Ecology and Conservation. His dissertation focused on the impact of nest flooding on hatching success in green turtles on Ascension Island. He also has BSc degrees in Animal Science and Veterinary Conservation Medicine from the University of Liverpool (UK). Edward then trained as a PADI Divemaster, volunteered with nesting hawksbill turtles in Barbados, adult green turtles in Egypt, and worked as a supervisor for a volunteer program monitoring breeding leatherback turtles in Grenada.
In 2023, Edward is excited to join our Marine Savers team at Landaa, and is looking forward to blending his knowledge and experience in animal care and marine conservation with education outreach to resort guests and local communities.

Read Edward’s blog

Amelia Errington

Coral Biologist, Landaa Giraavaru

Growing up in the countryside, Amelia always had a passion for nature. She loves being on and in the water, and enjoyed being close to the sea while studying a BSc in Marine Biology at the University of St Andrews (UK). Here, she researched the growth and structural complexity of corals on the Great Barrier Reef (Australia).
Amelia worked in Zimbabwe studying giraffe populations using photo ID, and joined Reefscapers internships after graduation. She then worked in Costa Rica tagging sea turtles and monitoring nest success, before returning to the Maldives to join the lovely Landaa team in 2023!
Coral reefs are vital ecosystems, and my goal is to help increase their resilience, restore reef complexity and ultimately protect the biodiversity they support through research and education.

blog coming soon

Laura Alonso Diaz

Assistant Coral Biologist, Landaa Giraavaru

Laura grew up close to Spain’s Mediterranean coastline, where environmental changes drove her to study Environmental Science and Sustainability at the University of Glasgow (Scotland). Following an amazing marine conservation internship in Raja Ampat (Indonesia), her passion for tropical corals grew. Laura’s thesis explored the socio-ecological impacts of climate change on Indonesian marine protected areas.
Her Master’s in Marine Systems & Policies at Edinburgh University (Scotland) studied coral bleaching projections on Indonesian reefs. After studying, Laura built on her marine skills, earning PADI Divemaster (in Indonesia) and learning coral restoration techniques in the Seychelles.
Laura was excited to join Landaa’s Reefscapers team in April 2023. “Ultimately, I’d like to contribute in strengthening the important connections between fieldwork, research, outreach and policy, to respond timely to the environmental changes happening to reefs worldwide.”

blog coming soon

Carlo Gargioni

Assistant Coral Biologist, Kuda Huraa

Carlo’s connection with the water comes from a long way back. A childhood spent taking care of aquaria and freshwater ponds cultivated his passion for the natural world, and his core values developed a respect and care for all creatures.
During his academic studies in Natural and Marine Sciences, Carlo’s fascination for the marine world brought him from Italy all the way to Indonesia and South Africa, where he was able to join conservation efforts towards the protection of corals and elasmobranch species.

In April 2023, Carlo joined the Kuda Huraa team as our Reefscapers assistant Coral Biologist. With many interesting coral projects in development at Marine Savers, his enthusiastic nature will allow him to make a difference for years to come!

Read Carlo’s blog

Thaís Barbosa

Turtle Veterinarian, Kuda Huraa

Growing up in such a biodiverse country as Brazil and in a family of animal scientists and vets, Thaís has always been fascinated by animals, especially sea turtles. Since starting at the São Paulo State University in 2021 , she has been dedicating her time to conservation efforts at home and overseas, like New Zealand, the United States, and now, the Maldives!
Thaís had the opportunity to work at the most important turtle nesting site in Brazil, gathering experience in rehabilitation, research, and husbandry of resident animals. Thaís is now our resident sea turtle veterinarian at Kuda Huraa, and she is excited to join the Marine Savers team for the opportunity to keep working with these amazing animals.

blog coming soon

Looking for more ?

Discover what life is really like, working as a marine biologist in the Maldives. Read about the lived experiences of our team members over the years, over on our Blog.
You can also meet the wider Reescapers team and learn about our company history.

Want to work with us ?

Visit our Employment page to see current job vacancies and learn about the different ways you can work with Marine Savers. And be sure to sign-up for the REEFSCAPERS newsletter & job alerts.

Looking to get in touch ?

Contact Us by email or quick message.

Alex Burden marine biologist Reefscapers (7) team

Reefscapers: part of our morning commute to work!
Instagram video: ‘Meet the Team’ (2021) World Environment Day

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Be sure to check out the Video Tour of our Marine Discovery Centre at Landaa, to learn more about our marine conservation projects

Guy Stevens

Founder Director, Manta Trust

A member of the Four Seasons Resorts Maldives marine biology team since 2004, Guy now works full-time as the Founder Director of The Manta Trust – a charity dedicated to the global research and conservation of manta rays.

Guy’s conservation efforts in the Maldives have led to the creation of several Marine Protected Areas (MPA’s) at key manta aggregation sites, most notably at Hanifaru Bay, where his work was featured in the National Geographic Magazine (July 2009).
Guy and his conservation efforts have also featured in over a dozen TV documentaries for the BBC, NatGeo, ABC (Project Manta), ITV (Man to Manta), Channel 4 (Big Fish Fight) and 60 minutes Australia.
Guy’s work with manta rays now takes him to other corners of the world, but the Maldives for him will always be the best place to see and study these amazing animals.

Beth Faulkner

Project Manager

Beth grew up near the English coast, and would spend hours exploring the rock pools on her local beach, which sparked her love for the ocean. Beth took this fascination a step further and decided to study marine biology at the University of Portsmouth (UK). After completing her studies, she moved to the Maldives to work as a marine biologist, where she became a PADI divemaster and gained experience in coral restoration, turtle rehabilitation and various nationwide research projects including the Manta Trust’s ID work.
In 2017, after two years building her knowledge and experience, Beth joined the Maldivian Manta Ray Project (Project Manager, Laamu Atoll) and recently moved to the Baa Atoll research base. Whilst working for the MMRP, Beth has been researching the local manta populations, learning more about their biology, behaviour and population dynamics. She has worked alongside other NGOs and resort marine biologists to share this knowledge with local communities, guests and resort staff, inspiring them to conserve the underwater world. Working so closely to these beautiful animals has only increased her appreciation for them and the wider Maldivian marine environment.
In January 2021, Beth was featured on CNN >> Swimming with manta rays could help save them.

Kaitlyn Zerr

Assistant Project Manager

Growing up in the middle of Canada presented limited opportunities to get to know the life beneath the waves, but after completing her Divemaster training in Honduras, Kaitlyn knew she would go anywhere to to pursue a lifetime of protecting the ocean.
Upon completing her BSc in Marine Biology (Dalhousie University, CA) she moved to Baa Atoll (Maldives) for a 3-month internship with the Maldivian Manta Ray Project, followed by a year in Australia working as a Marine Biologist (whale watching) and as a Marine Science Educator (improving ocean literacy in youth).
In 2019, Kaitlyn was reunited with the mantas when she returned to the Maldivian Manta Ray Project as the Assistant Project Manager for Baa Atoll. In addition to collecting data on the population dynamics, habitat use and reproductive ecology of the Maldivian mantas, Kaitlyn has taken on a lead role with “Eyes on the Reef”; a long-term monitoring project that records manta rays when humans are absent.
While she loves being in the water and on the research boat, her role within the team has also allowed her to explore her passion of connecting youth to the ocean by assisting the Education Manager with theory lessons and field trips.