Beginning on the Beach
On her journey to monitoring and conserving coral reefs, Dr Anjani Ganase works with a sea turtle study in Tobago, and visits Grande Riviere to see the nesting leatherback turtles. Life for a marine biologist begins on a beach. One big reason I turned to studying the ocean were the bugs. Endless biting insects – sand flies and mosquitoes – enjoyed my sweet blood on every visit to the bush or the beach. Even worse, I would swell up like a jelly bean wherever I got stung. As an adult, I have learned to be prepared as I still seek out nature on hikes and chasing waterfalls. Last weekend I covered up for an extra special visit to Grande Riviere, the most densely populated leatherback turtle nesting beach on the island, and some say, the world. The first time I was taken to see leatherback turtles, it was with my parents on Matura Beach. I was still in primary school. My parents were reporting for the Guardian at the time, covering a story about the use of satel...