Seychellois environmental ambassador recognised by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Congratulations to Terence Vel, who celebrated this year’s Commonwealth Day (12 March 2018) with special recognition from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, as the 39th Commonwealth Point of Light.

Photo © Oliver Born

Terence was honoured for his exceptional volunteer environmental work, running the Wildlife Clubs of Seychelles –  a grassroots, self-sustaining environmental organisation dedicated to creating an environmentally conscious young population in Seychelles. Special mention needs to be made of  Terence being the first Seychellois to receive this prestigious award which recognises outstanding individual volunteers who are making a change in their community.

Terence Vel and Dr. Karl Fleischmann of the University of Seychelles and SOSF project leader Ornella Weideli exploring the forest on Mahé. Photo by Michael Scholl | © Save Our Seas Foundation

Earlier this month he met with the president of Seychelles to personally congratulate him on this achievement. “The accolade is a well-deserved recognition of your commitment as an environmental activist, passion and love for nature and wildlife conservation. We are immensely proud of your achievement and on behalf of the people of Seychelles, I wish to thank you for the endless time that you have shared with young Seychellois, empowering them through the Wildlife Clubs of Seychelles as a volunteer. Through that, you have inspired a lot of our school children to learn about the ecosystems, native wildlife, and the environment, which has made some of them today, ambassadors of the environment,” said President Faure.

Save Our Seas Foundation is proud to sponsor the University of Seychelles science lab as well as the Environmental Sciences curriculum. Terence Vel works as a science laboratory technician and a field lecturer for BSc environmental science students.