{"id":12710,"date":"2024-03-22T23:57:42","date_gmt":"2024-03-23T00:57:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maldives-paradise.com\/?p=12710"},"modified":"2025-10-04T09:40:28","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T09:40:28","slug":"six-senses-laamu-celebrates-anniversary-of-sea-hub-of-environmental-learning-in-laamu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/maldives-paradise.com\/en_us\/2024\/03\/six-senses-laamu-celebrates-anniversary-of-sea-hub-of-environmental-learning-in-laamu\/","title":{"rendered":"Six Senses Laamu celebrates anniversary of Sea Hub of environmental learning in Laamu"},"content":{"rendered":"

Six Senses Laamu<\/strong> commemorates the one-year anniversary of its Sea Hub of Environmental Learning in Laamu (SHELL), highlighting the resort\u2019s steadfast dedication to marine conservation and environmental education.<\/p>\n

In March 2023, Six Senses Laamu unveiled the SHELL on its sunset beach, marking a pivotal milestone in the journey toward fostering environmental awareness and education. The 2,336 square-foot (217 square-metre) immersive exhibition space invites resort guests, hosts, and Maldivian residents to explore and learn about the colorful and vibrant local marine life. Investing further in marine conservation, the SHELL houses a working marine laboratory run by the Maldives Underwater Initiative (MUI), a collaborative endeavour featuring marine biologists from Six Senses Laamu, working hand in hand with three partnering NGOs: Manta Trust, Blue Marine Foundation, and Olive Ridley Project. Currently, the research team comprises over ten marine biologists.<\/p>\n

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Six Senses Laamu Overwater Villa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Collaborative Research Efforts Yield Remarkable Results<\/strong><\/p>\n

The SHELL has expanded MUI\u2019s research capabilities, with notable projects including coral larval restoration and sea turtle DNA analysis. Ten thousand baby corals from over five different species are currently grown at the SHELL. Over 12 million coral larvae have already been released onto the resort\u2019s house reef. The turtle genetics project involves taking genetic samples from deceased hatchlings and continues to contribute to a better understanding of the Maldivian sea turtle population.<\/p>\n

In addition to these projects, the MUI team has conducted numerous research initiatives, such as the identification and registration of over 1,000 turtles and more than 140 manta rays in Laamu Atoll. These research projects contribute to a wider understanding of Laamu\u2019s marine life and environment, resulting in the publication of a peer-reviewed scientific paper on marine megafauna and blue carbon analysis of seagrass and mangrove habitats.<\/p>\n

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Six Senses Laamu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Community Engagement and Recognition<\/strong><\/p>\n

Throughout the past year, the SHELL has welcomed 24 distinguished visitors, including renowned naturalist and BBC presenter Steve Backshall. Engagements with university professors, researchers, and even astronauts during Karman Week, have led to valuable partnerships and research collaborations.<\/p>\n

Beyond research, the SHELL serves as a space for exploration and education. Six Senses Laamu<\/strong> has welcomed over 300 community members to the SHELL over the past year. A key initiative, the \u201cHello Hallu\u201d program, was designed to inspire and motivate students to actively participate in preserving their local ecosystems. The program achieved widespread impact by reaching every school across Laamu Atoll, engaging 237 students in total. Together, with the MUI team, students explored the habitats of Laamu, including mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, and coral reefs, as well as sustainable fishing practices and megafauna.<\/p>\n

The SHELL was honoured with the Aspire Sustainability Initiative of the Year Award in 2023, recognising the groundbreaking sustainability efforts by Six Senses Laamu and showcasing the resort\u2019s commitment to marine conservation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe SHELL is an incredible achievement from our efforts in research, education and community engagement,\u201d says Lawrence Menz, Six Senses Laamu\u2019s Director of Sustainability and Conservation. \u201cIt began as a dream over 5 years ago and marks several milestones in Laamu Atoll\u2019s marine conservation. Since its opening, we were able to welcome over 6,000 guests and members of the local community in the SHELL. The greatest reward for us is hearing local students expressing their newfound inspiration for their island home, stating that visiting the SHELL has encouraged them to share the importance of conservation with their parents, family, and friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Six Senses Laamu\u2019s General Manager, Marteyne van Well, commented, \u201cThe SHELL serves as a testament to our unwavering dedication to environmental stewardship, providing a dynamic platform to inspire, educate, and contribute to the ongoing conservation efforts in the Maldives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Well has also recently been recognised in Forbes magazine as one of \u20184 Women Creating Ways To Protect The Ocean,\u2019.<\/p>\n

Check availability and best price at Six Senses Laamu here >><\/a><\/h3>\n

More info about Six Senses Laamu<\/a> resort in the Maldives<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Six Senses Laamu commemorates the one-year anniversary of its Sea Hub of Environmental Learning in Laamu (SHELL), highlighting the resort\u2019s steadfast dedication to marine conservation and environmental education. In March 2023, Six Senses Laamu unveiled […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12712,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[150],"tags":[587,163,197,291,293,631,161],"class_list":{"0":"post-12710","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-5-star-hotels-resorts","8":"tag-coral-conservation","9":"tag-diving-maldives","10":"tag-maldives-5-star-resort","11":"tag-maldives-manta-conservation","12":"tag-manta-rays-maldives","13":"tag-six-senses-laamu","14":"tag-snorkeling-maldives"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/maldives-paradise.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/maldives-paradise.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/maldives-paradise.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/maldives-paradise.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/maldives-paradise.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12710"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/maldives-paradise.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42871,"href":"http:\/\/maldives-paradise.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12710\/revisions\/42871"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/maldives-paradise.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/maldives-paradise.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/maldives-paradise.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/maldives-paradise.com\/en_us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}