At just 27 years old, Tess Kneebone has already travelled extensively – from Costa Rica and Mexico to France, Morocco and across the United States. So, when a competition to join a marine conservation expedition in the Maldives with Biosphere Expeditions appeared on her Instagram feed, it was no surprise that she jumped at the opportunity.
What Tess could not have anticipated was just how deeply the experience would affect her: it reshaped her ambitions, strengthened her sense of purpose and introduced her to conservation in its most tangible form.
‘I’ve never felt more like myself than working on coral reef surveys with other ocean lovers,’ she reflects, her enthusiasm tangible.
For Loulou Ojjeh, Biosphere Expeditions played a pivotal role in her journey towards becoming an ecologist when she joined its Maldives expedition in 2025.
Despite having completed only 20 dives and questioning whether she was truly ready, Loulou quickly realised that she was far from being an anomaly. ‘Many participants shared similar doubts’, Loulou recalls finding out.
Shaha Hashim is a pioneer in the conservation movement in the Maldives. Her passion started at a young age when she ‘was lucky enough to be selected for the school snorkelling club where I witnessed the vibrant beauty of the corals before the 1998 bleaching event devastated over 90% of them.’
Many corals have grown back since and Shaha never lost her dedication to them. In 2014 Shaha joined Biosphere Expeditions, an international non-profit citizen science organisation, which supercharged her conservation career.
‘I wanted to have an impact on protecting nature,’ says Angelika Krimmel from Germany, reflecting on what drew her to her first expedition with Biosphere Expeditions.
That first experience was in 2016, studying whales and dolphins in the Azores. It wasn’t long before Angelika found herself coming back again and again – to Slovakia in 2017 to monitor lynx, bear and wolf; to Kyrgyzstan in 2019 and 2024 for snow leopard research; and to Kenya in 2023 for African biodiversity conservation.
Whales, paw prints and camera traps
Each project offered something unforgettable. “After a week with the whales, you think nothing can top the first sight of one. But then a curious sperm whale swam alongside our boat, jumped three times and looked straight into our eyes. That look went directly to my heart.”
Angelika (yellow circle) with her 2016 Azores expedition team
Peter Pilbeam from the UK is a long-time supporter of Biosphere Expeditions. He took part in every single expedition to the Altai mountains that Biosphere Expeditions ran from 2003 to 2012. ‘And then it just snowballed’, he remembers. Here’s his story.
‘Initially I was intrigued by the slogan ‘Where on earth is the Altai?’ and my interest in snow leopards’, Peter recalls ,‘and I liked my first expedition so much that I just kept coming back’.
Peter (yellow circle) and his Altai expedition team in 2011.
Pascal Tchengang, from Paris, France, loves travelling and being in touch with nature. In fact, this is how he discovered Biosphere Expeditions way back in 2002 and then went on an expedition to study big cats in Namibia in 2003, returning there in 2005 as staff. Today Pascal helps out part-time in Biosphere Expeditions’ French office near Paris.
Pascal’s first engagement with Biosphere Expeditions was in 2002, when he was researching options for holidays with a purpose in nature. ‘My favourite thing -then and now – when I travel is being in touch with nature’, Pascal reminisces, ‘there are certain places you can discover and visit on your own or with your family, but there are others where you really need to be accompanied by specialists’. This is how he came across Biosphere Expeditions all those years ago and has ‘never looked back’, he says with a broad smile.
Pascal on expedition in 2005.
‘You see, I love animals and wildlife in general. Back then I had a burning desire to go to Africa and see wildlife up close. Of course, there are national parks that you can visit on your own or with your family by renting a vehicle, but what I wanted was to get as close as possible to the large mammals. So, while searching the web, I discovered Biosphere Expeditions. Browsing through their website, I was fascinated by the programmes offered on each expedition. So I signed up and took part in my first expedition to Namibia in 2003’, Pascal recalls. ‘It was incredible, a real revelation. It was the first time I had ever come into close contact with large mammals. In Namibia, I had the chance to get up close to cheetahs and leopards, because we were accompanied by a scientist who was studying them there. In fact, during that first expedition, I enjoyed both the opportunity to encounter the animals and being part of a group that was genuinely curious and eager to learn’.
On the expedition Pascal met some senior Biosphere Expeditions staff and asked whether he could help out with the office in France. He could – and started assisting with enquiries and attending events, becoming a spokesperson for Biosphere Expeditions.
Two years later, Pascal was back in Namibia as staff, this time with Peggy, ‘the person I share my life with today’, Pascal says with his eyes lighting up, ‘this trip was her first of its kind, a real revelation’.
Peggy & Pascal
‘So, yes, if you are looking for a trip where you won’t encounter trivialities, and especially if you want to make yourself useful, then I really recommend Biosphere Expeditions’ Pascal says, adding with a laugh ‘and I don’t just say this because I am biased, but because I genuinely believe it’. For advice, over 20 years after his first expedition, Pascal is the representative in France, so please feel free to reach out. ‘I will be happy to provide you with as much information as I can’.
Sven Strohschein from Hamburg, Germany, has made some great memories with Biosphere Expeditions, going with them twice to research whales and dolphins around the Azores archipelago, to study Amazon biodiversity in Peru, African wildlife in Namibia and the Arabian leopard in Oman. After these expeditions, he also joined the ‘Friends of Biosphere.’ ‘It was and is a great experience to be part of Biosphere Expeditions’, he sums up.
Sven on expedition in 2007
For Sven, who has been in the shipping industry since 1981, going on an expedition was something completely new for him: ‘I found Biosphere Expeditions through an article in a magazine. I was curious to get more experience and knowledge about wildlife conservation and looking after our natural environment.’ So Sven took the plunge into what was to become a formative experience.
Sven (circle) and his Azores expedition team
‘I can still remember sitting at the campfire under the stars during the Namibia expedition and hearing the lions roar. I also remember jumping into the Atlantic Ocean, trying to catch a glimpse of the whales after they went under the waves, and watching the sunrise at our research station on the Amazon.’ Perhaps his most abiding memories were ‘being woken up by elephants browsing trees just a metre away from where I was sleeping, witnessing a lion hunt in the middle of the night and talking to local people face-to-face’.
When asked about what he’s learnt, Sven thinks that a lot more needs to be done to help the natural world recover and also that everyone can help, not only scientists.
Sven (left) tracking a lion in Namibia
Looking back, Sven reminisces that “Each time I joined a Biosphere Expeditions team in the field, it was definitely a unique experience. I am happy and proud to also support Biosphere Expeditions through the Friends and by helping with media enquiries in Germany and talking to those who are thinking of coming on an expedition.’
Peter Thoem, a retiree from Canada, has participated in six expeditions so far. ‘I have time in my life, the health and the resources – so why not’ is his go-getter attitude in all this. This is why he started with expeditions and what he experienced on them.
‘Back in the day, when I was thinking about joining my first expedition to the Tien Shan mountains to study snow leopards, it was the opportunity to get into a really wild area. I could see that few westerners would ever get to see or experience the Tien Shan mountains and that the expedition might yield exciting results’, recounts Peter, ‘it was simply too good an opportunity to miss.’
And since then? ‘Tien Shan was just so thrilling’, says Peter, ‘and then the year after – in 2019 – there was the chance to do something equally useful in places as fascinating as the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve and Kenya’s Masai Mara. It deeply interested me’. So off he went to the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve first and then a few months later to Africa for back-to-back expeditions in 2019 and 2020, just before the Covid pandemic brought everything to a standstill for a couple of years.
Peter with local rangers on the Kenya Masai Mara expedition
His most recent expedition was to the Azores archipelago, studying whales & dolphins from a catamaran.
When asked about lessons learnt on expedition, Peter’s answers are swift and precise, showing his enthusiasm. He believes that with good planning, an open mind, health and resources, you can do it, because ‘it’s a fascinating world out there’. And further that even if ‘our western comforts make us think that everywhere else is scary, it’s not. Yes, some places can be risky, even dangerous, but not everywhere else.’
When asked to summarise his experiences, Peter takes some time to think, smiling to himself and then says: ‘Sometimes it’s rigorous – we have work to do and protocols to follow, we have to understand what’s expected. We have to coalesce as a team and appreciate each other’s strengths and not-so-strengths. Then we have to find ways to work with the less committed – some are day-dreamers, others are bloggers who don’t always contribute much.’ But it always works out in the end: ‘We come from all corners of the world, some of us have even met before, because we’re committed to the Biosphere Expeditions ethic. And when I return, I always feel richer and profoundly privileged for having been to places and done things that I used to believe only existed in an Attenborough world.’
Peter’s most abiding memories include standing on the slope of a remote valley in Kyrgyzstan with a clear blue sky. ‘It’s just warm enough to unzip my jacket. I’m surrounded by yellow expanses of spring flowers, there’s rushing meltwater cascading off snow-draped mountains around me and I had to pinch myself. Is THIS really me? Am I really here?’
Or there is the time when Peter was on his middle-of-the-night-shift keeping watch over a waterhole in Kenya’s Masai Mara. There are elephants around and hippos lie in the waterhole, but it’s quiet except for the odd grunt, splash or snuffle. Then from across the valley comes a strange upside-down bark, like indrawn breath ‘EEeeeeYiP’. What’s that, Peter asks the ranger. ‘Hyaena’, the ranger replies and Peter’s spine tingles.
And most recently, in 2024, on the expedition boat off Faial, one of the islands of the Azores archipelago: ‘The sea is lively and we have to hold on white-knuckle tight’, remembers Peter, ‘we’re all doing our tasks as assigned when a blue whale is sighted. We slow down and carefully approach – again everyone does as instructed – gathering data: time, water temperature, sea-state; taking photos, watching, counting and more. And then we’re spell-bound. There in front of us, all but immersed, visible yet almost invisible is the world’s largest mammal. It blows a couple of times, then dives to depths that take it out of the realm of human comprehension.’
A blue whale: a spell-binding animal for Peter
With all those experiences, what impact have the expeditions had on Peter’s daily life, away from expeditions? Again, Peter does not hesitate: ‘I’m seen and known for having just come back from another exotic place. Where are you going next, people ask. I have a greater understanding and appreciation of the value of citizen science’. An appreciation that has contributed to a structured long-term project on bird populations close to Peter’s home (now in its 10th year).
And what about Peter’s connection to nature? Has this changed through the expedition experiences he’s made? ‘My connection with nature has always been strong’, Peter responds, ‘and I feel that I have a reasonable understanding of how the balance of nature all weaves together. The expeditions give me the chance to see some of those interactions and inter-relationships’. And Peter adds an example of this: ‘With Alan, our expedition scientist in Kenya, we watched a small group of impala ingesting mineral-rich soils. Alan was ecstatic, it was, he said, the first known-to-science example of geophagy (animals eating soil, usually for its mineral content) by impalas. My photos made it a publishable observation‘.
Impala geophagy at the Memusi mineral (salt) lick, photo courtesy of Peter Thoem.
The interview ends with the question of what Peter would tell others who are thinking about joining their first expedition. Peter laughs and just says: ‘If it appeals to you, then set aside your fears and just go do it’.
Find an overview of all upcoming expeditions here.
Also see Peter’s birding blog entries for Kenya and Arabia
Becoming a marine conservation scientist is hard. For women in traditional societies, it’s almost impossible. Yet once she began diving, Jenan Al Asfoor was determined to break free from the confines of gender and her corporate job alike. It wasn’t easy, but now Jenan runs her own marine conservation consultancy, training the next generation to protect the coral reefs of her native Oman. Looking back now, Jenan credits Biosphere Expeditions as the turning point that transformed her passion into a lifelong purpose.
From a young age, Jenan was not deterred from defying social norms for women. She excelled in school, went to university and then took a corporate job in marketing at the Environment Society of Oman, an NGO in her native country. Diving was her hobby. ‘I was just doing it [diving] for fun, until I got the chance of a placement on a Biosphere Expeditions diving project in my country.’
Jenan had had other placement opportunities, ‘but the Biosphere Expeditions one stuck out. I was so happy to be on expedition with them. It truly changed my whole life, what I’m passionate about, and what I’m capable of doing. After my placement in Oman, went to the Maldives to expand my marine knowledge. To find a network of people, from all around the world, from very different fields, but always sharing the passion for doing something for the environment – it makes you change how you see people.’ She became more enthralled with the underwater world and the running of expeditions.
Part of the expedition to the Maldives includes getting certified by Reef Check (a reef conservation NGO that partners with Biosphere Expeditions), meaning citizen scientist divers are then qualified to conduct underwater surveys anywhere in the world. Soon, Jenan found herself re-evaluating her career and her way of living. Working alongside Biosphere Expeditions’ founder and executive Dr. Matthias Hammer and team scientist Dr. Jean-Luc Solandt changed how she saw diving too.. ‘These two opened my eyes that there was more to diving than to have fun. They then helped me to get Reef Check Oman off the ground, I started a science diploma and then went on to start a consultancy in marine conservation.’
Jenan Al Asfoor on the Musandam Peninsula diving expedition, Oman
In 2017 Biosphere Expeditions’ involvement around the Musandam Peninsula of Oman concluded with the declaration of two protected areas in the region. Jenan was the perfect steward to protect these achievements. She quit her corporate job and devoted herself full-time to diving and reef conservation, launching community-based reef conservation efforts, becoming Oman’s first Omani Reef Check Trainer, and to top it all off, starting Reef Check Oman, an offshoot of the NGO that originally qualified her as a survey diver, as well as her own consultancy. All this was not easy either. ‘My friends and family were surprised,’ she recalls. ‘Diving as a woman in Oman is unusual – it’s not seen as a field for females. People don’t see diving as something with a career related to it. People think it’s not a job, that there’s nothing there to learn, so quitting my job was really challenging, as it was not acceptable to my family. Finding encouragement was hard.’
Jenan about her achievements, hopes and aspirations in reef conservation
‘Without the encouragement of the people I met on the expeditions, I wouldn’t have made it,’ says Jenan. ‘When you don’t get support in your regular life, you need it elsewhere – that’s why Biosphere Expeditions had such a big impact.’
Proving almost everyone wrong, she is now an experienced diver and trains others – including delegates from the Omani government, who are learning how to protect the country’s precious corals. ‘I want to share all the beautiful, life-changing experiences I had being part of Biosphere Expeditions. I want to demonstrate the impact of knowledge sharing and community engagement.’ Working with Biosphere Expeditions meant Jenan learned ‘to face challenges on a daily basis. You don’t need to be a scientist to make a difference; even as citizens there’s so much we can do.’
When she stepped foot on Arabian soil back in 2006, Malika Fettak had no idea how influential and life-changing it would become. Starting as a citizen scientist with Biosphere Expeditions, she landed a job with them only a year later and jumped at the first chance of becoming an expedition leader, besides from supporting the organisation with marketing & communications. She took on the responsibility for teams made up of citizen and professional scientists, staff and local helpers; mastering team leadership with people from different cultures and all walks of life and helping people achieve their dreams. Here, Malika tells her own story.
‘Back in the early 2000s I was looking for a different way to explore the world. As a woman wanting to travel alone, it is difficult knowing who to trust. Stuck in an office job, I was searching for a worthwhile holiday to do something more adventurous. And Biosphere Expeditions sounded perfect: you’re in a group, you’re safe, and you get to do unique things out in nature that you can’t do on your own: not as tourists, but as a team on a mission, working together in conservation. You are pushed beyond your comfort zone: you don’t know what people you’ll be with, what the work will be like and if you are physically fit enough. On my first expedition, my English was not as good as it is now and I was worried that I would not fully understand my team mates, the expedition leader or the scientists. Luckily, since team members come from all over the world, the English was very accessible and I had no problems. I instantly fell in love with the simplicity of expedition life. Before the expedition, I remember worrying about how I would cope with not having a shower for two weeks! But once you set off into the wild thoughts like this dissipate. You learn to trust your own abilities and resilience.’
Malika Fettak (yellow circle) with her expedition team in Oman
‘Out in nature, you actually need less to be happy and fulfilled. If you’re warm, dry, fed and have a place to sleep, that’s enough. And it calms your mind. You don’t have to worry about material luxuries, because in nature, on a fundamental level, it’s not important. A lot of people are overwhelmed in their lives with constant streams of information through phones that don’t actually have anything to do with their day-to-day life. Out in nature, especially away from phone coverage, things become simple. It’s not complicated out in the wild.’
‘After my first experience in Oman, I felt even more trapped in my office at work and began seriously thinking about a career change. I was dreaming about working in nature conservation and using my skills for a good cause. Matthias, Biosphere Expeditions’ founder and an expedition leader himself, and I had become well acquainted on my second expedition to the Altai mountains in Russia; opening the floodgates to a new field of work. He just said: ‘Why don’t you work for us?’ This was in 2007, eight years after Biosphere Expeditions was founded. I kind of created my own job by writing an essay about what I could contribute to the organisation. Having a degree in marketing and communications, I had quite a few ideas, so I began working full-time.’
Leading in the Altai Mountains
‘Only a few weeks later I was offered the chance to lead my first expedition in Spain. It was a huge challenge at first, especially training and leading a team in a foreign language, but getting prepared with Outdoor First Aid and other expedition leader training was also extremely fun. It took quite some courage to literally jump out of my comfort zone and trusting that I will be able to handle whatever I come up against. I learned a lot – not only about leadership and team dynamics, but also about myself. Once I started leading expeditions, that was it – I knew I’d found my place by travelling the world and exploring the wild together with local people, weathering the elements whilst safely leading teams: I had everything that I’ve been missing in contemporary city life.’
‘Starting as a citizen scientist, I loved the shift in perspective I got with being an expedition leader. Not only was I suddenly responsible for all those people on the expedition – their safety, the overall organisation, logistics, equipment, paperwork, communications, … you name it. I learned how to make random people from all over the world become amazing teams within a couple of days. Time and time again I also found myself in unimaginable situations and learned that there is ALWAYS a way out. I felt a huge sense of accomplishment taking people out there, encouraging people to leave their comfort zones and helping people to overcome their self-limiting beliefs – not in theory, but in reality.’ It really was a life-changing journey.’
Malika in the Amazon
‘In more recent years, I took a step further in my career again and qualified as a Systemic Coach & Trainer in order to set up my own business and inspire and support personal development of people and empower teams outside expedition life. However, I still enjoy leading expeditions on a freelance basis and training future leaders in particular, because it simply is part of my calling. Looking at the work Biosphere Expeditions does from yet another perspective again has allowed me to truly understand the multilayer impact Biosphere Expeditions’ projects have on many people’s lives.’
‘Looking back at my career with Biosphere Expeditions, I feel privileged. Two decades of leading expeditions, exploring fascinating wild places, learning from scientists all over the world and fully understanding core principles of ecosystems in both nature and human society have enhanced my life. Innumberable exceptional challenges and lessons learned along the way are my life experience treasure no money can buy.’
‘Two fundamental lessons I’ve incorporated in all aspects of life are that life is simple and you can manage and get out of any difficult situation by accepting facts and focussing on solutions, not problems. Reconnecting with nature helped me find nothing but great human potential underneath unnecessary layers of doubt, fear and worry – in myself and in others. So just dare go for it – from my experience expedition adventures hold great potential to change your life too.’
