Brendon Grimshaw was an English editor working for some of
the largest newspapers in East Africa. He visited the Seychelles (an Indian
Ocean archipelago) on holiday in 1962, and fell in love with the place. Brendon
quit his job and bought a 24-acre islet called Moyenne Island for £8,000. Most
of us dream of living in luxury on a tropical island, but Moyenne at the time
was uninhabited and inhospitable; choked with weeds and overrun with rats. Brendon
recruited a Seychelle local, Rene Antoine Lafortune, to help with improvements.
Together they cleared brush, planted thousands of trees and built three miles
of nature trails. They reintroduced the Aldabra giant tortoise to the area.
Brendon welcomed tourists to his island. He fed them at his restaurant, Jolly
Roger. He collected €12 apiece to help
fund his conservation work. Today Moyenne Island is the world’s smallest
national park, home to a wide variety of plants and birds, and 120 giant
tortoises.
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