On March 1, 2023, the Sea Hub for Environmental Learning in Laamu (SHELL), one of the best outlying resorts in the Maldives, will open its doors. On May 6, 2022, the cornerstone of The SHELL, which has a total size of 5,952 square feet (553 square metres) and is located on the resort's sunset beach, was laid. Along with a gallery exhibition space, offices, a marine laboratory, a movie theatre, and a kids' area, it will house the Maldives Underwater Initiative (MUI), a marine conservation collaborative made up of marine biologists from Six Senses Laamu and partner NGOs, The Manta Trust, Blue Marine Foundation, and the Olive Ridley Project. The room will also benefit from conservation art and virtual and augmented reality technologies.
The regional general manager, Marteyne van Well, thinks that understanding must come before healing the ocean. Baba Dioum, an environmentalist, once remarked, "In the end, we shall protect only that which we love; that which we love; and that which we understand." Let's instruct and inform the next generation about the value of protecting the environment. To engage the hearts and minds of our visitors, our host communities, and ourselves is the goal of the Sea Hub for Environmental Learning in Laamu. We hope to leave a legacy in the Laamu Atoll where science and recreation converge with the single purpose of inspiring people to learn more and safeguard, along with our owners, HPL Hotels & Resorts.
The SHELL is a multi-purpose area created to educate visitors and provide specialised, immersive marine conservation experiences. During unusual interactions, visitors are invited to explore the colourful and lively local aquatic life in the 2,336 square foot (217 square metre) core exhibition room. The MUI team will deliver interactive guest activities and activities in conjunction with their research, initiatives, and conservation efforts. In order to further advance MUI's audacious goal of seeing sustainable resource management in Laamu, The SHELL will also include specialised facilities for hosting top researchers.
The SHELL represents the start of a new chapter in the history of Six Senses Laamu and the resort's long history in marine conservation and community involvement, according to Stephen Lau, Chairman of HPL Hotels & Resorts. Our shared goal at HPL has been to improve Laamu atoll for future generations. Our shared goal has been the impetus behind the current development of this project. We believe that the tales and research the SHELL is conducting will inspire aspiring marine biologists and burgeoning conservationists, and that both visitors and partners will want to be a part of the conservation journey.The SHELL enables us all to speak out in support of the amazing marine ecosystems on the atoll and our shared obligation to preserve them.
