The Isle of Man is the only entire nation to boast UNESCO Biosphere status, reflecting it is a special place for people and the rest of nature.

In our regular feature, authors from different walks of Manx life offer a personal perspective on #MyBiosphere.

This month’s author is Pierre Cherimont, a Masters student who is doing a research placement on the Isle of Man Biosphere.

My name is Pierre Cherimont and I’m here today at Biosphere Isle of Man to accomplish my six-month placement in order to obtain my ‘Man and Biosphere’ Master’s degree at the University of Toulouse in France.

I’ve been living in France but I’m originally from Reunion Island, a French department in the Indian Ocean.

I came to Europe for my studies and to open myself up to different opportunities for my professional career and to discover new horizons.

After a long ecology course, I understood that to create a sustainable future and improve our life and living conditions we need to involve local people, mainly by meeting them and explaining their role in their environment and ecosystem.

This permitted me to create bottom-up projects, so that is why I decided to do an MAB Master’s degree to learn more about the values of the Man and Biosphere program by UNESCO.

I can’t wait to see how sustainable development is engaged with here in the island and meet the main local stakeholders and partners here - seeing and understanding all of the projects that have been put in place for a sustainable future.

I have a special attraction with Celtic and Vikings culture, and this island being entirely designated as a Biosphere Reserve is the perfect context to know more about all these stories.

Next to that, I love passing time and doing hiking in beautiful landscapes, especially in forests.

Moreover, I’m a one man band - I play piano, guitar, bass, drums and I’ve learned to produce myself by doing some mixing and mastering engineering for music production.

I want to thank Biosphere Isle of Man for this great opportunity to see how another Biosphere reserve out of France works, allow myself to develop my English skills and discover the culture and the landscapes of the Isle of Man!

I’m really looking forward to this new adventure.

A spokesperson from Biosphere Isle of Man commented: ‘We are delighted to welcome Pierre Cherimont for a research placement as part of his Master’s degree in Biosphere Reserve Management.

‘Pierre will be working closely with the Biosphere delivery team, University College Isle of Man, and a variety of stakeholders and partners to contribute to the development of a management plan for Biosphere Isle of Man.

‘Pierre’s Master's degree is based on the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme, covering the conceptual, historical, institutional and contractual aspects specific to protected areas associated with human activities.’

To find out more about UNESCO Biosphere Isle of Man, or to apply to be a partner, you can visit www.biosphere.im or email [email protected]