A Story by Elliana Bowers on Quora
Not all heroes wear capes!
When Englishman Brandon Grimshaw was in his forties, he quit his job as a newspaper editor and started a new life. For 13 thousand dollars, he bought a small uninhabited island in the Seychelles in called Moyenne. and moved there.
At that time, fifty years ago, no human had stepped foot on the island.
As befits a true Robinson, Brandon found a mate (his Friday) among the Seychelles natives, and hired her. Her name was Rene Lafortin Together with Rene, Brandon traveled to the deserted island and began to set up his new home. While Rene came to Moyenne Island only occasionally, Brandon lived there for decades and never left.
Over a period of 39 years, Grimshaw and Lafortin planted 16,000 trees with their own hands and built nearly 3 miles of trails. In 2007, when Brandon was eighty one years old, Rene Lafortin died, leaving Brandon all alone on the island.
The island has attracted 2,000 new bird species to the island and introduced over a hundred giant turtles, which in the rest of the world (including Seychelles) were already on the brink of extinction. Thanks to Grimshaw's efforts, the once-deserted island is now home to two-thirds of Seychelles' wildlife. An abandoned piece of land has become a true paradise.
A few years ago, a Saudi Arabian prince offered Brandon Grimshaw $50 million for the island, but this modern Robinson turned it down. “I don’t want the island to become a favorite vacation spot for rich people. It better be a national park everyone can enjoy. "
Brandon did succeed in getting the island effectively declared a national park in 2008.
A Story by Elliana Bowers on Quora
Not all heroes wear capes!
When Englishman Brandon Grimshaw was in his forties, he quit his job as a newspaper editor and started a new life. For 13 thousand dollars, he bought a small uninhabited island in the Seychelles in called Moyenne. and moved there.
At that time, fifty years ago, no human had stepped foot on the island.
As befits a true Robinson, Brandon found a mate (his Friday) among the Seychelles natives, and hired her. Her name was Rene Lafortin Together with Rene, Brandon traveled to the deserted island and began to set up his new home. While Rene came to Moyenne Island only occasionally, Brandon lived there for decades and never left.
Over a period of 39 years, Grimshaw and Lafortin planted 16,000 trees with their own hands and built nearly 3 miles of trails. In 2007, when Brandon was eighty one years old, Rene Lafortin died, leaving Brandon all alone on the island.
The island has attracted 2,000 new bird species to the island and introduced over a hundred giant turtles, which in the rest of the world (including Seychelles) were already on the brink of extinction. Thanks to Grimshaw's efforts, the once-deserted island is now home to two-thirds of Seychelles' wildlife. An abandoned piece of land has become a true paradise.
A few years ago, a Saudi Arabian prince offered Brandon Grimshaw $50 million for the island, but this modern Robinson turned it down. “I don’t want the island to become a favorite vacation spot for rich people. It better be a national park everyone can enjoy. "
Brandon did succeed in getting the island effectively declared a national park in 2008.