SOCIETY FOR THE CONSERVATION AND STUDY OF CARIBBEAN BIRDS Eleventh Edition of the CARIBBEAN ENDEMIC BIRD FESTIVAL 2012 REPORT

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1 1 SOCIETY FOR THE CONSERVATION AND STUDY OF CARIBBEAN BIRDS Eleventh Edition of the CARIBBEAN ENDEMIC BIRD FESTIVAL 2012 REPORT Sheylda N. Díaz-Méndez, Coordinator, HC-04 Box 9084, Utuado, Puerto Rico BACKGROUND The Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) is the most successful outreach program of the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds today. Since it was launched in 2002, the annual event has grown and in the eleventh edition of the Festival, the network of NGOs, institutions, and government agencies participated in 19 countries (Figure 1): 1,000 people participated in the first festival in 2002; by 2012, 80,004 1 people participated in more than 400 activities in 19 countries! Festivals are a fun and effective way of reaching people. Our CEBF is a type of informal education; nonetheless education is crucial for raising awareness for the conservation of species and habitats. In 2007, we started adopting the IMBD theme and incorporated educational materials from Environment for the Americas (EFTA) addressing the issue. The official theme this year was Connecting people to bird conservation: 20 ways to conserve birds This important message was conveyed in the forms of activities and mass media events. Educational materials and t-shirts were donated to participating countries by SCSCB. We encouraged activities designed to engage people in bird watching, as well as focus on actions to help birds. On our FaceBook page, people shared many activities they did to help birds and the environment as well as help raise awareness and we posted our own ideas and information for how to help birds. Volunteers launch the CEBF in their countries from April 22nd, "Earth Day," until May 22nd, "International Biodiversity Day". The celebration is achieved through a wide range of activities such as presentations and workshops on local birds, nature walks, exhibitions of bird paintings, photographs by schoolchildren and artists, arts and crafts, ecology games, planting of native trees that provide fruit for birds, wetland clean-ups, distribution of brochures, posters, t-shirts, and coloring books on birds among others. Internal feedback gathering is a big part of our job as coordinators. We aim to gather information from national representatives to answer central questions about issues in the Caribbean that can be presented in the CEBF. SCSCB members, coordinators and participants, help uncover value alignments between conservation 1 Note: This is a conservative estimate as we have no way to assess the numbers of people reached via radio and television, used by many of our coordinators to raise awareness.

2 2 issues and how we can address them in our educational outreach program. It has been an important part in our success as a regional program and event. Figure 1: Participation in the CEBF from 2002 to 2012 in the Caribbean Region PUBLICITY Each country uses a press release and/or adapts a general media release prepared by Leo Douglas (Chair, SCSCB Media Working Group). The media release was sent to SCSCB s list serve, to all coordinators and furthermore posted on SCSCB s webpage ( Each country could post their festival at the International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD) website ( individually. In addition, coordinators responded they are now posting their event in the fastest growing tool for sharing information today: FaceBook. Visit us at: Figure 2: Media power tool Facebook; we launched our CEBF page in February 2010

3 3 Figure 3: More than half of our coordinators used FaceBook as their main media tool; the newspaper and radio are still strong contenders to reach people. Coordinators and volunteers receive training workshops to refine media skills during our biannual meetings. Some of them have become known in radio stations and television, which has had a very positive return during their events. In Guadeloupe, Anthony Levesque is interviewed annually during their CEBF on a TV program. In the Dominican Republic, Grupo Jaragua has done television and radio programs dedicated to their Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival. We promote a healthy relationship with the press to reach every type of public nationwide. GRANTS AWARDED BY SCSCB The board of the organization recognizes the challenges of undertaking the festival with limited budgets and sometimes no budget! In an effort to promote the CEBF and the society s mission, we allocate some of our funds to a Small Grant Program. Coordinators from every island are encouraged to turn in a proposal with details of their festival including activities, dates, impact on people and matching funds. A small grant proposal form was sent to every coordinator of the CEBF through and the SCSCB List Serve. We received 9 applications and each one was evaluated according to necessity of funds and planned activities. In 2012, a total of US$4,100 was awarded to 7 countries in 9 small grants. Table 1 provides information of the small grants awarded to each organization.

4 4 Table1. Summary of small grants awarded to Caribbean organizations for the 2010 Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (funds provided by the SCSCB). Country Award US$ Organization/Coordinator Antigua 500 Environmental Awareness Group/Natalia Lawrence Cuba 500 Universidad de la Habana/ Alieny González Alfonso Grenada 500 Education Conservation Outreach/Ezra Campbell Puerto Rico 400 Santa Ana Nature Center/Eliezer Nieves Puerto Rico 400 Sociedad Ornitológica Puertorriqueña, Inc. (SOPI)/ Israel Guzmán Dominican Republic 500 Sociedad Ornitológica Hispaniola/Jorge Brocca Dominican Republic 300 Simón Guerrero St. Vincent 500 Sustainable Grenadines, Inc./Michele Megannety Trinidad 500 Institute of Marine Affairs/Lester Doodnath Total 4,100 SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES HELD IN EACH ISLAND/COUNTRY An estimated total of participants for 2012 were 80,004. The participation total is based on reports from coordinators from the 21 participating Caribbean countries who also reported a total of activities. See details below and a summary in Table 2 at the end of the report. The majority of the coordinators used the theme Connecting People to Bird Conservation: 20 Ways to conserve birds. The countries that did not use the theme have expressed that the species

5 5 used in the materials are not known (or common) in their country or the theme is not aligned with their organizations priorities in at the moment, and they prefer to utilize the materials with their own theme. Nonetheless, many of our coordinators work is facilitated by providing a theme and also many ideas for activities according to the conservation message. Materials are an important part of our events; they attract participants with a tangible keepsake of their bird experience. They also help us in the extension of the conservation message we want to convey. Two of our most popular supplies are the posters and the stickers. Each year, we divide materials according to language and send them to the participating countries via the U.S. Postal Service (International). The Bird Buddy Bands are elastic bands with the message Bird Buddy. These come in a variety of colors including Orange, Pink, Green, Blue and Purple; very popular with the children of the Caribbean. Types of Activities We share activities with each other year round; we have educators of every level and almost every field in our network. After a decade of coordinating events, we can speak of the most popular activities among participants. Activities that involve seeing

6 6 a bird, in a picture or in a natural setting, are the most prevalent. Presentations at community centers, schools and churches have grown in recent years due to the easier access of technology. This has probably facilitated the task of coordinators that present pictures of birds and then take participants outside to identify them. Among other activities we know are popular, are the competitions. There are radio-quizzes, Whistle like a bird, photography competitions, costume competitions and of course birdwatching competitions. The creativity of our coordinators knows no bounds when it comes to educate about birds and their habitats conservation. We recognize the value of our coordinators and the hard work we all put in each year. We also value the funds, donations and in-kinds we receive to successfully carry out this magnificent event. With this in mind, the small grant program must continue to grow, so that the funds can be divided among coordinators and be provided to every country accordingly; we have demonstrated we use every resource to continue a successful outreach/educational program in the region. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to Leo Douglas (SCSCB) for preparing a regional CEBF press release and Lisa Sorenson for the coordination of grant funds. Susan Bonfield (Environment for

7 7 the Americas) distributed posters of the International Migratory Bird Day to Puerto Rico and great bird buddy bands, stickers and tattoos. To the donors, who many times anonymously give to support for education and various programs, we would like to express our gratitude. Finally, we would like to give a special recognition to all coordinators for their dedication, commitment and outstanding work in the Caribbean region. Additional photos of the 2012 CEBF: Puerto Rico Bermuda

8 8 Puerto Rico St. Vincent & the Grenadines

9 9 Dominica Dominica

10 10 Puerto Rico Dominican Republic

11 11 Dominican Republic Trinidad

12 12 St. Lucia Guadeloupe

13 13 Table 2: Participation of countries in the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival Country Organizations, agencies and/or individuals Activities # Participants Anguilla Anguilla National Trust 2 16 Antigua Environmental Awareness Group, Ministry of Education, U.S. Peace Corps, Ministry 10 2,260 of Agriculture (Environment Division), ABS Radio and Television, Antigua and Barbuda Transport Board Bahamas Bahamas National Trust, EARTHCARE 5 2,060 Bonaire Parrotwatch & STINAPA Cayman National Trust for the Cayman Islands, Isabelle Brown (Cayman Brac) Cuba Dominica Faculty of Biology (University of Havana), Ecology and Systematic Institute, ProNaturaleza, Sociedad Cubana de Zoología ,000 Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment, Rare Species Conservatory Foundation, 10 4,000 UWI School of Continuing Studies Sociedad Ornitológica Hispaniola, Grupo Jaragua, Zoologico Nacional 12 10,872 Dominican Republic Guadeloupe Amazona, Parc Nacional de la Guadeloupe 3 4,584 Grenada Education Conservation Outreach 8 2,000 Jamaica Jamaica Environment Trust, BirdLife Jamaica, Forestry Department, NEPA 3 3,800 Martinique Beatriz Conde 2 1,000 Montserrat Puerto Rico Conservation League of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican Ornithological Society, SOPI, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico, Recinto Metropolitano, Natural History Society of Puerto Rico, Universidad del Turabo EPIC St. Croix Environmental Association 14 20,564 Saint Marteen 13 2,414 Saint Croix St. Vincent AvianEyes Birding Group Tobago Angela Ramsey Trinidad Virgin Islands- Jost Van Dyke Institute of Marine Affairs, The Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalist Club and the 8 2,600 Trinidad and Tobago Zoological Society Jost Van Dyke Preservation Society Susan Zalunsky TOTAL ,004