Enough Is Enough

My beloved Raabia Hawa speaking on behalf of the countless animals that have been poached in Eastern Africa this past year.  Please take a moment out of your day to watch and share her passion.  We can ALL make a difference!

xoxo

N

Bindi Irwin Censored By Hillary Clinton

     Unbelievably, my beloved Bindi Irwin has been silenced by former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton regarding overpopulation   Bindi was invited to write a 1000 word essay in regards to why she was so commited to being a Wildlife Warrior.  Unfortunately, freedom of speech was clearly not allowed.  Please take a few minutes to watch Bindi's reaction to receiving a cut-down version of her essay which was returned shortly after she submitted it to Mrs. Clinton's department.

     And now you have the opportunity to hear Bindi Irwin read her FULL speech which she submitted to Hillary Clinton before it had been revised.  If our governments cannot even listen to and feel threatened by the honesty of a fourteen year old then I am very worried at what the next 20 years are going to look like.

xoxox

Nicole

Gorilla Munch Cereal Continues To Support Conservation Efforts!

*Dian & Her Beloved Gorilla's*

     Nature’s Path EnviroKidz Gorilla Munch cereal has a new look!  If you’ve seen or purchased this organic gluten-free cereal in a grocery store, you are familiar with the smiling silverback looking out over a bowl of cereal and strawberries. Now, on the new packaging you’ll see a young gorilla sitting behind the cereal bowl, raising his arms in delight. While the new illustration catches your eye, the important change is in the updated information, games and resources on the rest of the box - both inside and out. The information includes facts about gorillas and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International; ways to help; and a gorilla adoption promotion. EnviroKids has also paid special attention to making the new box easy for children to read. Fossey Fund staff were pleased to help write both the original text and the updated version.

*Beautiful New Box!!*

     Nature’s Path, an environmentally friendly organic cereal manufacturer, produces the EnviroKidz line of cereals geared to children. One percent of the sales of each box of EnviroKidz cereal benefits non-profit organizations that support endangered species and habitat conservation and environmental education for children. All the boxes display educational copy as well as games and jokes related to the featured animal.

The independently run company was founded in Vancouver, Canada by the Stephens family, who are committed to supporting a sustainable environment through their business.  Leaders in their field, the Stephens family opened the first certified organic cereal manufacturing facility in North America. Nature’s Path now sells its products in more than 42 countries.                          

                                                                                                                         

     “We have been working with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund for over 10 years, and we are inspired by what they have been able to do for the endangered mountain gorillas of Africa,” says Nature’s Path’s Sustainability Manager Jayson Boyce. “Our funds have supported research and education in Africa that directly benefits both gorillas and humans, and we are proud to be partners with the Fossey Fund.”

*A Picture I Took When I Visited Uganda In 2010*

     Nature’s Path has supported the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International since 2001. They began by giving a small gift and featuring the Fund’s gorilla adoption program on the Gorilla Munch box, which raised almost $100,000 by 2010. Their contributions grew over the years to include a Giving Back Award in 2009 which supported conservation education in schools near Volcanoes National Park; internships at the Fossey Fund’s Karisoke Research Center for biology students from the National University of Rwanda; and programs at the community-based Tayna Center for Conservation Biology (TCCB) in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They have also supported the expansion of a Disney Company-designed conservation education program which the Fossey Fund offers to primary schools near the park; the revival of environment clubs at secondary schools near the park; and the Fossey Fund’s annual hosting of a gorilla trek for local community leaders, which has led to community members becoming actively involved in helping to protect the park.

     In 2011, Nature’s Path selected the Fossey Fund as one of a small group of organizations that would receive at least $20,000 per year for three years for special projects without having to compete for the grant each year, which has made planning easier. During the past couple of years, Nature’s Path’s support has made it possible for the environment clubs' programs to expand to include:

• a Citizen Science initiative which trains secondary school students to conduct their own field research
• a special coloring book for younger children
• a nature walk program for at-risk youth who are not in school
• a film program for the communities around the park
• production of a conservation-themed radio drama for airing on TCCB’s student-run station.

     “Nature’s Path has set a great example of a responsible corporate citizen through their long-term commitment to saving endangered species, especially through conservation education,” says Fossey Fund President and CEO Clare Richardson. “We hope the new box with its engaging design and text will inspire a new generation to support gorilla conservation.”

xoxo

nicole

Every Egg Counts!!

My fav Guatemalan conservation organization, ARCAS, is starting a campaign to help reconstruct two hatcheries that will house Olive Ridley and Leatherback Sea Turtle eggs for their 2013 turtle nesting season.  I volunteered with ARCAS back in 2009 and had such a wonderful experience protecting the turtles and their eggs against the countless poachers!  Please read below and share with all of your family and friends!! :)

Campaign Overview

Support sea turtle conservation in the rural town of Hawaii, Guatemala by helping to build a secure hatchery for sea turtle eggs.

Our Goal

Help us save leatherback and olive ridley sea turtle eggs and hatchlings in Guatemala by helping us build a new hatchery!

Our Background

Despite their endangered status, virtually all sea turtle nests in Guatemala are poached and the eggs sold as a supposed aphrodisiac. This practice has contributed to the decline of leatherback and olive ridley populations in the Pacific Ocean. To counter this, the government established an egg donation system whereby local egg collectors are allowed to harvest nests as long as they donate a dozen eggs per nest to a local hatchery, and that is where ARCAS (the Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Association) comes in! With the help of international volunteers, ARCAS solicits donations of sea turtle eggs from local collectors, reburies them in one of its two hatcheries and after an incubation period of roughly 50 days, releases the hatchlings into the sea.

Your Contribution

Now this is where you come in! ARCAS’s main Hawaii Hatchery is over 18 years old, severely deteriorated by the wind and salt blowing off the Pacific Ocean, and is in urgent need of reconstruction. The hatchery can no longer accommodate the growing numbers of eggs that ARCAS collects and is no longer a secure place to incubate eggs. Holes in the protective fencing and the walls of the hatchery allow predators to get inside the hatchery and steal precious eggs and hatchlings.

Help us raise the money we need to build a proper and secure hatchery! Your donation will have a direct conservation effect, ensuring the survival of the endangered sea turtle eggs and hatchlings of the beaches of Hawaii!

Important Note! 

Because there is no PayPal service in Guatemala, our friends at the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST) have kindly offered to act as our fiscal sponsor for this campaign by allowing us to use their PayPal account to process payments.

Both WIDECAST and ARCAS are nonprofit organizations so your donation is tax deductible (in the US). Please feel free to email us at arcasguatemala@gmail.com with any questions.

Tipping Point Goal: $2,500

Total Funding Goal: $6,800

How your money will be used: 

$2,500 covers the most essential materials that will allow us to start building the initial structure for the hatchery: all the cinder blocks, fencing, cement, and wood.

$3,400 covers all of the costs of building one hatchery including labor and transportation costs.

$6,800 covers all of the costs of building two hatcheries including materials, labor, and transportation costs.

If we were lucky enough to raise even more, we would use additional funds to rebuild ARCAS’s third hatchery in the fishing village of El Rosario, 6kms to the east of Hawaii. Additional funds could also go to building educational exhibits or to covering the salary of a hatchery manager.

Materials	Total Price
Blocks	Q3,330.00
Cement	Q1,850.00
Sand	Q950.00
Wood (3/8")	Q825.00
Wood (1/4")	Q399.00
Wire	Q100.00
Plastic fencing	Q6,400.00
Door	Q1,200.00
Labor	Q7,000.00
Transportation	Q4,000.00
TOTAL Quetzales	Q26,054.00
TOTAL $	$3,383.64