On March 20, 2012, EcoViva’s Program & Policy Director, Nathan Weller, spoke at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) national headquarters in Washington, D.C.. Nathan’s presentation is called “Bay of Jiquilisco – Central America’s Best Kept Secret.”
This year for the first time, the marine turtle programs at both the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Fish and Wildlife Federation will be supporting EcoViva’s conservation efforts in the Bay of Jiquilisco. The funding will support joint efforts to protect sea turtle habitat by working with our local partners at Mangrove Association and our allies at the Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative (ICAPO) to reduce blast fishing and promote sustainable fishing cooperatives throughout the Bay of Jiquilisco.
Nathan’s presentation went beyond sea turtle issues to discuss the very rich biodiversity of the Bay of Jiquilisco, and the broader environmental challenges this area is facing, including new development projects proposed by the Millenium Challenge Corporation. The presentation was broadcast to staff at the FWS headquarters in D.C., and livestreamed on the agency’s website. We have posted the video presentation (which is lengthy) and beautiful presentation slides for those interested.
A day later, EcoViva Advisory Board Member Sharon “Sher” Davidson gave a presentation on EcoViva’s work to community members in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Sher, an artist and novelist from Portland, OR, goes regularly to San Miguel to find inspiration for her work. She and her husband Gary have organized groups of artists from Oregon to go to El Salvador to work with our youth programs. Over the years, they have also organized many events in support of EcoViva.
At her presentation, Sher shared our Introduction, Protecting the Mangroves, and Guardecurso videos, and spoke about our projects and community empowerment tours. A women in the audience was particularly moved by Sher’s presentation because she is from El Salvador and her sister resides in the coast of Usulután where EcoViva’s partners work.
We were inspired to see how in the span of twenty-four hours, EcoViva’s work reached audiences from Washington D.C. to San Miguel de Allende in Mexico.
We are very grateful to Sher and to our many supporters who are planning events and presentations for EcoViva in the coming months in cities as diverse as Santa Fe (New Mexico), Bucksport (Maine), Norman (Oklahoma), Olympia (Washington), Saginaw Valley (Michigan), Iowa City and Los Angeles.
Contact us if you would like to spread the word for EcoViva.
