Eleuthera Students Join Protection of the Kirtland Warbler Initiative

Mon, Jan 26th 2015, 11:31 AM

Students throughout South Eleuthera were in for a wild treat last week, as Bahamas National Trust (BNT) Education Officer, Scott Johnson traveled across the island to teach them about the Kirtland’s Warbler. The Kirtland’s Warbler is a bird that spends half of its life in Michigan and the other half in The Bahamas – most notably in Eleuthera.

During his trip, Johnson launched a poster competition for students in Eleuthera, and their fellow students in the state of Michigan, to be published in a 2016 calendar on the Kirtland Warbler, created by the Nature Conservancy.

“Because of its restricted home range and unique habitat requirements, the Kirtland's Warbler has always been a rare bird,” said Portia Sweeting, BNT Director of Education. “The Kirtland’s Warbler competition, and the school visits that our Education Department is conducting, will provide information and educational outreach necessary for the management of this endangered species.”

Johnson visited Eleuthera schools including Windemere, Preston Albury, Tarpum Bay Primary, Rock Sound Primary, Wemyss Bight Primary, Green Castle Primary and Deep Creek Middle School. Students ranged from kindergarten through grade seven and over 300 students participated in the presentations.

The poster competition is going on from now until the end of March, when the BNT Education department will collect the artwork from students in Eleuthera and ship it to Michigan to be added to pictures from competing schools there. Twelve winners will be selected to be a part of the 2016 Kirtland Warbler calendar.

“The BNT is very pleased to be able to contribute to conservation in this creative way,” said Sweeting. “Our huge thanks to the Nature Conservancy for their funding support to this initiative and to our members who make this all possible. We are very excited to see the work our children will be creating.”

The BNT Education department is incredibly proud to offer lessons on the environment and wildlife outside of their ongoing Discovery Club and Fieldtrip programmes, which teach over 10,000 students annually. The BNT will be posting pictures of the submitted work on Facebook before they go to the completion. Please visit their page to learn more on the BNT programmes and how you can get involved.

The Bahamas National Trust was created by an Act of Parliament in 1959 to build and manage the national park system of the Bahamas. Possibly the only non-governmental organization in the world charged with such a responsibility the TRUST, as it is commonly known works daily to conserve and protect the natural resources of The Bahamas, through stewardship and education for present and future generations. There are currently 27 National Parks managed by the TRUST with more than 1 million acres of marine and terrestrial areas protected. Website: http://www.bnt.bs/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bahamas-National-Trust/25034035861?ref=hl

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