Rare’s Senior Vice President of Global Programs, Paul Butler, continues to blog about the most recent graduates of the Rare Pride program. Here he focuses on Feria Narcisse-Gaston of St. Lucia and the symbol of her Pride campaign, the Saint Lucia Iguana.
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Feria in her native Saint Lucia, known to some as the “land where the iguanas are found.”
Much of the previous week had seen the seven graduating Pride campaign managers preparing for the evening’s graduation event. They had returned to the University of Kent at Canterbury in the UK from “the four corners of the earth” with samples of their Pride materials and data collected from their post-project surveys. Under the guidance of our Pride program managers, the materials were reviewed and then each campaign manager was given training on presentation techniques.
Cathleen, who led the Mauritius Pride campaign, competently kicked off the evening and introduced each graduating Pride campaign manager. She talked about how similar, yet diverse they all were. The seven come from three oceans — the Pacific: Palau, Guam and CNMI; the Atlantic/Caribbean: Saint Lucia and the Bahamas; and The Indian Ocean: Mauritius. And, with the exception of Olivia, they are all from islands. Olivia is from Belize – but with its small population, and being completely surrounded by Spanish-speaking territories, it is an island all the same, even if it’s not completely encircled by the sea. The returning students are also all women and all have faced challenges in reaching out to their communities.
The Pride campaign managers then presented their work. Each described one step in the campaign planning and implementation process, using their own work as an example, and drew upon the experience of the others as well.
First to present was Feria Narcisse-Gaston from Saint Lucia who stepped up to the podium and spoke about the planning phase, one of the first parts of the Pride campaign. Having spent half my life in Saint Lucia, where I served as Conservation Advisor to the Forestry Department, I was all too aware of the complexities around her site in the northwest part of the island.
Her campaign focused on the dry littoral woodlands and beaches around the regions of Grand Anse and Louvet. These seemingly desolate areas are “off the beaten track,” and difficult to access by road. Yet, they have attracted the eyes of developers for many decades. With their long sandy beaches they are also areas where legal and illegal sand mining take place. More importantly, they are also home to a rich array of unique biodiversity: the Saint Lucia Wren, the Semper’s Warbler; the Rufus Nightjar, White-breasted Thrasher and the Saint Lucia Blackfinch. The beaches are the principal nesting site of the magnificent Leatherback Turtle and linking the terrestrial and shore biomes is the Saint Lucia Iguana – a species that feeds in the dry woodland forest, but lays its eggs in the warm beach sand. It was this species that Feria had chosen as her flagship species. Listen to Feria’s campaign song about the Saint Lucia Iguana!
Feria Narcisse-Gaston works for the Forestry Department and introduced her site by talking of the cultural importance of the iguana. Hewanorra, Saint Lucia’s original name, means “land where the iguanas are found.” The island came upon this name because of the iguana’s abundance at the time of the arrival of Carib Indians. Today, the species is gravely endangered, clinging on in remote dry areas like Grand Anse.
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The Saint Lucia Iguana, the symbol of Feria’s Pride campaign.
Feria’s pre-project survey showed that people living around the site were totally unaware of the threats facing the area and of the legal status afforded to the iguana. Her campaign would strive to build this awareness in the hope that people would then speak up when development is proposed and recognize the environmental and economic value of northwest Saint Lucia.
Feria talked of the materials she had produced: posters, costumes, songs, comics and bumper stickers and how awareness of her key messages has increased significantly. Understanding of threats has risen greatly and knowledge as to the legal status of the Saint Lucia Iguana and other protected wildlife increased from 48 percent (pre-project) to 81percent (post project). Along with her colleagues, Feria recognizes that changing knowledge and attitudes is only the first step in reducing threats and generating sustainable conservation results. The changed attitudes must now be harnessed and used to argue passionately for sustainable development that brings jobs to local people, and which protects the land for water, wood, and wildlife, and not simply for the few who can afford a beach-side condominium.
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Feria’s mascot greets children in Saint Lucia.
Feria’s presentation and the photos of her site, reminded me just how much I miss Saint Lucia. Next up was Olivia from Belize…
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