ILCW Note: One of the major objectives of all of us who work as environmental writers is to teach younger people about the land and the environment. Thought you might enjoy this message from Bittu Sahgal, the editor of Sanctuary Asia.

LAST WORD
IT IS EASIER TO BUILD STRONG CHILDREN
THAN TO REPAIR BROKEN MEN

That stark sentence from Frederick Douglass more or less sums up the raison de etre of Cub magazine, launched soon after Sanctuary Asia began publication in 1981. Not satisfied with reaching conservation message to children through print alone, the Sanctuary team, headed by Noel de Sa, an educationist, Anish Andheria, a remarkable wildlifer and I, combined heads and hearts to launch Kids for Tigers, a programme fashioned around the proposition that children exposed to nature will grow up to be adults that will respect and protect nature.

At the time, in 1999, Sunil Alagh, (see his article below) a long time friend who headed a company that manufactured "Tiger" biscuits, sat me down and worked out a straightforward strategy: "Don't make Kids for Tigers boring... no long lectures. Don't give teachers even one hour of more work to do... in fact see how you can save them time. Don't charge schools anything... get the money from your sponsors. Do bring nature into schools through slide shows and films. Do strengthen school nature clubs. Do involve children's guardians and make them a part of your massive campaign to save the tiger. Do take the most enthusiastic and intelligent kids and teachers out on nature walks and camps. That's it. Do this, your job is done."

We followed his advice. Ten years later, looking back, we realise we have touched over five million kids, taken over 50,000 children out on nature walks. Mentored over 1,000 Tiger Ambassadors, capable of explaining at least one simple rationale for protecting tigers to adults: "We cannot save the tiger, without saving its forests. If we save the forest we save every creature residing therein, plus the sources of over 600 of India's purest rivers. In the process, the forest will sequester and store carbon and help us fight off some of the worst impacts of climate change."

Today many of the kids we mentored are young men and women in whom the seeds of nature appreciation have been sowed. Perhaps over 70 per cent of Sanctuary's financial and intellectual resources are dedicated to the proposition that reaching conservation message to young India, (plus the two parents / guardians that normally come bundled with them!) is the finest way to build strong children, so that tomorrow’s conservationists do not have to go through the painful process we must go through today -- repairing broken men.         --Bittu Sahgal

Ana Dominguez (USA) Founding Fellow
Dominguez has a BA in international relations, with a special focus on foreign economy and the environment, from the Universidad Iberoamericana. Her passion regarding all environmental-related topics began with an internship at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Mexico (Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores) and for two years was part of the Dirección General de Desarrollo Humano, Social y Sustentable of the Proyecto Mesoamérica at the Subsecretaria para América Latina y el Caribe. Dominguez is an official voluntary spokesperson regarding Climate Change since her training in 2009. She was also involved with WILD 9 and oversaw several special projects i.e. the Wilderness Stamp Series, and the full-size rubber elephant Nombkhubulwane to name a few. Currently she is content manager for www.climatedeal.org , and also writes a blog in Spanish, www.tierrasilvestre.org/ , concerning environmental issues. Dominquez is the new manager of the corporate commitment to wilderness (CCW) for The WILD Foundation.


Rodrigo Martinez de Arredondo Bolio (Mexico) Associate
Martinez de Arredondo, a med-school student, has been concerned since youth about the protection of nature, especially the sea. He recently wrote the book El Secreto de un Gran Descubridor (The Secret of a Great Discoverer), about a man who discovers Atlantis and decides to live in the aquatic world where nature is protected for the survival of all. The man is tired of living above water, where the people do not respect nature and its destruction seems eminent. Martinez de Arredondo is from Merida, Mexico. His major interest is in protecting the cenotes (underground fresh water pools and rivers) and educating people about their importance.


Michael McBride (USA) Associate
Michael has been writing conservation articles for over 30 years, starting in 1978 with The Alaska Fishing and Hunting Magazine, and most recently with an article in the International Journal of Wilderness. He was a panel member of nature and conservation writers at the 9th World Wilderness Congress in Merida, Mexico 2009. Michael has lectured internationally on wilderness topics and has appeared on PBS radio, CNBC, and was interviewed in the New York Times. Currently he is working on a book about Alaska’s wild coast. http:alaskawildernesslodge.com/vision.htm

Breaking News!  Major New Highway Threatens Serengeti Ecosystem
Written Articles needed (see below)

It's been called the greatest threat in the Serengeti's history — The government of Tanzania has approved a major commercial highway across the northern part of Serengeti National Park (red line) in the direct path of ancient wildlife migration routes.



ILCW Fellow Boyd Norton learned about this on a recent trip to Tanzania and was one of the founders of the Stop the Serengeti Highway Facebook page. You may contact Boyd directly for further updated information on how you can help. (boydn@earthlink.net)


Key points:

• The Serengeti National Park and surrounding ecosystem are home to one of the greatest animal migrations on earth. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and represents nearly half of Tanzania’s one billion dollars in foreign exchange.
• Wildlife researchers, ecologists, and environmental organizations warn that the highway will have devastating impact on the migration of more than 2 million wildebeests, zebras and other species.
• Heavy truck traffic will result in:
  • loss of wildlife and human life through accidents.
  • fragmentation of habitat and alteration of water and soil systems.
  • increased introduction of animal disease and alien plant life.
  • increased poaching by organized gangs.
• The northern section of the Park, where the highway is planned, is a critical area for wildebeest, which use it as a refuge for much of the year.  A highway will bring development and subsequent human migration.
• Scientists and conservationists warn that net effect would alter and possibly eliminate the annual wildlife migration. The Serengeti National Park would certainly be placed on the UNESCO World Heritage in Danger List as the road itself would cease to be part of the Park, cutting it in two parts.
• Travel industry experts from around the world have warned that the resulting changes in the Serengeti and the migration would damage Tanzania’s image and seriously harm its tourist industry. If highway construction were started, they warn of a possible boycott of tourism to Tanzania by world travelers.
• A good alternative exists: A southern route (see map) would completely bypass the Serengeti and provide much more economic benefit to towns and villages along the route.
• The number of people served and benefiting from the northern route would be about 431,000. The number of people served and benefiting from the alternate southern route would be about 2,278,000 more than 5 times that of the damaging northern route. (source: Frankfurt Zoological Society)
• The amount of tarmac road required for the southern route would actually be less than the route through the Park. (source: Frankfurt Zoological Society)
• Funding for this project has not been identified. Some sources indicate that the Tanzania government itself would pay the estimated one-half billion dollars of the cost.  If so, this investment would benefit very few people compared to the alternate route while damaging Tanzania’s overall tourism potential.

Needed: articles written on this subject and published in magazines, blogs, websites, etc. around the world.

Links

Website with more information
www.savetheserengeti.org/issues/stop-the-serengeti-highway/

Online Petition for the Travel Industry
http://www.change.org/petitions/view/travel_industry_against_the_serengeti_highway

Online petition for individuals
www.change.org/petitions/view/stop_the_serengeti_highway

Facebook Page
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/STOP-THE-SERENGETI-HIGHWAY/125601617471610?ref=ts

Tyler Finley (Canada) Academic
Finley is a professional writer focused on developing environmental education materials for youth; encouraging young people to develop an active interest in biodiversity and issues pertaining to biodiversity loss, from climate change to habitat degradation. He has also researched and written about conservation issues for the Robert Bateman Get to Know Program, raising awareness about conservation issues and allowing youth to take part in hands-on learning about wildlife in Canada. Finley organized a major environmental conference (June 2010) and a coast-to-coast BioBlitz campaign. The BioBlitz provided tens of thousands of youth with vital opportunities to develop their understanding of biodiversity, working side-by-side with conservation experts from Parks Canada, Nature Canada, and other organizations. In addition his work Finley also addresses sustainability and new techniques for reducing the impact of the wine industry on wildlife and local ecology. Finley assisted in the creation of a UBC report to improve planting and harvesting techniques in the British Columbia wine industry (ultimately applicable to vineyards across the world).


Till Meyer (Germany) Founding Fellow
Meyer was born in Bayreuth, Germany, and is a resident to Bavarian capital of Munich. For most of his career Meyer wrote for special interest magazines about nature, wildlife and hunting. Ever since 1997 he gave special attention to wilderness matters. One of his more widely recognized wilderness projects was an initiative that put the Bavarian State Ballet into the Wilderness of the Bavarian National Parks. This initiative resulted in different dance performances and also a movie, which Meyer directed. He has also produced and directed an educational movie about conservation and the return of large carnivores to Germany. His book writing endeavors include a children’s book about wildlife and compiling the German edition of World Changing--A Users Guide to the 21st Century. Meyer’s long lasting ambition is to bring Aldo Leopold’s heritage to Germany, which in 1992 resulted in the German edition of Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac. In his works Meyer strives to render the beautiful intricacies of wild nature to broader audiences, hoping always to heed the warning of Aldo Leopold: In our attempt to make conservation easy, we have made it trivial. A link to Meyer’s ballet in the wilderness film:
http://www.wild.org/video/ballett-und-wildnis-ballet-and-wilderness-a-film-by-till-meyer-14-mins/


Ted Williams (USA) Founding Fellow
Williams has been writing full time on environmental issues, with special attention to fish and wildlife conservation, since 1970. In addition to freelancing for national magazines, he contributes regular feature-length conservation columns to Audubon and Fly Rod & Reel where he serves as editor-at-large and conservation editor respectively. Williams was presented with the Conservation Achievement Award by the National Wildlife Federation, received the Federal Wildlife Officers Association award for his conservation writing, and the Aldo Leopold Award for “outstanding contributions to fisheries and land ecology” by the Federation of Fly Fishers. He has been named to the Jade of Chiefs--the highest conservation award given by the Outdoor Writers Association of America. And for his reporting on federal forest-fire policy the American Society of Magazine Editors voted Audubon one of five finalists in the National Magazine Awards.

Nature has lost a friend and advocate—Les Line, a Founding Fellow of the International League of Conservation Writers passed away May 23.  Line was the longest-serving editor of Audubon magazine from 1966 to 1991, and is credited for evolving the publication into “...the most beautiful magazine in the world...” (New York Times). Line had written, edited or photographed more than 30 books on nature and conservation. His honors include a doctorate in literature from Bucknell University and being named a fellow of the Rhode Island School of Design. He was accorded the Jade of Chiefs Award from the Outdoor Writers Association of America; the Hal Borland Award from the Audubon Society; and was named one of 100 heroes of the American conservation movement during the 20th century. We will miss him greatly.

For more information: http://magblog.audubon.org/node/58

Neil Losin (USA) Associate
Losin has been interested in nature his whole life, and an avid birder since childhood. An internationally known, award-winning photographer, Losin also has written for nature and science related magazines and books. A Ph.D. candidate in UCLA's department of ecology and evolutionary biology, Losin strongly believes in using writing and photography to engage the public in scientific and environmental issues.

Boyd Norton (USA)—has been photographing and working to save wilderness worldwide for more than 43 years and is the author and/or photographer of fourteen books. His work has been featured in most major magazines in the United States and Europe. Norton, a conservationist, has testified before the US Congress on behalf of park legislation and was a major factor in establishing the Jedediah Smith Wilderness Area, the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, and the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area in the United States.

Rajeev Raghavan (India) Academic
Raghavan has been writing popular articles as well as research papers on freshwater fish conservation and management in the local, national and international arena since 2000. Currently there are 45 publications to his credit which include 15 popular articles and 16 research papers (cited in the SCI) apart from book chapters and conference proceedings.

James Brundige (USA) Associate
Thirty years in music and television have taken Brundige from the nightclubs of New York to the Amazon jungle and slopes of Mt. Everest. After studying film scoring at Berklee College of Music in Boston, he moved to New York. By night he played jazz and Latin music; daytimes were spent in recording studios and edit suites. At the same time Brundige was able to indulge in his love of the outdoors by shooting adventure and science films. Film expeditions included exploratory rafting, mountaineering in Alaska, the Andes and Himalayas, canoeing in the Amazon, and skiing in Antarctica. Brundige has shot and edited for PBS, BBC, NBC, ABC, BBC, Turner, Fox, Discovery, and National Geographic. Since moving to Colorado in 1994, he has focused on environmental documentaries. Most recently Forever Wild: Celebrating America's Wilderness--tells the tales of citizens who have decided what wilderness means to them and have dedicated time and energy in helping to protect these lands they love.

Dave Foreman (USA) Founding Fellow
Foreman was raised and trained in a very conservative family. He started working in the environmental field, first with the Wilderness Society and then with the Nature Conservancy. In 1980, convinced that current environmental organizations were not doing enough, he cofounded the radical environmental movement Earth First. He is now executive director of The Rewilding Institute. Among his writings, Foreman is the author of The Lobo Outback Funeral Home, a novel; Confessions of an Eco-Warrior; a collection of essays; and Rewilding North America: A Vision for Conservation in the 21st Century. He also co-authored The Big Outside with Howie Wolke.

Linda Hasselstrom (USA) Founding Fellow
Born in Texas, Linda Hasselstrom moved to South Dakota when she was four. She is a rancher, a writer, a teacher, and an environmentalist. Hasselstrom has written for newspapers, founded a magazine, and edited anthologies of the writings of other women. Her poetry and her essays have been widely praised and won her many awards, including the South Dakota Author of the Year award, National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in poetry, and a South Dakota Arts Council literature fellowship. In 1990, she became the first woman to win a Western American Writer award from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She conducts writing retreats at her ranch home, Windbreak House, in western South Dakota.

Mike Anderson (USA) Associate
Anderson had earned several awards for writing and producing advertising campaigns since 1977. Now he’s more interested in writing to help preserve and conserve natural places. Anderson publishes two blogs: CleanUpTheRiver.com and FootprintsAndPhotographs.com. Anderson is a firm believer that the power of writing can be very effective in wilderness preservation. Using his writing and photographs he is sure that if someone is introduced to the charm, character, and beauty of a place, they are less likely to abuse, and more likely to preserve it.

Kate Harris (Canada) Associate
Harris is a young wilderness conservationist, writer, adventurer, and photographer who has explored and written about some of the harshest places on all seven continents, with a focus on life at high latitudes and high altitudes. Harris studied biology and geology as an undergraduate Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina. Then attended the University of Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship, writing her Master's thesis on transboundary conservation and conflict resolution, with a focus on the Siachen glacier dispute. Earning a second Master's degree in earth and planetary sciences at MIT. Now a freelance writer, with feature articles published in The Explorers Journal, Wend Magazine, and Outpost Magazine, among other publications. Harris is also an environmental and biodiversity reporter for the Earth Negotiations Bulletin, published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development. She’s a member of the IUCN-WCPA as well as the IUCN Transboundary Conservation Specialist Group. Read about her field research expedition along the Silk Road...by bike at www.cyclingsilk.com.

Diogo Verissimo (UK) Fellow
Verissimo started writing about conservation and biodiversity in 2006, as a contributor to the e-zine of the Portuguese Nature Photography Community. Those contributions sparked his interest and prompted him to engage with the press not only in Portugal, his home country, but also in the different countries where his career as a conservation biologist had taken him. In Portugal, he became a regular contributor to the magazine Parks and Wildlife and other publications such as Pardela the magazine of the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds. In 2009 Verissimo started his own column on the environment in the Portuguese regional newspaper Voz da minha terra. He is in the process of writing his first book on the professional lives of conservation biologists in the field and has also been published worldwide with the magazines BBC Wildlife in the UK and Zwazo, in the Seychelles, together with the newspaper La Voz de Tortuguero in Costa Rica.

Harvey Locke (Canada) Founding Fellow
Locke is globally known for his work on wilderness, national parks and large landscape conservation from Yellowstone to Yukon and beyond. Named by Time magazine as one of Canada’s leaders for the 21st century, his resume is filled with premier publications, keynote speaking engagements and leadership and advisory roles for some of the most well known organizations in the conservation field. He is now playing a leadership role in a global endeavor to unit efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change with nature. A passionate advocate for wild nature, Locke joined The WILD Foundation in January, 2009 as vice president for conservation strategy. He is also senior adviser for conservation to the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, and strategic advisor to the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative.

Kenton R. Miller (USA) Founding Fellow
Dr. Miller’s list of accomplishments and esteemed positions within the conservation world are nearly un-matched. As an officer of the United National Food and Agriculture Organization, he headed FAO’s Latin American Program on Wildland Management. He authored the first text on park planning for the Spanish-speaking world, developed and taught graduate programs in parks and wildland management at CATIE (Costa Rica) and the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources, and played a significant role in the design and implementation of three World Park Congresses (1982, 1992, and 2003). Dr. Miller also played a significant role in the development of the Global Convention for the Conservation of Biological Diversity (CBD) and held the position of Director General of the IUCN from 1983-1988. He also recently finished his third term as Chair of the WCPA. He is a mentor to many conservation leaders around the world, and is recognized particularly for his energetic promotion of innovation and learning in the field of parks and protected areas.

Marianne D. Wallace (USA) Founding Fellow
Wallace is a natural science educator, writer, and illustrator. Her work has appeared in more than 30 books and publications. She has also been an elementary school science teacher, a writer for the US Forest Service, and a tour guide in at the Los Angeles County Arboretum. Recently she received a Woman of Achievement Award from the YWCA of the San Gabriel Valley. She lives between the Pacific Ocean coastline and the Mojave Desert (an hour’s drive each way) in the foothills of Monrovia, California, with her botanist husband.