Carmabi Newsletter no. 5 Year 2007

5th Year number 2 April-June 2007
Biná
newsletter of the CARMABI foundation
CARMABI Clear Water
Challenge 2007; Ryan
de Jongh kayaks for
nature!
Page 5
New board
members
Page 7
New Activities in
Christoffelpark
Page 12
Save the bats and Cacti of Curaçao!
Urgent call from associate researcher of CARMABI
Dr. Sophie Petit ... page 3
Table of contents
Editors note...
Editors note
2
Nature is taking a breath and a very needed drink from the several
CARMABI news...
3 rainshowers that hit the island in the last couple of weeks. Everything
- Associate researcher Dr. Sophie
is alive again and nature provides us with interesting things to observe.
Petit visits Curaçao... an
Read about all the happenings in the Christoffelpark on page 11 and be
overview of her activities...
3
inspired to take out your own binoculars and camera.
- Meet our new lecture room... 4
It is not only in the wild that everything is growing, flowering
- CARMABI Clear Water
and fruiting. At CARMABI there are some very interesting things
Challenge... join the challenge
to save our natural resources ...5
happening. We are at the beginning and in the middle of several new
- CARMABI helps Klinika Capriles
super exiting projects like the CARMABI Clear Water Challenge,
plant shimaruku trees...
6
where Ryan de Jongh will be attempting an amazing record to kayak
- New members on the CARMABI
around our island. It will be the greatest fundraising campaign
board...
7
CARMABI has ever organized and we are determined, as is Ryan to
- Sponsors...
9
- Hurricane readiness...
10 make this a wonderful happening. Stay tuned for our updates on this.
- Upgrading administrative
capacity...
10
- Summer workshops have met
their expectations...
10
- Regular sightings of the rare
scaly-naped pigeon at Carmabi...11
Christoffel corner...
12
Now that we have a completely equiped lecture room at CARMABI
we are starting to organize more and more activities for the general
public in the form of lectures, talks, presentations and film showings.
We started using it all ready with the presentation by Dr. Sophie Petit
in August and the presentation by Prof. Bruce Fouke in September.
Many presentations will follow so be sure to be up to date.
- Christoffelpark in Brazilian
magazine...
- Special activities in the
Christoffelpark in September,
October, November and
December...
- Introducing two new interns...
- Museum Savonet... an update...
- Raindrops work their magic...
- News in a flash...
Of course we did not want to deprive you of the work of Dr. Sophie
Petit who has been doing very important research on the bats and
cactus relationships on the island. She has a lot to say, and in this letter
you will find the first of the “scripts” she wrote for the newsletter. In
12 the next edition we will publish more information about her research
13 results. Enjoy an overview of her activities on page 3.
Advertisement...
16
12
13
14
15 And do not forget to read the update on the Museum Savonet project.
Particulars for this edition:
Photography:
Mrs. M. da Costa Gomez
Mr. L. Pors
Mrs. Dr. S. Petit
Mr. Drs. J. de Freitas
Design:
Mrs. M. da Costa Gomez
Editors:
Mrs. M. da Costa Gomez
Mr. L. Pors
Mr. Dr. A. Debrot
Interesting things keep happening around this huge project that you do
not want to miss.
We do hope that you will enjoy this very varied newsletter, the third
one of this year. And do not hesitate to contact us if you have any
questions!
Enjoy and we will meet you again in
our next newsletter!
Cover Photo:
Leptonycteris nivalis curasoae
Photo by: L. Pors
2
The editors.
CARMABI news
Associate researcher Dr. Sophie Petit visits Curaçao... an overview of her activities
By: Dr. Sophie Petit
I came to Curaçao for the first
time in December 1990, to
investigate projects for my PhD
research. I came back in the
summer of 1991 to do pilot work
on grazing interactions among
deer, goats, and donkeys, but
somehow ended up working on
bats. The importance of bats and
cacti to the Curaçao ecosystem
seemed significant and both
organisms had irresistible charm.
I was hooked. I completed my
PhD field work between 1992
and 1994, defended my thesis in
November 1994, and graduated
officially the next year, although
I could not attend my own
graduation, since I was in Mexico,
working on bats and cacti!
For too many years I did not
come back to Curaçao. I worked
as a geneticist in Miami, got a
post-graduate business degree in
France, worked with Aboriginal
people in Australia, then moved
permanently to Australia and
worked as a Conservation Officer
for the Great Barrier Reef Marine
Park in the Whitsundays, before
moving on to the University of
South Australia, where I am a
Senior Lecturer in the Program
of Biodiversity, Environmental
and Park Management. I teach
courses in ecology, conservation
biology, wildlife ecology, research
statistics, and I do research on
all sorts of fascinating Australian
animals and plants. I was able
to come back to Curaçao in 2003
for a few weeks, and completed
with Anna Rojer and Leon Pors a
major study on the status of bats
on the island. Leon and I also
started other projects, giving me
a good excuse to come back this
year.
This time I spent a month at
CARMABI (19 July-19 August),
working hard, but I was in the
office too much. I cherish the
long hot days in the sun looking
up at cactus flowers, followed
by exhausting nights looking up
at bats. Someone has to do it!
My colleagues Leon, Anna, and
I completed another bat survey.
This information, along with
surveying technique knowledge, is
to be presented at the International
Bat Conference in Merida,
Mexico, on the 23rd of August,
since Hurricane Dean spared us.
Leon and I finished gathering
the data for our paper on the
consumption of cactus fruits
by birds and on the growth and
recruitment of cacti. Finding
the time to write the paper is
another story, but at least the data
have been analysed. Anna and
I are also preparing a project on
the viability of cactus seeds at
different stages of consumption by
birds. Fruits are targeted by birds
before they are ripe and it is likely
that when most fruits are eaten,
few seeds are viable, creating a
problem for the recruitment of
cacti (growth of seedlings).
I was very happy to have a great
audience at my presentation on
the interdependence between
bats and cacti on the 15th of
August. It is now up to all those
who attended to carry the flag! I
should say: the flags. The talk
covered an introduction to the
bats and cacti of Curaçao, a crash
course in genetics and pollination,
and a scary section on the threats
to bats and cacti. A positive
3
“Sophie Petit during her presentation at
CARMABI last August 15th”
“Leon Pors and Anna Rojer at the
beginning of a bat status count in a local
cave”
“Cactus flower bud of the Kadushi cactus
(Subpilocereus repandus)”
CARMABI news
note was that everyone was
enthusiastic about preserving bats
and cacti. In view of the threats
to these organisms, I wrote short
documents for information to the
general public and government
organisations. The documents
I wrote on the importance of
bats and cacti to Curaçao will be
presented in the next newsletters.
An exciting part of my stay
involved starting the book on
the bats of Aruba, Bonaire, and
Curaçao, co-authored by Leon
and Anna. The draft is looking
good, but it will still take many
months to get a finished product,
especially since I have more than
a full-time job in Australia. We
plan to write the book in English
“Sophie during her stay in 2003, analyzing and Papiamentu. It will introduce
a Pteronautus species which up till then was the public to the bats of the
never identified as such”
ABC islands, to their role in the
ecosystem, and to our relationship
with bats. It will not simply be a
species guide; it will also be full
of other interesting information.
Oh, and WE ARE LOOKING
FOR SPONSORS!
Once again it has been a privilege
to enjoy the nature of Curaçao,
the company of my wonderful
colleagues, and the hospitality of
CARMABI. CARMABI’s role
in nature conservation must be
supported; conservation is our
right and our duty. Without a
body equipped to conserve our
beautiful nature, we will suffer
tragic consequences. With vibrant
research and adequate support,
CARMABI can work towards
the education of the public and
the conservation of our precious
resources. I leave the island with
sadness, but with many projects
that will require my visit in the
years to come. T’aworo!
In our next newsletter we will publish two articles by Dr. Petit about the importance of bats and cacti for the
Curaçaoan ecology.
Meet the new lecture room at CARMABI
In the whole process of change
that CARMABI has been in since
August last year, one thing was
always obvious: we were in need
of a multifunctional room apt for
meetings, courses, workshops and
presentations.
The biggest existing room was the
former director’s office and the
choice to convert this room into
this mentioned multifunctional
room was very easy. Thanks to the
sponsoring of S.E.L. Maduro &
Sons (Curaçao) NV we were able
to furnish the room and prepare it
for its multifunctions.
It has already been used for the
Summer courses and several
meetings and presentations.
A good choice it was!
4
CARMABI news
CARMABI Clear Water Challenge.... join the challenge to save our natural resources!
Ryan de Jongh kayaks around
Curaçao!
Ryan de Jongh, well known for
his long running program on
TV11 called Caribe Awe, and
of course for his amazing sports
endeavors, will be featuring his
newest challenge: Kayaking
around the island in 50 hours! A
new record for him!
Help the CARMABI foundation
and become a sponsor!
Ryan’s and CARMABI’s goal
is to raise 100.000 guilders for
the development of the Curaçao
Marine Park Research and
Visitors Center. To raise this
quantity we need sponsors to
sponsor kilometers. It is also
possible to donate funds for this
project.
CARMABI total awareness
weekend; kayaking for nature.
With his attempt Ryan wants to
raise public awareness for the
importance of nature conservation
on our island, hence to raise
100.000 guilders in funds for the
devolopment of a Curaçao Marine
Park Research and Visitors Center
at the CARMABI foundation.
During the challenge on the 17th
and 18th of November while Ryan
is kayaking, a film crew will be
filming his efforts and transmit
these directly on TV11 and
several radio stations. Information
and shots about nature on land
and in the sea will be given during
the transmissions.
Also two competitions will be
organized: a prize contest and a
drawing competition for kids.
Ryan’s route
On the 17th of November
Ryan will kayak out of the St.
Annabaai. The route will be
about 150 kilometers long. Ryan
will be taking short breaks in
order to get medical checkups
and supplies. These will occur at
Playa Kanoa at 10.00 hours in the
morning and at the Northern tip
of Curaçao at 22.00 hrs. After the
last break Ryan will kayak along
the southern coast and arrives
back at the St. Annabaai between
approximately 15.00 and 18.00
hrs. Upon his arrival Ryan will be
giving a press conference at the
Plaza Hotel.
During the whole attempt Ryan
will be accompanied by three
crafts to ensure his safety and
provide continuous filming
opportunities.
Sponsoring conditions
Check our website at www.
carmabi.org for the sponsoring
conditions and downloadable
sponsoring contracts.
Drawing Competition
For all the kids between 8 and
12 years we are organizing a
drawing competition. Draw and
color a scene from the local
underwater world with fishes,
corals and any other animal or
plant that lives there and send
your drawing (minimum format
A4, no maximum), to CARMABI
before the 10th of November, to
the attention of mrs. M. da Costa
Gomez. Don’t forget to write your
name, address, telephone number,
e-mail address and age on the
back of your drawing.
Send your drawing to:
CARMABI foundation
Clear Water Challenge Drawing
Competition
P.O.Box 2090
Curaçao, or deliver it personally
at the CARMABI offices.
5
“Ryan during one of his training
sessions, visiting Caracasbay”
Help the CARMABI
foundation and become
a sponsor!
Join the CARMABI
Clear Water Challenge
2007 on November 17
and 18 and give a hand
to protect nature on
our island.
CARMABI news
A professional jury consisting of
the well known artists Annemieke
Dicke, Marja Tukker and Ashley
Mauricio, will select the five
winning drawings. The prizes are
complete snorkel sets! Moreover
a selection of all the drawings
received, will be displayed in the
Christoffelpark museum.
Price Competition
Check our website at www.
carmabi.org and look for the
question that has to be answered.
Send your answer by email to
[email protected] or post it to the
address of CARMABI mentioned
under the drawing competition.
Make sure the envelope is closed
properly and mention name,
address, telephone number, email
address and age under your
answer.
From the correct answers we will
extract 5 winners who will be able
to enjoy a guided snorkel tour by
the Marine park manager.
Bank accounts
For donations and sponsoring for
this challenging event you can use
the following bank accounts:
Banco di Caribe:
01-509-242890-01
MCB bank: 22.83.16.06
Please mention the following
when transferring your
contribution: CARMABI Clear
Water Challenge, sponsoring
CARMABI foundation.
Stay tuned for our regular updates concerning the CARMABI Clear Water Challenge 2007
Carmabi helps Klinika Capriles with the greening of the areas around the patient’s houses
(‘Kas Florisol’) on the premises of the institution
“The ripe fruits of the ‘Shimaruku’”
Recently Carmabi planted 20
trees of the West Indian cherry
(“shimaruku”) on the premises of
the Klinika Capriles (KC). These
plants came from Carmabi’s
nursery of indigenous plants at
Piscaderabaai. The “shimaruku”
is one of the plant species with the
highest vitamin C content known
to man. The planting that took
place recently is part of a bigger
project that Carmabi has been
contracted for by the KC and that
entails the planting of a total of
47 trees and 83 shrubs near the
section of patients that live a more
independent life on the premises
of KC (‘Kas Florisol’).
“The planting of the first “shimaruku” tree by André Stoltenborg
(facilities manager Klinika Capriles)
and John de Freitas.”
6
All the 130 plants that will be
used are indigenous plants.
Carmabi has expertise on the
use of indigenous plants for
landscaping and reforestation. The
purpose that KC wants to meet
with the project is that it wants
its patients to rehabilitate in a
familiar surrounding and involve
them in the keeping and watering
of the plants.
The planted “shimaruku” trees
(although still relatively small)
have already produced their first
fruits which have been enjoyed by
the patients and personnel of KC.
Persons or organizations
interested in contracting Carmabi
for landscaping purposes using
indigenous plants can contact drs.
John de Freitas ([email protected])
or tel. 4624242 ext. 16.
CARMABI news
New members on the CARMABI board
During the first three quarters of 2007 we welcomed four new members to the Carmabi board. In
chronological order of their acceptance of board membership these are Peter Bongers, Miguel Goede,
Jeffrey Sybesma and Dito Abbad, all four of whom are well-known and respected members of the local
community. We thank them all for their willingness to serve on the board and are delighted to literally have
them “on board”.
Peter Bongers joined the board
in January 2007 and accepted the
function of treasurer starting in
June. He was born in Apeldoorn
in the Netherlands and took an
early interest in nature. As member of the local scouting he
organized and led many hikes
and summer camps, also in the
surrounding woodlands of the
Veluwe. He studied business
economics and accountancy at
the University of Tilburg and
later served in the Dutch army.
He and his wife (Myriam) and
three children (Bas, Eva and Otto)
moved to Curaçao in 1996 where
he served as auditor with Ernst
and Young for several years and
later became partner of the local
partnership. Seeking a new challenge, in 2005 he accepted the
function of Chief Financial
Officer of Maduro & Curiel’s
Bank N.V. As of 1999 Peter
has also been active for the
Albert Schweitzer school: first as
treasurer of the ‘oudercommissie’
and as from 2002 as treasurer
of the ‘Books-fund’. Peter has
immediately immersed himself in
administration matters of Carmabi
and is intensively coaching the
staff and personnel in their efforts
to upgrade this aspect of the
organization.
Miguel Goede was born in Paramaribo, Surinam, but spent most
of his later youth in Curaçao.
He took an early interest in the
fields of psychology and sociology and in how to achieve results
with people. In 1987 he earned a
master’s degree in political science and public administration
(University of Nijmegen) while
in 2005 he earned a doctorate in
public administration and management from the University of
Tilburg. He and his wife Graciela
have two children (Christopher
and Stephanie) and run their own
consultancy firm. Miguel has a
long and diverse carreer in policy
and management matters and has
served several key functions for
the island government of Curaçao
since 1987. Today he is a faculty
member of the University of the
Netherlands Antilles where he
among others serves as program
coordinator for the program in
Public Administration and General Management. Has been
executing multiple projects in the
Netherlands Antilles in such fields
as interim management, writing
business plans, change management, Governmental organization
subjects, leadership, and tourism
awareness and has authored more
than 17 books, articles and scientific reports and studies on related
subjects. He joined the Carmabi
board in January 2007. During an
informal Carmabi new year’s reception on January 12, he gave an
inspiring presentation on change
management to the Carmabi staff
and board.
7
Peter Bongers, Msc.
RA CIA CFSA
Miguel Goede, Msc.,
Dr.
CARMABI news
New members on the CARMABI board (continued)
Jeff Sybesma, Mr. Msc.
LLM.
Dito Abbad, Ir.
Jeffrey Sybesma was born in
Jakarta, Indonesia but spent most
of his youth in Curaçao. He attended high school at the Maria
Immaculata Lyceum (MIL) in
Willemstad and studied biology
at the University of Utrecht in
the Netherlands, specializing in
marine biology. After serving in
the Dutch armed forces he returned to Curaçao in 1983 to serve
as the manager of the Curaçao
Marine Park and as scientific staff
member of Carmabi. In 1992
he accepted a policy function in
the Department of Public Health
and Hygiene of the Netherlands
Antilles. In 1996 he completed a
law degree at the University of the
Netherlands Antilles (UNA) and
in 1998 accepted a faculty position in the law school there, where
he served as Dean in 2000. As of
2001 he works as head of the legal
department of the Central Bank of
the Netherlands Antilles.
Up to this day he continues as
guest lecturer at the UNA and is
chairman of the board of the law
journal Stichting Tijdschrift Antilliaans Recht-Justicia. Throughout
his career he has published dozens
of scholarly studies and articles on
topics relating to marine biology
and natural resources legislation.
He is married to Verna Garmes
with whom he raises his stepdaughter Shakira.
Dito Abbad was born in Curaçao
and spent his childhood in postwar Willemstad.
He graduated with a masters degree in engineering from the Delft
University of Technology in the
Netherlands in 1971, and returned
to Curaçao to work as an architect, urban designer and development planner.
Dito took an early interest in
nature. His first principal assignment for his studies at Delft was
a plan recommending Savonet as
a national park. The project was
conducted under auspices of the
Curaçao Service of Public Works
(DOW) and Carmabi associate and conservationist, Dr. Jan
Westermann, and gave critical
impetus towards the ultimate government purchase of the Savonet
plantation from the Schotborgh
family and its opening as a nature
park in 1978. He is co-founder
of PLAN’D2, Institute for Planning, Development & Design with
offices in Aruba, Curaçao and
St. Maarten and works as a lead
consultant in projects on regional
planning, strategic planning studies, urban design and planning
and architecture. At times he also
serves as manager of interdisciplinary research and design teams.
His specific fields of expertise
include insular development planning, coaching of government
agencies, conservation policy
studies, development and urban
master planning and urban and
architectural design.
Since 1973 he has been active in
community advocacy and interest
groups, and since 1989 in environmental organizations. Dito is married and has three adult children.
Farewell to two retiring boardmembers in 2007
Two board member retired from their function this year. These are Percy Virginia, attorney at law and
director of Banco di Caribe. who served for five years in the function of Treasurer and board member
Mrs. Joke Curiel, attorney at law. We thank them for their support and efforts on behalf of Carmabi. Both
pledged to continue supporting the foundation behind the scenes. A sincere thanks for your years of input!!
8
CARMABI news
Sponsors
Several companies sponsored CARMABI during the past months for all sorts of projects and general purposes.Here is a list of those who contributed to sustainable management of our natural resources:
S.E.L. Maduro & Sons
(Curaçao) N.V.
The S.E.L. Maduro & Sons
(Curaçao) N.V. represented by mr.
Hugo Meyer is the sole sponsor
of CARMABI’s new lecture room
for the Visitors Center in the first
floor. The company generously
donated Nafl. 6,938.25 for the
entire project. Read more about
this educational center on page 4
in “Meet the new lecture room”.
CARMABI would like to express
its gratitude for this wonderful
contribution. Thanks to S.E.L.
Maduro & Sons (Curaçao)
N.V. we do not only have a
classroom but also a well prepared
educational room in which we
can organize courses like we
did with our most recent Marine
Biology Course and Mariculture
course (during the summer), and
offer presentations and lectures
by our staff, visiting scientists
and associate researchers of
the institute; most recently the
presentation in August by Dr.
Sophie Petit about the importance
of bats and cacti.
DVB Bank America N.V.
HICC office Furniture
The Curaçao Marine Park is
standing on the verge of big
changes.
To start everything off, it is
important to reestablish the basic
infrastructure in the Marine park.
The sponsoring of the DVB Bank
America N.V., represented by
mr. Bote de Vries, will be 30 new
mooring buoys for the different
dive sites in the Marine Park.
With their more than generous
donation of Nafl. 9750 the
mooring buoys can be purchased
and deployed.
Mooring buoys are very important
to avoid mechanical damage to
the coral reef caused by boat
anchors. During the last few years
the mooring system was not kept
in the most adequate condition.
With this financial injection we
are able to reinstate this important
protective measure.
We hereby sincerely thank mr.
de Vries and the DVB Bank
America N.V. for their valuable
contribiution to the protection of
our coral reefs.
A lecture room needs furniture
and chairs are particularly
important. We would like to thank
HICC Office Furniture for their
very generous discount of Nafl.
1125 on the chairs that we bought
from them.
Truus and Daan Rijkers
The Adopt a tree project is still
going strong and several people
find the way to this project to give
a hand and help our reforestation
efforts.
Mrs. and Mr. Truus and Daan
Rijkers are also giving a hand by
adopting 3 rare native trees which
are to be planted in October when
the rainy season is in full swing,
in this way guaranteeing a good
start for the plants.
Thank you very much for your
contribution!
Stichting Sinkuentenario ABN AMRO Trust
We have great news. De Stichting Sinkuentenario ABN AMRO
Trust (a foundation), sponsored the CARMABI foundation with a
fantastic amount of NAF. 25.000 last August. Now that CARMABI
is working very hard to upgrade the laboratory facilities, develop
study and lesson rooms and of course the introduction of the Curaçao
Marine Park Visitor Center, this incredible sponsoring will assist in these
efforts. Thanks to this we can make an effective start to transfer knowledge
about coral reefs to the public through different kinds of methods. And with the equipment we can sustain
several research projects by visiting scientists, work that never finishes and is important to increase our
understanding about our sea’s ecosystems. It therefore is indeed a sustainable contribution to our institute.
We therefore thank the Stichting Sinkuentenario ABN AMRO Trust very very much for their incredible
support and we wish to particularly thank mr. Gosse de Vries (from Equity Trust) and mr. Pim van der Burg
(from FirstCaribbean Bank), respectively the chairman and secretary of this foundation.
9
CARMABI news
Hurricane readiness
Ingvar Debrot showing some of the preparations he helped with in an effort to ready the
institute for the fast-approaching hurricane
Felix (Saturday, 1 September, 2007).
The Carmabi institute represents
more than 50 years of investment
in materials references,
equipment, resources and
scientific infrastructure, much of
it donated. As such it is important
to protect the totality from
potential natural calamities such
as hurricanes. On Friday the 31st
of August it had become clear
that hurricane Felix (category 1
but growing rapidly in strength)
was heading more or less straight
to the the Leeward Dutch islands
and precautionary measures
were called for. On Saturday,
September 1st Stanley Criens and
son Rainier and Dolfi with son
Ingvar spent 4 hours hammering
boards, taping windows, moving
valuable equipment to safe rooms
and putting loose items in windprotected areas. On Friday the
boats had already been moved
into the sheltered Piscadera
Bay and heavy tree branches
that could cause structural
damage to the building had been
sawed down. On the morning
of Sunday, September the 2nd
Felix passed the island at short
distance but fortunately left the
island unscathed. Recent years
have seen several close calls on
hurricanes menacing Curaçao and
in the near future Carmabi will
come with measures to reduce its
vulnerability to hurricane damage,
including the development of a
hurricane protocol.
Upgrading Administrative capacity
A properly functioning
administration is vital to any
organization. To this end
several measures have been
taken this year to reinforce the
organization’s administrative
capabilities. Purchases were made
of a new laptop and scanner for
the administration. New Exact
Globe software was purchased
and our administrator Ella
received two days of training in
its use. Janie de Windt was taken
into temporary service as an
administrative assistant to help
reduce some of the administrative
backlog. She will be with us for at
least several more months. Next
on schedule will be to purchase
and install internal network
capabilities and a program for
the administration of fixed assets
(E-Activa). Special thanks go
to treasurer Peter Bongers for
quite intensively coaching the
administration towards more
effective procedures and for
helping to implement measures
previously recommended by our
auditors. He has spent many hours
together with the administration
towards streamlining working and
reporting procedures.
Summer workshops have met their expectations
Carmabi’s academic program
together with the UNA, opened
in July 2007 with a one-week
workshop on Mariculture and a
ten-day workshop on Tropical
Marine Biology and Environment.
Interest in the workshops came
from the USA, Japan, Europe,
Caribbean countries and Curaçao.
The two workshops were lead by
top scientists and both workshops
were accredited by UNA.
The workshop SUSTAINABLE
MARICULTURE of FISH &
CRUSTACEANS was instructed
by Prof. Dr. Sheenan Harpaz
from Israel. This workshop
aimed at understanding the
interactions between mariculture
and the environment in a manner
that will help the protection of
tropical marine ecosystems while
enabling the production of fish
and crustaceans. Issues addressed
10
were sustainable mariculture
methods, feed inputs and proper
feed utilization to reduce costs and
reduce environmental impacts.
Participants in the workshop
included people from government
services, the private sector and
NGO sector in Curaçao.
The workshop MARINE
BIOLOGY AND
ENVIRONMENT was instructed
by Dr. Sean Lema from the
CARMABI news
Summer workshops have met their expectations (continued)
USA. The workshop was an
intensive introductory program
on tropical marine biology and
covered aspects of the physical
properties of tropical marine
systems, coastal ecosystems
(coral reefs, sea grass habitats and
mangroves), reef fishes (ecology
and behavior), environmental
impacts and conservation, and
field survey methods. Participants
in the workshop included students
of the UNA and local high
schools, Columbia University
(USA), national park staff from
STINAPA-Bonaire, and local
government agencies.
The workshops, their syllabi,
organization, learning conditions
and instructors were highly
scored by the combined total of
21 participants. While the courses
were run at a net financial loss
to Carmabi, they did signify a
great and encouraging kick-off
for the academic and vocational
training program. In 2007 and
2008 Carmabi will conduct and
facilitate at least two courses
of the University of Illinois,
as well as workshops on such
topics as Marine Biology and
Ecology, Mariculture, Aquaculture
Development Planning and Water
Management in Semi-Arid Areas.
Regular sightings of the rare scaly-naped pigeon at Carmabi
For the last two years, including
several times as recent as
September 2007, a number of the
rare scaly-naped pigeon have been
seen during the early morning
hours in the tall manchineel trees
at the institute at Piscadera Bay.
The scaly-naped pigeon, Columba
squamosa, is locally known as
the blauwduif. The bird is very
rare in Curaçao but this may be
changing. A growing number of
recent sightings by Dr. Debrot in
wood lots near residential areas
such as Julianadorp, De Savaan,
the Kura Hulanda hotel grounds
at Playa Kalki, and even one
sighting each at Girouette and
Seru Domi are interpreted as a
positive sign heralding a gradual
recovery of the species on the
island. The blauwduif is a pigeon
that is quite wary, especially
during nesting, and depends
principally on native wild berries
for food. As agricultural activities
have drastically decreased in
recent decades (grazing and
the felling of trees), woodlands
around the island have been
gradually recovering. Recent
decades have also seen hunting
for sport decline precipitously as
environmental consciousness has
grown. These are probably the
reasons underlying the apparent
comeback of this species. This
is good news considering the
fact that the species has already
been extirpated on Aruba in the
1950s due to a combination of
hunting and habitat loss due to
deforestation.
A Blauwduif (Columba
squamosa) sitting on top of
one of the Machineel trees
on the CARMABI premises at
Piscaderabay.
Note the fiery red patch
around the bill and the red
naked skin around the eyes
that give the bird a particular
look. The slade-blue hue on
the feathercoat are reason for
the name.
Picture by mr. Drs. L Pors
11
Christoffel corner
Christoffelpark in Brazilian magazine
The Christoffelpark received very
nice coverage in the Brazilian
nature-oriented glossy magazine
named Terra da Gente.
The article was written and
photographed by mr. Haroldo
Castro, who visited the park last
March. Together with mr. Leon
Pors, mrs. Michelle da Costa
Gomez and mr. Cyrill Kooistra he
explored the diverse locations in
the park and joined us on a Deer
Spotting Sunset Tour. Although
we searched for over three hours
we only saw one deer in the dark
when going back to the entrance.
This did not provide a very good
photo opportunity so in stead
Haroldo used one of the most
popular pictures by Leon Pors of
the white tailed deer with twins.
Haroldo was particularly
interested in the historical part of
Savonet and this, together with
spectacular pictures formed an
important part in his article.
The next day mr. Castro joined
us on a tour trough the southern
part of the park, climbing the
Christoffel mountain in search of
wild orchids and birds.
Haroldo is off to other foreign
places, of which Tibet is the most
recent, to report stories and share
photographs of beautiful cultures
and nature.
Are you interested in reading
about his adventures, than take
a look at his blog at http://
viajologia.globolog.com.br/
It is in Portuguese!
Christoffelpark Activities in September and October
Our activities plan for the months of September and October is set. Take a look at the list below for full
moon walks, camping days, morning walks and family excursions. For more information about these activities you can contact mr. Cyrill Kooistra at [email protected]. Or join the mailing list to get regular
updates!
Date
Activity
price p.p. in Naf
Time
Including
September 22
Full Moon Walk
Adults 15,00/
kids 10,00
19.00 hrs
Drink and snack
September 30
Tourism Open
House
All locals get a
discount. Several
guided tours!
from 06.00 hrs Ask at the front
desk for info about
guided tours!
October 7 and 8
Survival morning
for kids ages 4-15
10,00
09.00-13.00
hrs
Drink
October 10 and
11
Survival morning
10,00
for ages 15 and up
09.00-1300
hrs
Drink
October 12
Savonet history
tours (hiking)
Only entrance fee
08.30 and
11.00 hrs
with guide
Camping facilities
17.50
Catering possible
**Price for camping is calculated
in accordance to
services provided
12
Christoffel corner
New interns in Christoffelpark
There are some new faces walking
around in the Christoffelpark.
Two interns are visiting us from
the Netherlands to assist us in the
activities and events organisation
and the PR of the park. Evert
Prins is visiting us from the HAS
Den Bosch en works side by side
with Cyrill Kooistra, the activities
and events coordinator in the park,
focussing on the development
of new activities and schedules
for the coming periods. Besides
this job Evert is working on a
client survey to get some insight
in the motivations of our visitors
and their opinion of the services
provided. With just a couple of
weeks of joining the team Evert
is already fully integrated in our
team.
Besides Evert, we have an
intern from the Hogeschool
INHOLLAND in Diemen. Dinotra
Andrade Costa will be assisting us
with the general PR and marketing
work for the park and CARMABI
in general. She will be assisting
for example with the CARMABI
Clear Water Challenge. As part of
her internship she will be working
on a PR and marketing strategy
for the months that the Savonet
restauration will take place.
We wish you both succes and
welcome to our team.
“Evert working at the CARMABI
offices.”
Opening Hours CHRISTOFFELPARK
Monday- Saturday
7.30 AM -16.00 PM (no admittance after 14.30 PM)
Sunday
6.00 AM - 15.00 PM (no admittance after 13.30 PM)
Museum Savonet... an update
Again, an important step forwards
has been taken in the process
of implementing the Savonet
museum. We now know pretty
well what will be included in the
museum and how. In July, Felix
the Rooy and René Wissink of the
“designers team” chose Rancho
El Sobrino at Westpunt as their
base for this phase. It became the
brain centre for the analysis of
historical and natural data and the
preparation of the long term vision
for the Savonet museum. Mr.
Stefan van Raay, director of the
Pallant House Gallery in England,
assisted us with his priceless
experience and suggestions. He
made us realise how huge the
scope will be and needs to be for
a living and sustainable museum
implementation.
Just after they flew back to their
respective homes we received a
set of very flashy design maps.
Clearly, René and Felix are on
mental “steroids”. These maps
provide also the information that
Techcon, the group responsible
for the planning of the restoration
process, needed in
order to finalize their
preparatory work.
So, we are on track
and the plans are
huge and fascinating!
A lot of work is
in order, though:
video recordings
of oral history,
reconstruction of a
number of skeletons,
pictures and sounds
of birds and bats, and
13
so forth need to be prepared in the
months to come. It will be fun!
Felix and René will be back
around the end of November for
more detailed work. We will keep
you posted on their (and our)
progress.
Birds-eye view of the complex
Christoffel corner
Raindrops work their magic
“Christoffel mountain with a green coat of
vegetation just after the first rains.”
“This Lantana species gives bright flashes of
color everywhere in the park. Hummingbirds
love these flowers and visit them often.”
“One of the several species of fungi that
appear in the park after rainshowers. Little
is known still about the existing species on
the island and their ecological relationships.
A simple count on a moist day gave us about
40 different variations in the Christoffelpark
alone. An astounding number! This
particular one is very interesting because
of the obvious bite marks of presumably a
White-tailed deer.”
Just a few drops of rain can make
a huge diffence in the overall appearance of the Christoffelpark. A
couple of weeks ago the flora and
fauna were still suffering from
the drought. A large part of the
trees and plants lost their leaves
and flowers and fruits were very
scarce.
The rain showers that drenched
the island in August and
September changed everything
with the full charm that our
nature has. Just a few drops of the
precious water make all plants
go in overdrive. In a record time
all plants have leaves and start
flowering and fruiting. All with
the main goal to reproduce as fast
as possible before the water dries
up, the ground dries in, and the
heavenly circumstances cease to
exist.
Of course this dramatic display of
nature gives visitors spectacular
views of colorful flowers and
mysterious appearances of fungi
in all colors of the rainbow.
Naturally the several fruits that
appear are delicious treats for all
kinds of birds and other animals.
It is a common sight now to
see Tropical Mockingbirds eat
all they can get and groups of
Banaquits and other birds feasting
on the Vitamin C rich lucious red
shimaruku fruits (see page 6 for a
picture).
Cottontails and White-tailed deer
enjoy the sometimes succulent
fungi that grow in moist areas.
During hikes you will often see
fungi with clear bite marks of
these species.
Other animals that are re-apearing
are several species of crabs which
are on the move in search of
partners. During the dry periods
these animals hide in holes that
they dig themselves with their
14
legs and pincers in soft moist
earth. These places stay cool and
moist even when the ground starts
drying up.
With all the moisture, insects
thrive too. Much to the delight
of insect eating animals like the
Big Grey Flycather which gives
spectacular air performances
while hunting and catching the
flying insects. And now that there
is plenty of food, the Flycatchers
start showing off to each other
to attract females to mate. If
you observe closely you can see
the aerial acrobatics the males
perform in order to impress the
females. Of course the mating
season is a very nice season to
observe nature, and if you watch
carefully you can see all kinds
of fights, dances, flirtings and
seductions taking place all over
the place, wether it is birds,
insects or mammals.
Of course the best time to see
these all happenings is in the
mornings when it is still cool. Our
different hiking trails in the park
give plenty of opportunities to
spot flora and fauna and observe
the interactions that take place. A
photo camera and binoculars are
no luxury. Be sure to catch this
short luscious period, for the dry
season will be back way too soon.
If you want to visit the park with
the assistance of a guide, please
call and make your reservations.
Hiking or exploring the park
safari-style with one of our trained
guides makes the experience all
the more pleasant and interesting.
Call (5999)864-0363 for your
reservations or email info@
carmabi.org after you have taken
a look at the regular activities
we organize in the park on www.
carmabi.org.
Education/ CARMABI news
News in a flash!
EDUCATION
- Our educational semi-volunteers are on the road again to visit all
the primary schools on the islands to give them the opportunity to
participate in our educational programs. Mrs. Retty Schoop en mrs.
Sonaly Rijnschot are driving all over the island to handle everything
with a personal touch. If all goes well, all schools will be registered by
the third week of September, when our programs start.
- However, there is some sad news, since we lost three very good semivolunteers in the summer.
• Mrs. Yvette Albertus had to stop guiding classes in the park
beacause of medical reasons. We sincerely hope all goes well
with her health and that she will be joining us back soon.
• Mrs. Sharline Jamanika left our team to start an exciting new
full time job. We wish her all the best with the new challenge.
• Mrs. Lara de Jonge, who was helping us with the development
of educational materials also left us to start a new job. We
would like to wish her all the best with her new challenges.
“An example of the CARMABI badges for
personnel.”
CARMABI NEWS
- A fair amount of our visitors have trouble finding us. But now it is
very easy to find the CARMABI offices. Since a couple of months
there are new signs on the main road that shows the way to
hotels and other pints of interest. These signs, at three locations along
the mainroads, together with the sign that we placed ourselves makes
it a lot easier for visitors to track us down.
- All the CARMABI and Christoffelpark Personnel wear identification
badges as of this summer. The project started in the Christoffelpark. It
gives visitors the opportunity to clearly identify rangers and other
employees of the park, to know their names and approach them with
questions or requests for information.
The next step was the production of badges for the personnel of the
CARMABI offices at Piscaderabay. This is especially handy when
giving presentations or talks, to make identification easier. The next
step will be the introduction of badges for the board of CARMABI.
- New products for sale at CARMABI and Christoffelpark. Our new
collection of T-shirts, shorts, duffelbags and caps are in and we have
some nice new additions to our regular collection. New are the t-shirts
for kids with a beautiful portrait of a family of white-tailed deer,
painted by Mr. Peter van der Wolf.
Other new additions, are the strong canvas duffelbags and the
cheerleader shorts. Stay tuned for our online catalog which can
be seen at www.carmabi.org. The products can be bought at the
CARMABI offices and at the Christoffelpark. The catalogue will be
online as soon as possible.
15
“The Duffelbag in the new collection.”
“The new signs.”
,
Ts
Shorts
Caps
Tops
Bags
Buy yours now!!!!
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