- Staff scientist Diana with some of her friends in the town of Salvacion, in the rural Philippine municipality of Busuanga
We wanted to take a break from the wildlife today to remember that there is no conservation without a community of support. If you’ve been following us here at PDXWildlife for long, you’ll know that previously our staff scientists have done work in the Philippines, in an area that was hard-hit by last week’s typhoon. Working with Community Centred Conservation (C3), a non-profit based in the UK, I had the chance to promote conservation through research and community education in the town of Salvacion, in the province of Busuanga (check out this typhoon map, and look for ‘Coron’). Now C3 staff, who are also still living on the typhoon-ravaged island, are trying to do what they can to help the community in the coming weeks.
Staff scientist Diana teaching about overfishing at the local post-secondary school (Nov 2011)
- A post-typhoon photo of the school from a few days ago.
These people have committed to protecting their natural resources, and now we’d like to commit to helping them. If you can, please consider making a donation to provide relief aid for the Philippines. You can make a donation to general relief funds through the Red Cross here. If you’d like to show your support on a more specific level, you can donate money directly to C3; they are currently collecting funds to ship supplies to this rural island that has yet to be reached by the larger relief efforts that are taking place near Tacloban. This organization is registered in the UK so the typical tax deductions will not apply for U.S. citizens, but if you’d like to know that you’ve put money directly in the hands of people who are on the ground getting supplies to the families living in this rural community this is a great way to get involved! Email Philippines program director Leo Cayaban (leo@c-3.org.uk) for specific donation instructions, and check out their facebook group to keep track of these efforts.
- Some young members of the Tagbanua (original inhabitant) community living in Concepcion
Thanks for anything you can do to support the continued good work of relief and conservation agencies the world over!
Diana