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Your gifts inspired wonder this spring.
Thank you!
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Donors like you sparked a celebration of nature and science! Citizen science occurs when diverse members of society collect valuable data. This past spring, with your help, 112 people acted as citizen scientists during fun, socially-distanced outdoor activities.
First was the City Nature Challenge. Staff and community volunteers, including Junior Rangers, fanned out into forests and wetlands in the coastal community of Ostional, Nicaragua. This team photographed and identified over 141 species! They used the free iNaturalist citizen science platform, which helps citizen scientists record observations of a wide range of life, from plants and insects to raptors and fish.
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Favorite animals observed that day included an American crocodile (right), a white-nosed coati (pictured below), and a lesser ground cuckoo (below). You can learn about the history of this day and how you helped communities participate here at our blog. Thank you!
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Following on this success, our donors made it possible for 41 volunteer birders to visit forests, farms, and lakes across six departments in Nicaragua as part of the semiannual Global Big Day birding challenge. The birders had so much fun birding from dawn to dusk, and recorded each sighting on eBird. And you know what? For the third event in a row, the team you supported had the highest Global Big Day species count in Nicaragua, with 211 species! Together with other birders, this team helped propel Nicaragua to 4th place in species observed in Central America.
The best part of all these events was the richness of experiencing wildlife. Enjoying nature paid off for everyone who did it, in a multitude of ways: spiritually, intellectually, physically, emotionally, and socially. For some participants, it even benefited them professionally. All this happened because of gifts from donors like you.
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Thank you for helping communities engage with nature & contribute to science!
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Affectionately called "Yaya," Elena Yajaira Vargas is a determined and caring member of our sea turtle team. When she is not tending nests at the sea turtle hatchery, she is leading fun environmental lessons with the children in the Jr. Ranger program.
Yajaira is a mother of three children, and she says their future is what motivates her to get up and go to work everyday. She even went to work during her pregnancy a few years back (pictured above). Over the seven years she has worked on our team, she has grown from a quiet person into an assertive leader and an example for girls in her community. We are so proud of her tireless work on behalf of our mission.
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The work you support wouldn't be possible without our board of directors. Comprising 6 people from Central America and the United States, the board works to advance your and our shared mission by offering expertise and support, making key decisions, and setting long-term direction.
Each part of an ecosystem has its own specialty, and so does each member of our board. For example, president Christy Reich manages several businesses and has experience in both operations and finance. Secretary-treasurer Chris Ayotte is an auditor by profession. Armando Vega is a Central American rancher specializing in sustainable ranching. Eric Ponçon is a Central American businessman who works in sustainable agriculture and tourism. Rob Dull is a professor and expert in Central America’s ecological and geological history and also an avid surfer well connected in the surf world. We just welcomed Nathan Wallace whose expertise is in nonprofit strategy and finance.
To all present and past board members: thank you for all you have done to make a difference for communities, nature and wildlife!
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The Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games are coming fast! The last qualifying trials for surfing took place early this month in El Sunzal, El Salvador, along a coastal area dubbed Surf City. It was an exciting event as El Salvador’s own Bryan Perez advanced through the competition and nearly qualified for one of just 38 worldwide spots for the first surfing Olympics.
Bryan's story is an inspiring one. It demonstrates how surfing and other outdoor activities can build confidence and opportunity for a rising generation. Thank you for supporting our work with youth in Central America’s coastal communities.
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PARTNERS MAKE IT POSSIBLE
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Pueblos Verdes is a tourism destination in Nicaragua. It includes well-known sites such as the Playa Maderas surf break, Morgan's Rock Hacienda & Ecolodge, and the Río Brito estuary. Over the next year, Marcela Argüello, an award-winning Central American architect and social entrepreneur, will work on a special project with long-term impact: planning a sustainable future for Pueblos Verdes and enhancing local conservation efforts for shorebirds and other coastal-dependent species.
Marcela’s building designs "celebrate each unique site and connect people to the natural environment while paying homage to the local context." She will partner with local landowners, business partners, Paso Pacífico (supported by you!), EcoForest Developments (Desarrollos EcoForestal S.A.), the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, and Edgar Mora Altamirano, former mayor of the city of Curridabat in Costa Rica and former Costa Rican Minister of Education.
These partnerships are happening through the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Coastal Solutions Fellow Program. Marcela was recently appointed as a Fellow and our executive director was made a Visiting Scientist to support her. Everyone who has donated to Paso Pacífico through the years helped prepare for this opportunity to protect Pueblos Verdes’ shorebirds while strengthening local economies.
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Thank you for your support!
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Thank you to all the photographers who contributed photos used in this e-newsletter. These include but are not limited to Javier Alejandro Ramos Arias and Paso Pacífico rangers Marcos Calero, Jarinton Garcia, Victor Romero, Oswaldo Saballos, and Osmar Sandino.
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