Raising awareness about the binturongs in schools

I - Updates about the educational and awareness programme in the Philippines:

Since March, the team has made good progress in the educational project. We chose to first prioritise theoretical courses with the students and were able to complete two modules by the end of the month. Practical activities were then organised between March and April. All the outdoor sessions went really well! The children were really interested and participated in all the activities. 

Before the holidays a meeting was held to plan the upcoming sessions for next year regarding the activities, the subjects we want to discuss for now on, but also the organisation in general. It was decided that the courses will be shorter and focus more on the binturong rather than globally on the environmen. Our purpose is to emphasise more about the preservation of the binturong in the forests of Palawan, to raise awareness amongst students about what they can actively do in the future to protect an animal that is part of their island. Furthermore, if we are able to reach more schools, it would mean raising awareness about the protection of our totem animal amongst more children. The more, the better! With your donations, we will be able to go to schools that are further away and do more interventions throughout the year. 

In early April, a general agreement with the Western Palawan University (WPU) and an "On-The-Job Training" agreement with the Palawan States University (PSU) were signed. The purpose is to create more events in the two universities in the upcoming years, but also to be able to accommodate interns in our different programmes. This brings new opportunities for collaboration, scientific and educational work. 

In the same dynamic, after the foundation's general assembly, the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) showed interest in assisting in establishing school projects and collaborations. They can also provide leads on organisations already working on the same issue than us, which could mean creating a small network in Palawan around the protection of the local ecosystem. For example, ELAC, an organisation fighting deforestation and active in habitat protection, is interested in the wildlife inventories that ABConservation can provide. This would give it more credibility in convincing the government not to destroy forest plots.This is a huge step for ABConservation, and we are really keen to learn more from their experiences. 

Moreover, the teams met with the City Government of Puerto Princesa, and a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) is currently being signed. This signature will help legitimise our work on the island with local communities, organisations and schools.

In May, we were contacted by the International School Manila.The middle school students contacted us to thank us and presented a summary of all the initiatives they have carried out this year to help preserve the binturong. It was really interesting to create a new relationship with a school from another island in the Philippines. We really hope to be able to go there in the future to hold an event in the school. Your donations might help us achieve that by funding the transport and/or the accommodations for the team. 

II - Everything around the Word Binturong Day (WBD):

The WBD was held early at the PSU. It was a general success and all the partners invited made us the honor to join the day. During the two days of the event we managed to interact with around 140 people per day, from students to university staff. There were a bunch of different activities: drawing contest, presentation, roundtable discussion with partners, government agencies and NGOs on the topic of the environment in Palawan, lecture, QuizBee, poetry, etc. Palawan News covered the event and published an article, as did the Puerto podcast and at the end a great video was shown. We are really proud to say that thanks to you we were able to bring a lot of materials and activities to the table. 

On the D-Day, a photo exhibition was held at the Robinson Mall, showcasing the work of ABConservation: scientific posters from the conference in Singapore, paintings, explanation panels, etc. The whole thing was up until the end of the month. Even if we were not there every day, when we came, we saw that people were interested in our exhibition, and this opened the door to a potential future collaboration to do that more often in the Mall. A part of the money from this campaign was used to print all the panels and everything we needed to make them stay in place. 

Furthermore, we were able to celebrate the WBD in an Indegenous People Community near our research area. Even if we didn't welcome as many people as we expected in the first place, we were still glad because all the participants seemed to have enjoyed their day and learnt a lot thanks to our educational activities. In addition, the PCSD and one representative from the CityENRO were present. 

III - What about the other events that were held in Palawan:

In March, the team participated in an event at the PSU to present associations working on conservation in Palawan. A booth was installed there and the team was able to discuss with the university's students the work of ABConservation. This kind of event is useful for them to learn more about the preservation of the ecosystem in Palawan, but also to apply for an internship with us if they are interested.  

Still in March, educational and scientific teams worked together to create panels that were installed in the reserve where our scientific project is conducted. It will permit raising awareness amongst the Indegenous people living there about the preservation of the binturong directly in this area. The panels are explaining everything we know about the ecology of this species but also show the purpose of the Bercat Study Programme. 

In May, we were able to participate in a Funrun in Puerto Princesa. This opportunity was helpful to meet new people and create new contacts with other organisations. The booth was there to present our work to the runners. 

Thank you note and further information: 

 We are deeply greatful to all of you for participating in this campaign. All the money donated will be used by the educational team to help with the expenses of the different events until the end of the year. It has really helped us to be more comfortable in organising, participating and creating new things because we knew that our budget was a little bit bigger than usual. Our purpose is to let this fundraising campaign open so you can still donate if you want to help the ABConservation's educational and awareness programme in the Philippines.

The rest of the funds will also be used for a lot of other things:

- We will have one half day session of the new version of the educational programme in elementary school. There will be a symposium at Langogan National High School, including a workshop with the students. A part of the funds will be used for the transport of the employee. 

- In September, there will be the Furry Festival in Manila (a charity event featuring a binturong mascot). Another part of the money collected will help us buy the materials and goodies that are requested. 

- We also wish to continue to provide training for the team. This means that some training and workshops will be paid thanks to your generosity.

Together we can continue to raise awareness about the binturong and preserve this beautiful species. 

Thank you to everyone who read this update to the end, and thank you to our members and partners for their continued support. We'll see you soon for the next installment of our adventures!

 ABConservation teams

Links:

• From Awareness to Actions for Nature Conservation in Palawan
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