Students, early career professionals, researchers, individuals or organisations now have the opportunity to apply for any one of three grants now on offer from BirdsCaribbean. The deadline for all three is Friday November 25, 2022, 11:59 pm EDT. Hurry up and apply!
The David S. Lee Fund for the Conservation of Caribbean Birds is named in honour of a wonderful naturalist and conservation biologist and an important early member of BirdsCaribbean and has been administered by BirdsCaribbean for the past eight years. It supports applied, innovative projects with direct conservation effects on Caribbean birds and/or their habitats. It’s important to impact and involve local conservation groups and communities in the Caribbean, so this should be a component.
It is open to students or early career ornithologists, conservationists, or wildlife professionals, less than ten years post-graduation and not established faculty or senior staff of a conservation organization. A student must be enrolled in an accredited university program (advanced undergraduate level, or Masters or doctoral degrees) in ecology, biology, conservation, or related fields.
Betty Petersen, who died in 2014, was an amazing lady whom I wish I had met. She believed in putting tools into the hands of bird conservationists and she was instrumental in multiple equipment donations to Caribbean researchers and projects, and coordinated a special Cuba fund initiated by National Book Award-winning author, Phillip Hoose. The Betty Petersen Conservation Fund, established by close friends and colleagues, has been administered by BirdsCaribbean since 2019. Projects that engage local citizens and decision makers to alleviate threats and/or encourage sustainable use of threatened natural resources will receive priority for funding, as will projects that benefit high priority areas—such as Important Bird Areas or Key Biodiversity Areas—that are under serious threat.
Individuals or organisations based in the Caribbean (Undergraduate Students, Masters Students, Doctoral Students, Postdoctoral, Early Professionals, Established Professionals, Non-Professionals, Organizations/Governments) may apply to this fund. Applicants are encouraged to provide at least 1:1 matching funds or in-kind matches toward project costs.
Finally, BirdsCaribbean has recently established the James A. Kushlan Research and Conservation Fund, to support researchers at any stage of their career in research on waterbirds – that is, any species that lives in marine and wetland areas. This is the organisation’s very first endowment fund. Dr. Kushlan is a distinguished ornithologist, writer, educator, and conservationist, with long ties to BirdsCaribbean and the region through his research on waterbirds and as a co-member of The Waterbird Council.
Finally…
You can make a donation of any amount to any of these funds (or for other specific or general purposes) – tax deductible in the U.S. You can donate in memory of someone, or contribute to the fight against trafficking in birds or other causes. BirdsCaribbean works very hard on behalf of our regional birds, supporting thousands of people across the Caribbean who work to conserve them and their habitats (many of which are under threat from climate change and other human impacts).
Or you can become a member of BirdsCaribbean and join our wonderful family of people who simply love birds. We are #HumansOfBirdsCaribbean ! Membership for students and Caribbean citizens is just US$25!
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