Montserrat Ridge to Reef Project Susan Robertson October 2015
CONTENTS 1. Latest news 2. Story of the Month 3. Educational & Community Projects 4. Scholarship News 5. Creature of the month
PROJECT AIM The Montserrat Ridge to Reef Conservation Project (MRRCP) is a collaborative project to support the sustainable use of Montserrat s natural resources. The programme encompasses scientific surveys of coral reefs and other marine resources, as well as terrestrial species and habitats focussed primarily in the Centre Hills. The MRRCP provides training and conservation education opportunities for local Montserratians, as part of an integrated programme to develop local capacity and ensure the longterm protection and sustainable use of natural resources throughout the country. Coral Cay Conservation (CCC) is working at the invitation of and in partnership with the Government of Montserrat and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Coral Cay Conservation provides the resources to help sustain livelihoods and alleviate poverty through the protection, restoration and management of coral reefs and tropical forests.
STORY OF THE MONTH Focus on Terrestrial For the past month our focus has been on the terrestrial side of our Ridge to Reef project. Although many of our volunteers come to study and survey the marine environment of Montserrat our recent volunteers have been interested in the beauty of the flora and fauna of the Emerald Isle. The surveys are conducted at a variety of sites Bird survey on Oriole Walkway Courtesy of Alex Bartle-Smith around the island and we never know what we are going to get the opportunity to see, each day is different. On the majority of days we have been out doing at least one bird survey either on the shoreline or on the forest trails. However this is not our only remit on the island as we also monitor reptiles and amphibians. Our current monitoring sites are on Blackwood Allen and Duberry Cassava where we complete both diurnal and nocturnal Turnip Tailed Gecko surveys. These involve staff and volunteers searching through leaf litter, under rocks and in trees for any movement. Turnip tailed gecko s have been seen on several recent nocturnal surveys. We also do surveys for 12 invasive plants in the Centre Hill but on all surveys whether we are surveying birds or reptiles we keep a watchful eye out for endemic plants such as the Pribby or Montserrat Orchid. Pribby on Blackwood Allen
Junior Citizens Day EDUCATIONAL & COMMUNITY PROJECTS This is an annual event organised for all the children in year six on the island. It is a chance to see what the different organisations and employers on the island do and perhaps help them with future career choices. CCC wanted to demonstrate to the children not only how we do our marine surveys but also what we are recording on them. We had groups of children counting fish and looking under rocks and into shells for different invertebrates; all on a land simulation. We also discussed with them the different impacts that we monitor on the reefs such as coral disease, trash and bleaching. Kate talking some children through the survey technique. For some species of fish such as groupers, we also record their size if we see them on survey. To simulate this we prepared bamboo sticks of various lengths and challenged the children to estimate the size of each stick using the known length of their hand or one of the dive slate we carry. The success rate varied, but everyone joined in. Our final exercise was the bubble maker and this, as always, was our most popular station. This allows the children to breath off a scuba tank just as we do underwater by placing their face in a large bucket of water. Some children were initially apprehensive but once they realised how easy the exercise was, it was difficult to extract many of them from the tank. CCC would like to thank the fire department of Montserrat for inviting us to attend the event. Both the staff and volunteers had a tiring but enjoyable day working with the children.
Tarantula s at Brades Library EDUCATIONAL & COMMUNITY PROJECTS After a sighting of a tarantula on the CCC site at The Taj and with Halloween the same week, it only seemed appropriate to hold one of this month s library sessions on the creepy eight legged creatures! The kids really got into the presentation, with lots of questions being thrown about. The girls in particular were very inquisitive and quizzed science officer, Aman on many details. One highlight was the kids comparing their palm sizes to a photo of a goliath tarantula. This giant arachnid can grow to well over the size of human hand and is the heaviest spider on earth. It was a very hands on presentation! During the craft workshop, the kids drew eight legged tarantulas on paper plates, coloured them in with lots of fancy colours, and then cut out them with scissors. The next task was to build a tree trunk with a hole inside and decorate it with branches and stems. Many kids successfully completed both crafts and finished with flying colours. They were treated to candy at the end of the session in the true spirit of the Halloween festival. This was our second full of fun and learning library session for Kate and Aman who are already thinking up ideas for the next ones. Thanks to the staff at Brades Library for making us feel welcome, the kids for turning up and being enthusiastic and ready to learn, and lastly to ZJB radio for letting everyone know that the library sessions are taking place. The kids demonstrating their finished products jubilant even before the Halloween candy handouts
EDUCATIONAL & COMMUNITY PROJECTS The Lions at Lookout CCC was also invited this month to attend the Lions Club at Lookout, where we were requested to perform one of our puppet shows for the children. Each time we perform a show we usually have a host of new staff and volunteers. To ensure the performance is always great, the week before any show we complete a couple of rehearsals and practice all the roles. We also check to make sure the stage and puppets are looking their best and tweak the script if needed. We always want to give the children and adults watching our best performance. With everything in place we loaded the vehicles and set off to Lookout. Upon arrival the welcome was far sunnier than the weather outside and the troop quickly assembled the stage and prepared the puppets. The new puppet show has a host of new characters as well as some old favourites from the previous show. The best reception was for two new characters Rachel the Ray and Wayne the Wrasse, both of whom have a big stage presence either visually or vocally. The show focuses on the problems that rubbish in the ocean has for the animals that live there and shows the children how they can stop litter getting into the ocean. As usual the puppeteers enjoyed the performance just as much as the children. After the show the children posed for pictures with the puppets. CCC are always working on new ideas for puppet shows and hope to be invited back in the near future to perform again.
SCHOLARSHIP NEWS Each month CCC offers Montserratian nationals who display an ambition to study and protect the vital natural ecosystems of Montserrat an opportunity to take part in one of our Conservation Scholarships. The programmes last for one month and involve training the student in SCUBA diving or jungle skills. They then take part in an intensive Skills Development Programme giving them the knowledge and expertise to conduct ecological surveys. In our aim to attract more scholars to learn and work with CCC on Montserrat over the last few weeks we have been hosting try dive sessions at The Taj. These have been ad hoc to fit around individuals work schedules but everyone that has attended has had fun and successfully completed their dive. One of our previous scholars Keanu Barnwell completed both the terrestrial and marine scholarship. He is still very much a member of the CCC family and often spends time at the site with the team and assists with nocturnal reptile and amphibian surveys when needed. If you would like to apply for the CCC Marine Conservation Scholarship programme or read more about it, please visit: http://www.coralcay.org/volunteer/scholarship-opportunities/
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) CREATURE OF THE MONTH This beautiful raptor has become a regular sight on our shorebird surveys recently with sightings at Rendezvous, Lime Kiln Bay, Isles Bay and Foxes. These birds feed on fish which they catch in shallow water using their out stretched talons. They rarely dive for prey preferring to take fish just below the water. They are successful hunters usually catching a fish 1 in 4 attempts though some individuals have a 70% success rate. Once they have caught a fish they will orientate it so the head faces forward to streamline it and make flying easier. The ospreys that visit Montserrat have migrated from North America for the winter to enjoy the sun with the rest of the islands snow birds and who can blame them. Many people ask if individuals follow the same migration route each year. Tracking programmes have shown that an individual will follow the same route north as they do south in a single migration year. These magnificent birds will be around for a few months yet, so if you are down on the shore keep a lookout to the sky as they soar above looking for fish.