Bertarelli Summer2024 FINAL - Flipbook - Page 58
CO M M UNIC AT IO N
having these collaborations and partnerships is crucial.
I don’t think rewilding Redonda, for example, would
have been done if it were left up to the government, and
it couldn’t have been done by my organization alone,
either. We relied on the private sector, the community,
and other partners to see that come to fruition.
One thing I think is really important here is education
that connects local groups to the work you’re doing
and making it part of their curriculum, as it were. Can
you tell us more about that?
Challenger: Environmental awareness is in our name,
it’s what we do. We have a project called a floating
classrooms initiative, for example. So in Antigua and
Barbuda, we have hundreds of beaches, but a lot of
Antiguans can’t swim. A lot of people have never been
on a boat before. So the floating classroom takes students out of the regular classroom and to the water. So
they can touch, smell, taste, feel these ecosystems, feel
the species that are there and have these lasting experiences that can, we hope, change their hearts and minds.
One of our key collaborations is with the Ministry of
Education. Our information and work on our offshore
islands is now in the primary school curriculum. This
knowledge is going to a new generation.
We believe we need to empower Antiguans and Barbudans with this information so that they can be part
of the conservation effort and that way we won’t have
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RE W I L D I NG
to rely on others’ expertise. We want the next generation of conservationists to paint a vibrant masterpiece
of hope, resilience, and community stewardship for
their ecosystems.
I’m curious, what new ideas have you heard or seen
recently as a great idea that you can employ on your
own project?
Ritterhoff: One thing I found really interesting is conservation conflict transformation theory, because I feel
like it’s inherent to the premise of Force Blue. We have
this amazing ability to reach across the aisle, even in
this hyper-partisan, political world that we all live in,
whether it’s in the U.S. or elsewhere around the world.
The conservation conflict transformation framework
really offers a way to think about disarming the “no”
camp that doesn’t want to deal with what we’re talking
about. It resonated a lot with me.
Challenger: One idea I really resonated with was that for
some conservation projects with seabirds on islands, you
need to do more than eradicate rats or whatever invasive
species—you need to also reintroduce the birds. And
then, showing how an atoll or an offshore island is connected to the mainland, that is very important. It can be
hard showing people who live on the mainland why the
offshore islands matter, so if we can show how they influence their lives, that will help change hearts and minds.
SAVE THE SNAKES The Antiguan racer snake
was once declared extinct. But they’re making a
comeback now, after 50 were found on Great Bird
Island, and steps were taken to restore their habitat.
