•Reporting Day 4
(23 January 2010)
It was great to meet with Athie (Atherton Martin, who is interviewed
in "The Cove") today to share thoughts on conservation projects,
discuss my amibitious goals for the Origami Whales Project in Dominica,
and possible screening locations for our celebratory event and
screening of
"The Cove". We then visited a few possible sites for the permanent
exhibit of the "Curtain of 2,000 Origami Whales for Dominica"
(Phew, long name! May shorten it a bit.).
•Reporting Day
5: "...before the storm" (24 January
2010)
Sunday was "the calm before the storm" in more than one
way. Its amazing how many hats I wear as Coordinator of the Origami
Whales Project: managing e-mail correspondences, seeking funding,
administration, logistics, photography, meetings... and then the
other hat of "webmaster".
Hours have flown by these past few days has I've been working
on various images and thinking it would be good to have a sort
of "blog" page. Hence, the "News!/blog" you are
reading here, which I hope you are enjoying!
Anyone who has done web work knows of the good mental exercise of
several hours to design, creating new navigational buttons and headers,
and testings links and actions to make sure all of the pages are
connected properly. I hope everyone will like the new look. Please
let me know if there are any missing links or crossed up signals.
I appreciate being informed about any glitches.
So "the storm"
came in yesterday, with bonafide buckets of rain through this evening.
And the 10 day forecast is looking good if you're a duck. Though
thinking intially I'd hit the ground running with school visits,
the disappointment of having to wait a few extra days was the silver
lining before the storm. In anticipation of meeting the goal to make
a "Curtain of 2,000
Origami Whales" in 2.5 weeks, I knew I'd better
get to seeing a few sites while I could.
I've been learning about the "bus" system here. Actually
a "bus" is
a mini-vans modified w/ extra seats to fit about 15 people! A taxi
is the SAME vehicle with only the usual amount of seatings, and much
more costly. Being a somewhat seasoned traveler, I am happy
to ride the bus.
Its good value to have the cultural experience and a bit of excitement
on very narrow winding roads, with the drivers blasting horns around
every bend.
So I
set out on Sunday to snorkel "the abyss". With very rare
bus service on Sundays, after 1.5 hours, I got onto one that was
going about halfway to Scott's Head (and "the abyss").
As luck would have it, I soon caught a ride with a few friendly local
people heading for Soufriere, almost to Scott's Head. And I ended
up joining my new friends Mitchell and Jena for a snorkel in front
of the church in Soufriere, where there is not only another abyss,
but also a lot of "champagne" activity of lots of tiny
air bubble rising from the sea floor alongshore. Its a geologic phenomenon
resulting from the volcanism of the island.
In fact, the whole large bay of Soufriere/Scott's Head is the remnant
crater of a volcano, and hence, "the abyss" so close to
shore.
It was my first time afloat, swimming out over nothing but
deep blue; at first rather scary, but then so aluring. I kept thinking
of the Sperm Whales, families of them in the waters around
Dominica. How
wonderful it would be to have them come from the deep blue to meet
me! Considering the highly unusual encounters I've had with Gray
and Humpback whales, I say I have "Whale Mojo", so who's to know?
•Reporting Day 6: "Thank You!"
(25 January 2010)
My downstairs cinderblock studio apartment has been comfortable despite
living with a leaky toilet and rain coming in the window sill.
I'm learning plumbing skills and wishing I'd brought a tube of silicon
sealant!
Good news: I received confirmation that the Origami Whales Project
will receive co-sponsorship from a continued supporter, The Ocean
Foundation (TOF).
Combined with a
contribution from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA)
and donations from
a few of friends, the Dominica project is now 25% funded. Every
bit helps, and so I am grateful to everyone for their faith and support
in this important work here.
•Reporting
Day 7: "Visits & Beauty" (26
January 2010)
Today I made my second of five planned school visits, and the kids
were blown away by my cool whale facts and videos. As always, the
enthusiasm of children wanting to be a part of something good is
so rewarding to see. May we never take for granted the delight of
a child's with hands reaching out as if the re-used squares of paper
were candy treats. A few of the boys were especially proud to show
how many whales they made in about 20 minutes!
I caught a ride into the city this morning, so took
the opportunity to scope out options for food preparations as I anticipate
I will run out of my favorite vegan foods in the next week. The "supermarket"
holds little promise. Dinner tonight, a half carrot, some of my vegan
food that I brought along: a tasty ration of Indo Mie Ramen with
half packet of Stonewall's Soy Jerky. Halleluya for the local produce
tables and Cecil in the town of Scott's Head selling fresh coconut!
Until flying over Dominica (photo above), I had no idea of how lush
and beautiful this island is. Here's a view of SW Dominica from above
Rosseau city. I also learned that much of "Pirates
of the Caribbean 2 & 3" was filmed here.
• Reporting
Day 9 & 10: "Life Choices" (28 & 29
January 2010)
Despite some concerns over the slow progress and a couple of logistical
challenges for school visits, it was encouraging to
present to a representation of the Good Will Secondary School Environment
Club.Though just 10 out of 40 members were there, all in attendance
were teens ready to listen and help; and after the meeting a few of
them escorted me through the city to the bus stop about a mile away.
With school locations further out, and without reliable transportation,
I've been walking a lot these two days!
While walking through the downtown area (Roseau) to get to the bus
stop, I've enjoyed seeing the colorful buildings and
meeting the colorful characters.
One challenge has been confirming enough help with the
labor-intensive, very time-consuming phase of stitching the Origami Whales
into 5 foot long strands for the curtains we make. At this point, there
are a few new friends here who have offered to assist me with the stitching.
I'm so glad that they love what I'm doing here and want to help. This evening I hosted Project
Dominica Stitching Party #1. My neighbor and new friend Therese, working
here on her PhD in Human Geography stopped by for about an hour. Continuing
well into the night, I'm relieved to report that
we are now at 10% towards the "Curtain of 2,000...".
In my
meeting with Athie last weekend, I told him that if it came
down to it, I would do the stitching myself. With
10 days before the first
exhibit/celebratory event, I will need to average 200 Origami
Whales stitched each day. So beween the additional school visits to recruit
the making and stitching of more whales, these are going to be long and
very busy days ahead!
With these experiences I can't help but think of and share a few "favorite" quotes
from the "messages"
page of my online gallery.
"Once
you make a decision,
the universe conspires to make it happen."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Today, upon arrival at the Roseau Primary School, I first checked in
with the school principal who informed me that there had been an organizational
conflict, and that my presentation had to be re-scheduled. Despite
all of my efforts to confirm plans, my trip to the school wound up
to be another "set back".
...
That said, about 3/4 mile out on
my trek to get to the Roseau Primary
School, I stopped to ask for directions from any of the passengers
among a car filled with a family. Gifford, who was
driving began to tell me of a "short cut", which in the heat
and humidity, I was glad to hear of. He just so happened to be heading
for the school and kindly made room in his very small and worn
out compact car, making for a total of seven of us. He then noticed
one of the tires had gone flat, but continued driving as he said he
didn't have a spare. Arriving at the school, I saw that
the door handles were all "repaired" with wires and such
to tug on in order to get out. Since Gifford was then going to have
the flat repaired, I mentioned noticing that his fanbelt was squeeling
too. He drove off with a happy attitude about "how life happens".
And I walked away reminded of all that I am grateful for.
"Everything
can be taken from a man but ...the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's
attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
Viktor E. Frankl (Holocaust survivor)
BTW: My little standard
Nissan truck back home has 309,000 miles on, and is operating just fine.
My friends tell me I should notify Nissan so that we get on a TV commercial
for them. The "secret" is: I take care of my truck (with regular oil
changes and maintenance), and it takes care of me. Sometimes, as in these
past couple of days, I've missed "my trusty steed".
Also while in Roseau, I ran into Jake from IFAW along with his two
assistants for the "Floating
Classrooms" project
that they have been working on. We compared notes on the amazing diversity
of corals, sponges, all sorts of sea life one may see while snorkeling
and diving here. They shared some photos of a Hawksbill Turtle very
upclose to their camera while diving. I'm glad to know that environmental
education and awareness are supported here. About a week ago, Athie
wrote: "Dominica
is fragile and special as is so much of the Earth. Every action to
teach protection makes a difference."
I've been liaison between Athie and the folks at OPS regarding the
proposed premier of “The Cove”.
After a couple of e-mails between us all today, very kind words of
confidence came from Simon Hutchins (Director
of Expeditions) who I worked with during screenings in the Santa Barbara
area. Simon wrote: "Your involvement and participation, and the
origami whales, will show the people that they can think, and act,
with their hearts."
Also received an e-mail from a dear friend in Carpinteria notifying me of a donation on
the way; so this brings the Dominica project to 35% funded. I am
gratefully reminded of those words from Margaret Meade.
*:-.,_,.-:*’``’*:-.,_,.-
“Never doubt that a small group of
thoughtful committed citizens can
change the world;
Indeed it is the only thing that ever has!”
Margaret Meade
-:*’``’*:-.,_,.-:*
• Reporting Day 11: "Synchronicity" (30
January 2010)
Holy smokes. Two hours later, I just completed a series of correspondences
regarding the upcoming events of the next 10 days, including a draft
of 7 items needed as we continue to work towards completion of the
"Curtain of 2,000...:
I'd like to share that in 2006 I felt so honored to meet Dr.
Hal Whitehead (University of Dalhousie, Nova Scotia) at
an American Cetacean Society (ACS) conference on whales, as he is known
worldwide for his decades of studying Sperm Whales. I had corresponded
with Hal before coming to Dominica. Knowing they are currently here
doing their research work through mid-February, just this morning,
I sent an e-mail to Hal and crew this morning, extending an invitation
to the
celebration for the curtain and premier event (now confirmed for 9
Feb, at the University of the West Indies auditorium).
"Just by chance",
as I walked into the Anchorage Hotel for the first time, to view their
exhibit of a Sperm Whale skeleton, I bumped into Hal and his research
team. They have been out at sea for 10 days, and came in today for
provisions and maintenance work on their vessel.
Being the "Sperm Whale Groupie" (see photos at left!) that
I am, I was thrilled to chat with everyone there, including Shane
Gero who has spent a great deal of time getting to know several
of the Sperm Whales around these waters as individuals with unique
personality as well as physical traits.
What do Sperm whales think
and feel? Considering their level of intelligence, I wonder what their
lives are like, what their interactions with each other
and other species are like, and how they perceive the environments
that they encounter as they roam the vast and deep oceans of the world.
How, if they so chose to, would they express to us their perceptions
and knowledge of a world that we humans know so little of?
• Reporting Day 12: "Elisa
arrives tomorrow" (31
January 2010)
Tomorrow afternoon, Elisa
Buller,
underwater videographer, will arrive with her friend to stay for 10
days. Elisa is generously supporting the Origami Whales Project by
donating her service in co-producing a video about "Project Dominica:
The making of a 'Curtain of 2,000 Origami Whales for Dominica'".
She does fantastic
work, and I am very grateful for her shared passion
to protect whales.
• Reporting Day 13: "I
didn't climb over fences with the Z-Boys for nothing!" (1
February 2010)
We are on for the event, 9 Feb, 8PM at the University of the West Indies
(UWI) auditorium: The celebration and unveiling of the "Curtain
of 2,000 Origami Whales for Dominica" and premier
of “The Cove”.
I've
just confirmed Shane
Gero will be joining Athie and I for the Q & A following
the screening. We are
still hoping Charles (Hambleton, of "The Cove") will be able
to join us as well. Its going to be a great event!
Due to the challenges noted on the "Day 9 & 10" blog, I decided
that as long as I am not breaking any laws, I should coordinate directly
with whoever I need to work with. So things have shaped up thanks to
this initiative, to a very right on school principal, and Athie who
has arranged for a stitching party on Saturday.
Setting out for the 1:30 visit to
Roseau Primary School, I walked while watching for a bus to catch.
Hearing that familiar sound of squealing fanbelt, sure enough, it was
Gifford driving his children back to the school. He offered me a ride,
which I gladly accepted. Explaining to his 4 children that I'd be visiting
their school, but learned it wouldn't be to their classroom, so like
some magic trick, folded 4 "anatomically
correct"
Origami Whales, one for each to keep. Everyone was happy!
Ms. Roberts, the Principal was so helpful in working with me. The 4th
& 5th grade students, about 50 total, were wowed by my whale facts,
and just loved making origami whales. I had obtained old
calendars and brochures from Ursula (my landlady), which had to be
cut into squares (Yes, its about saving trees while saving whales!)
as fast I could to keep up with their demand to make more, probably
totalling 1,000. We are now very close to the goal of obtaining 2,000
Origami Whales, and have enough to move forward stitching and tabulating
the color coordinated strands for the curtain. To insure that we are
on track, I have already stitched 261. Things are looking good.
For the evening, I went
into the city for the DBS radio interview,
stitched a strand of 51 whales at the station, then caught a ride with
Simon Walsh (host of
the radio program). News travels fast on this small island and we
both had already made plans separately to meet with Eric
Cheng who
is here in Dominica at the moment. There were four of us who were keen
to meet him. Eric has been capturing impressive
photos of Sperm Whales just off the coast. Had a very
insightful discussion between 5 of us on campaigns and the geopolitics
of Japanese whaling.
• Reporting Day 14: "Origami
Whales sorted
& on the ready" (2
February 2010)
Lots of correspondence
time as we are organizing a big stitching party for Saturday, managing
logistics for completing the curtain here, planning Skate for the Whale
(at Whale Day, Maui), and being invited to continue with the Origami
Maui's Dolphin campaign in New Zealand. More on these activities as
they develop.
Its midnight now. This evening, I sat and sorted, and sorted,
...and about 5 hours later, completed the sorting of heaps of whales
folded yesterday. The origami whales are bundled by color and size,
organized/designed, and ready to stitch. We
are super close to meeting the goal, and I look forward to seeing the
curtain in its entirety.
I am glad to share the announcement
that “The
Cove” is among five nominees for the Academy Awards "Best
Feature Documentary".
• Reporting Day 15: "Good
company" (3
February 2010)
Another morning of administrative
work. We've confirmed some great prizes donated to the Skate for the
Whale contest at Whale
Day. My mahalo (thanks) to Michael
of Skate
One for ongoing support of my work with children skateboarding
and the Origami Whales Project. And I'm looking forward to what we
are planning for the Keiki E.C.O. Day (Educating Children Outdoors)
activities prior to Whale Day. Corresponding about fund-raising and activism
with my friend Laura who has volunteered to help with this aspect of
the Origami
Whales Project.
Eric Cheng, his
crew of friends, Elisa, Caleb, and I were guests this evening for a
very nice evening of good company and good food hosted by Andrew & Rhona
Armour.While mingling with guests, Gabriel
(Andrew & Rhona's 9 year old son) and I folded a dozen origami
whales. Andrew is
Scar's friend, and has been guiding
Eric and crew for their photographic visitswith the Sperm whales out
here. Please visit the Eric's blog page
to see what they've been up to.
• Reporting Day 16: "20
minutes left till midnight" (4 February 2010)
Another long and productive
day indeed. More phone calls and e-mails, and... Elisa and
I have been conferring about locations and schedule for our video project.
After being informed this morning of a "secret" snorkeling
spot, I set out as location scout. It turned out to be the least among
choices from previous scouting missions. Glad I had a look though.
I vote for Soufriere or Scott's Head.
My
friend Therese (in photo at right) came over this evening to help
stitch some whales while watching "Dogtown & Z-Boys", which
was her first time, and about the 5th or so for me. It continues to
be like looking through a photo album fond memories combined with great
rock & roll
from that time. There are now 642 origami whales stitched. Then I counted
the remaining whales, which tallied to 1,034. So 324 more are still
needed, on top of the need to stitch 1,358 to reach the goal of
2,000. I remain optimistic and hopeful that a lot of volunteers will
come to the stitching party on Saturday!
• Reporting Day 17: "Up
very early, ...again" (5
February 2010)
Up at 5AM again, with a lot
on my mind to do. My phone calls to try to rally the rest of the origami
whales from the Environment and 4-H club visits, resulted in needing
to catch a ride out to the school to meet with the principal. She wanted
to keep the whales for the school float in the upcoming Carnival
parade the week after I leave. So I went to discuss possible further
involvement with the Origami Whales Project for the float project.
Thankfully,
Ursula (my landlady here) had extra paper that I cut at the school
into squares, with mastery, call me "The Iron Chef
of Origami". lt must have been amusing to Lee, the one student
witnessing my proficiency with the paper chopper. I can also be "The
Queen of Multi-tasking", as I worked with lightning speed calculating
in my head the divisions of the paper into squares, while explaining
the "Curtain
of 2,000 Origami Whales for Dominica" project to him. Lee was
very interested and said he might come to the big stitching party tomorrow,
and bring his little brother along. The more the merrier!
Busy as ever,
with e-mailing a progress report and various
correspondences about the upcoming event. I checked in to see if a
media release had been sent out, provided poster graphics for "The
Cove", and ultimately asked to write a media release. Simon Hutchins
wrote: "Good work guys!!! This looks like you have the whole island
covered."Yes, its coming together.
In the late afternoon, I went to a spot in Soufriere, on location scout.
This was just my second time there, and so it was helpful to go back.
I think I can give Elisa a fairly good assessment of areas being considered.
Each area has different bottom topography, visibility, and species
variation and abundance. And some have the drop offs, while others
don't. It was awesome to swim along the underwater cliff face over "the abyss" just over the
bottomless deep blue.
With the big annual Carnival events coming up, lots of people are preparing,
including the local musicians. Its 9PM here as I'm working outdoors
on the veranda where I can get wifi. From up here on this hill, I can
clearly hear the sound of two calypso bands practicing as I type. Really
nice to be sitting outdoors with
melodic calypso drumming
filling the warm night air.
• Reporting Day 18: "Stitching
party with 'The Wild Bunch'" (6
February 2010)
With Athie getting us (Elisa
& Caleb, and I) to the Community Center, with Gloria opening the doors
on time, I continued to have high hopes for "Project Dominica Stitching
Party #3. We immediately proceeded to set up tables and chairs for
stitching, our main objective. Two rows of smaller child-friendly-sized
tables and benches,were set up to accommodate about a dozen or so of
the youngest to make origami whales. Anna, Zak, and Matt arrived at
starting time, and soon after, the little ones came in droves. My only
question was: Where are the teenagers capable of stitching?
Beginning with the simple design, we all dove in to make
origami whales. Then it was time to hand out the smaller paper (1.5"
x 1.5") for making "the babies". Soon afer, I demonstrated how to fold
the "trickier anatomically correct" whales which have pectoral fins.
With about 20 children powering out, folding and coloring whales, the
300 or so squares cut the day before (see Day 17: "Iron Chef of Origami")
were all transformed.
I love the energy and enthusiasm of kids. Hearing that Gloria's "charges"
were abandoned youth, I especially looked forward to bringing the Origami
Whales Project to them. With over 20 children bouncing about, it felt
like I could add "Day Care" to my already many professions
(as written, Day 5: "...before the storm"). And imagine trying
to stitch while 6-9 year olds are asking if they could stitch and braiding
my hair at the same time. Thank goodness Zak, a wilderness youth program
director from California, helped to keep some of today's "Wild
Bunch" together
and happy with a little play time break outside.
Having the experience of coordinating the stitching
of over 35,000 for the Origami
Whales Project, looking at the time frame for today's stitching party,
and assessing the very few number of volunteers capable of taking needle
and thread in hand, I "did not have a good feeling about this." It
takes some time to train volunteers how to stitch;
and as with most things, time to develop a rhythm. There
was promise in ten plus adults anticipated. With about half actually
turning up, 3 hours later, we stitched about 200, leaving
1,100 short of the goal for the day.
Upon return to my humble "home office away from
home office" I continued to work till 11PM. Another 200 are now
stitched. Thank goodness for
"... a little help from my friends", as a few of my friends
offered to take
whales with them to
stitch at home. However with the Tuesday night "unveiling" closing
in and video scheduling with Elisa, I need to collect
all remaining whales today from these friends, stitched or un-stitched
to get this done myself if necessary.
Even before all of the logistical roadblocks, I had told Athie when
we met on Day 4 that I would stitch the curtain on my own if I had
to. Maybe I am psychic or ...just experienced.
Its now actually morning of Day 19, and I am signing
off to get onto stitching more whales.
• Reporting
Day 19: "Post Superbowl Report" (7
February 2010)
Well its now quarter past midnight,
so actually 8 Feb. I decided early this morning that I would set a
goal to wrangle all of the origami whales that my friends took home,
and finish stitching whatever ones they weren't able to get to. After
signing off this morning,
I stitched another
150 or so, leaving me with about 50 "babies" (~1.5" long whales) then
set out to meet up with Jenna to pick up origami whales. She
had finished two strands, totalling about 100 whales, leaving less
than 100 "babies", so this was perfect for me to sit down this afternoon,
consolidate and sort these to stitch into two more strands.
When I rang Zak, he suggested I meet the gang (he, Matt, and Anna)
downtown at the Garaway Hotel on the waterfront, where they would
stitch while watching the Superbowl.
I hadn't seen a Superbowl game in about 15 years. And I hadn't yet
been downtown in the evening, so I accepted the invitation. Hence the "Superbowl
#44 Origami Whale Stitching Party at the Garaway Hotel, Roseau,
Dominica, West Indies"! Between the four of us, we finished stitching
another 250 or so; which left about 50 "babies" that I will stitch
in the real "tomorrow" morning.
After the final strand is stitched, I shall proceed to arrange and
attach the strands to create the curtain. Just a sneak preview,
that I just couldn't resist sharing (photo at left).
And by the way:
Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints.
.............................................................................................................................................
Action, camera, and more,... please
check back soon as there is much more to come!
.............................................................................................................................................
|
"Due to
its unique offshore terrain, Dominica is known as the Whale Watching
Capital of the Caribbean."
CLICK
HERE to read about this Sperm
whale, Scar, posted by National Geographic
|
|
Many
Thanks to my friend Kalyn and her fellow teachers & students
at Crane Country Day School for sharing the love!
Volunteers
needed
