Contents
February 2010 Update
Dear Friend of AlTo,
Here is our latest newsletter in pdf form. Highlights of this issue include:
- The endangered Maleo, up from the grave: See what recovery looks like!
- Protecting the Whole, Protecting the Parts: AlTo's new project to conserve Bat and Turtle Island
- AlTo's Conservation Awareness Campaign: Recruiting Nature Lovers for tomorrow
- 2010: United Nations' International Year of Biodiversity
- Be part of the solution: join AlTo's 2010 Eco-Service Tour and Trash Jamboree
We hope you enjoy the newsletter.
Your comments and feedback are always welcome. If you would prefer to receive the newsletter on 100% post-consumer recycled paper by mail, or not at all, please let us know.
Thank you for your interest and support!
Marcy
Director, The Alliance for Tompotika Conservation
Vashon, WA 98070 USA
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January 2010 Update
Dear Friend of AlTo,
As an AlTo supporter, there are a few things we’re pretty sure are true about you.
You are a global thinker. You care not only about your own backyard, but about the all the natural treasures that our beautiful planet harbors, and the people who live near them. You understand that we are all connected—not just because of our concern for one another, but also very directly and tangibly, in our use and sharing of the planet’s resources. And you understand that issues like the preservation of biodiversity, conservation of resources, sustainable livelihoods, and international friendship and understanding are also all linked together in the enterprise that is humans, in all their array, trying to learn to live gracefully on the Earth.
Maybe you like to travel, having experienced the wonder of exotic places, or the magic that happens when people from very different places and walks actually meet each other, and talk and share.
And, we’ll wager that you like to make a positive difference in the places you go and the people you touch.
Finally, if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s winter, and we’re offering the Tropics (just take a moment to imagine the warmth and brightness).
So, this is for you! As you know, AlTo is all about people-to-people conservation, and we are now assembling the small group of travelers who will be AlTo’s ambassadors for conservation in next summer’s eco-service tour. Please see the attached for details about the trip and a registration form.
This year, we’re going to be tackling the global problem of litter, improper waste management, and marine plastic debris, as manifested in Tompotika. Heard about the great garbage raft in the North Pacific Gyre? Seen the degradation of natural and built areas when folks throw garbage willy-nilly? Well, here’s your chance to do something about it. This summer, we’ll be joining in teams with local villagers to pick up trash and kick off new methods for trash management in Tompotika. In addition, we’ll be taking time to observe the elaborate nesting rituals of endangered maleo birds, explore the abundant life of pristine rainforests, snorkel the world’s richest coral reefs, and more.
Come join the fun (yes, really—this picking up trash is going to be fun!) this summer. See attached and contact us for more details.
What: AlTo’s Tompotika Eco-tour and Trash Jamboree
Where: Sulawesi, Indonesia
When: July 25-Aug 8, 2010
Who: Max of 10 intrepid travelers
How much: $3000 for the 15-day trip, not including international airfare. Note: Only $2900 if you register prior to March 1!
See you in Tompotika!
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Tompotika Ecotour and Trash Jamboree Announced
See the announcement on our Travel to Tompotika page.
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December 2009 Update
Dear Friend of AlTo,
As you may remember hearing, last August AlTo brought twelve Indonesian high school artists together for a special workshop on how to draw and paint from nature. These 12 Tompotika youth had been selected by their teachers for showing artistic potential, but they’d had no previous experience or instruction in how to draw such things as fur, feathers, and leaves, nor even how to paint with watercolors or oil pastels. So it was a completely new experience for them to come together for 9 days in the Tompotika village of Teku to learn how to draw animals and plants under the expert instruction of Vashon Island wildlife artist Sandra Noel. The students received instruction not only in art techniques, but in the ecology of many of the unique and endangered animals native to the forests and seas of their Tompotika home—some of which they didn’t even know existed, and most of which they never gave much thought to, taking them for granted like wallpaper.
The workshop was a resounding success. The students were extremely grateful to have been given the opportunity. They worked very hard, and enjoyed the workshop themes—and each other—immensely. They also produced a lot of truly beautiful art work—all featuring Tompotika wildlife—that has since been pulled together into AlTo’s Our Heritage, Our Future 2010 calendar (you can pick one up at a local retail location or order through AlTo using the attached form).
Recently, AlTo staff had the privilege of delivering to the students printed copies of this calendar of their animal artwork, and witnessing how, for these students and their neighbors, the world opened. Families gathered round, workers left their tasks, children clambered to see as the students carefully examined each precious page. They pored over the paintings, the animal descriptions, and (naturally!) the photos of themselves. Some teared up. Others had to turn away, overwhelmed. All were visibly moved by the pride they felt in this first-ever acclaim they were receiving for their creative expression. Parents grinned. Neighbors maneuvered to try to get a copy for themselves. Grandmothers scrambled to offer food, their expression of gratitude.
And so what does it all mean, in the end? Was it just a fun project, where people had a great time, and everybody feels good? That much, certainly. But here at AlTo, we pay attention to young people in part because we have faith in the future. And here are a few of the “ripples” we are already seeing in Tompotika, just a few months after the workshop: children are testing each other on wildlife facts. The mother of one of the young artists showed us the pile of nature paintings he has continued to produce in the months since the workshop. Villagers have paged through the calendar, noting each of the 12 endangered wildlife species, and congratulating themselves with, “I’ve seen that one, that one, that one...” Many other villagers have noted that they didn’t realize that these animals were globally important, unique to their area, and protected by law. For many Tompotikans—those people living right at the heart of the Earth’s biodiversity epicenter—the world has indeed opened: through the calendar project, they have found a new awareness and pride in their natural heritage, new skills and expressions of their creativity, and new pride in the power of their youth. Over the coming year, we look forward to more ripples: for each calendar sold in the U.S., another will be distributed for free in Tompotika; we hope that every one of Tompotika’s roughly 50,000 residents will see the calendar during 2010.
You can help the ripples spread. Buy a calendar or two. Better yet, buy one of the original paintings done by the workshop students; the paintings are on display during the month of December at the Red Bicycle restaurant on Vashon Island, and each is framed and available for sale for $60. Proceeds from art sales will be split between the young artists themselves and AlTo, to support this and other Art for Conservation projects. (If you are interested in the artwork but can’t make it to Vashon Island, just contact us.)
In this holiday season, the AlTo team wishes you much joy. We wish that you, too, may take pride and pleasure in the wonders of creation around you, and we are grateful for your support in helping to preserve and celebrate them. May the world continue to open for all of us, and may there be peace on Earth for all creatures. Happy holidays from the AlTo team!
Marcy Summers
Director, The Alliance for Tompotika Conservation
Vashon, WA, USA
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November 2009 Update
Dear AlTo Friend,
Now is the time. At this time of year, we know you are getting lots of appeals for donations. Please make sure that AlTo is on your list, give generously, and give now! Thanks to some wonderful AlTo friends, any donation you make between now and November 30th will be matched, dollar for dollar.
With AlTo, every donation already gets terrific “bang for the buck” – we are small, lean, and efficient, with a whopping 92% of our income going directly toward our conservation work in Tompotika. And now through November 30, you can double your already impressive power to make a difference in the world through AlTo. Please send in your gift today! And for any donation of $100 or more, we'll send you a free 2010 Tompotika Youth Calendar.
As a reminder, here are some examples of what your gift will make possible:
- Miles of pristine forest in the new Tompotika Forest Preserve: 25,000 acres of carbon-sequestering, wildlife-harboring, water-producing tropical rainforest. That’s about 38 square miles, larger than Vashon Island!
- That first breath: a chance to live for thousands of baby sea turtles and maleo birds, which otherwise would never hatch, and hundreds of adult turtles who will not fall to poachers
- A new outlook for the children and adults of Tompotika, who are learning about and taking pride in their natural heritage for the first time through AlTo’s Conservation Awareness Campaign
- The wonder of discovery for brand-new species like the Cyrtodactylus geckoes recently discovered through AlTo scientific surveys
- Clear vision for all the folks in our conservation villages who’ve gotten free eyeglasses through AlTo’s program
- Things of beauty: artwork featuring Tompotika wildlife, as in the works by Tompotika high school artists included in the 2010 Tompotika Youth Calendar
In this wounded world, it can sometimes seem as though our efforts to heal things are swamped by all the bad news. But in Tompotika, we go deep, and do it right, in one critically important corner of the planet. And it’s working, for everyone.
Please, take a stand for the good news. Send in your donation today, knowing that its impact will be doubled. Please see this form for giving options. Or you can donate on-line through our website, www.tompotika.org. On-line donations through Nov. 30th will also qualify for the matching funds.
Thank you for being part of the solution!
Marcy
Marcy Summers
Director, The Alliance for Tompotika Conservation
Vashon, WA 98070 USA
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October 2009 Update
Dear Friend of AlTo (Alliance for Tompotika Conservation):
Please note our newest newsletter has just been published.
As this year's Tompotika sea turtle season wanes and maleo season waxes, we have lots of great news to share with you, including:
- In Tompotika, AlTo team discovers three new species previously unknown to science!
- New Tompotika Forest Preserve grows to TEN times original size
- Art for Conservation: Tompotika high school artists gather for wildlife art workshop
- 2009 AlTo Eco-service travelers conduct survey of Tompotika butterflies
- Meet AlTo's terrific Tompotikan staff
Also, AlTo's Tompotika Youth Calendar for 2010 is now available! This 2010 calendar, printed on recycled, FSC*-certified paper, features truly gorgeous renderings of twelve of Tompotika's unique and endangered wildlife species, as created by the very talented Tompotika high school artists of AlTo's recent workshop. Perfect for holiday giving!
Calendars are available at bookstores and other retail outlets on Vashon Island and the Puget Sound area. Or, use this order form and we will mail you yours! Calendars are $15 each, or $12 each for 3 or more.
Please order your calendar(s) today, and know that for every calendar you buy here in the U.S., one more can be distributed free in Tompotika as a way to raise awareness and pride in Tompotika's wildlife and young people.
Thank you for supporting conservation, the arts, and young people for a green and lively future!
Marcy Summers
Director, The Alliance for Tompotika Conservation
Vashon, WA 98070 USA
*FSC = Forest Stewardship Council, and independent body certifying sustainably-managed forests and wood products.
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