GIF at the National Expo 2016

Participants at the GIF section

Once again this year the Green Islands Foundation participated in the National Expo at Roche Caiman on the 26th and 29th June 2016. The goal of the expo was to celebrate 40 years of Seychelles Independence and for this a number of organizations and businesses were invited to showcase their products and activities to the general public. This was a great opportunity for GIF to show all of Seychelles the conservation activities we carry out and some of our project deliverables.

Located within the EcoVillage we displayed two of our ongoing projects; the Myna Eradication and the Shark Fin Soup project. For the Myna Eradication project which we are currently implementing on North Island, we put up an educational information board explaining the methodologies used on Denis Island to remove Myna Birds, as well as the camouflage suit the hunter used to shoot down the last few mynas on the island. It was an opportunity for the public to try on the suit and take a picture!

A future myna hunter!

One of our games which was very popular was "Bullseye on the Myna", a dart game engaging public to get rid of the invasive species.    

Aiming for the myna

Displays at the expo

For the Shark Fin Soup project we displayed some deliverables developed by GIF in the past namely our Shark Identification guide for the Seychelles artisanal fishery, one of our Shark posters outlining the main threats sharks face globally, and two preserved specimens of shark species in Seychelles.

Our "Wheel of Fortune" was used to test the participants knowledge on sharks and the lucky winners won the star prize: a copy of the Shark Fin Soup comic book! We also had other giveaway stickers to encourage more participants.

Looking for the answer to win a prize

Throughout the two days we were able to increase awareness on the need for conservation to protect Seychelles unique biodiversity. Engaging with the public and learning about their thoughts, knowledge and experiences is crucial for us to adapt our awareness campaigns and conservation efforts, but also to identify the gaps and priority issues as viewed by general public.

A big thank you goes out to the Ministry of Environment and Energy and Climate Change who organized the EcoVillage and invited us to join together with the other environmental NGO’s. Thank you to all the participants who visited the GIF tent and to the Fishermen and Boat Owner's Association (FBOA) for sponsoring the prizes. 

Minister of MoEECC, Mr. Dogley visiting our displays