Dennis Sammy, Nature Seekers
Dennis Sammy was a fresh-faced 18-year-old when, in 1990, he was one of 11 volunteers involved in the foundation training for Nature Seekers, a community-based conservation group formed to protect leatherback sea turtles from poachers around Matura, Trinidad. 

“I saw the turtles for the first time on that course, and I’ve not done another job since. This is my passion. It’s amazing that we will be celebrating our 20th anniversary next year,” says Sammy, who has been managing director since 1995.

Nature Seekers has evolved into an internationally respected organisation that empowers local community members through employment in the fields of education, research and ecotourism, and promoting sustainable living. “We stress the importance of protecting our natural resources and make people aware of the benefits of a sustainable lifestyle,” says Sammy, who won one of his nation’s highest honours in 2001, the Humming Bird Medal (Silver) for environmental service.

Among many responsibilities, Sammy heads the day-to-day management of Matura’s Turtle Conservation and Tagging Programmes; coordinates the training and organisation of tour guides; organises and manages annual beach clean-ups, and is one of the country’s coordinators for the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network. He also co-designed and built the National Sea Turtle Tagging Database with Dr Scott Eckert.

Under Sammy’s guardianship, Nature Seekers has collected numerous international tourism awards including The British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow Award in 1998.

“This is a fantastic job; helping the local community and seeing people grow,” he says. “I also love the learning aspect. It’s really challenging but brings great satisfaction. I would never leave this job. They would have to fire me,” he laughs.

• Visit www.natureseekers.org

Akilah Jaramogi, Community Re-Forestation Project
Akilah Jaramogi began the multi-award winning Fondes Amandes Community Re-Forestation Project (FACRP) with her late husband Tacuma in 1982 . The project is located 750ft up Trinidad’s Northern Range Mountains, on the outskirts of Port of Spain.

Since its inception, over 17,000 trees have been planted on the steep hillsides, interspersed with organic crops. Previously only bamboo stands and razor grass grow in this terrain.

Jaramogi says such a harsh environment had been routinely ravaged by bushfires and the FACRP was started as a response.

“We wanted to halt the degradation of the St Ann’s Watershed (where the Fondes Amandes is located) through agro-forestry activities such as: tree planting; cutting fire traces, developing proper drainage and terracing, and the introduction of hillside farming, intercropping with fruit and hardwood trees.”

The project, which began on 15 acres of WASA (Water and Sewerage Authority) land now protects more than 115, and is looking to expand further still towards the degraded ridge of Chancellor Hill.

It has now been over a decade since the last forest fire.

“It’s also about community empowerment; empowering people back into indigenous agriculture,” explains Jaramogi, “and to show what can be achieved when communities take responsibility for their own watersheds. “Through living in balance with our watershed in this way, we are protecting its bio-diversity and simultaneously creating employment opportunities within the community.”

The FACRP employs 36 local community members with occupations such as organic gardening/permaculture; running a tree nursery; aquaculture; eco-tourism; tree planting; recycling/composting, and craft and cottage industries. 

“We focus on wise land-use practice, creating sustainable livelihoods, making use of our natural environment and the impact of people on the environment. Be it positive or negative, we are all connected to the environment,” adds Jaramogi.

• Visit www.facrp.org

Zach Norman, Arapaima Fisheries Project
Zach Norman is battling to save one of nature’s true giants. The Arapaima is the world’s largest freshwater scaled fish, reaching lengths of up to 3m (10ft) and weights of 200kg (440lbs). Overfishing, however, has left Guyana’s Arapaima population at perilously low levels.

Norman, 40, is Arapaima Fisheries project manager at the Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development, in North Rupununi, Guyana. He took part in the first surveys of this freshwater leviathan, in 2001, which estimated local numbers at around 400.

Norman, a Makushi Amerindian, understands the economic importance of the Arapiama to this impoverished region but also the need to promote sustainable practices to ensure its survival.

“In 2001, in partnership with the North Rupununi District Development Board, we began a programme that would allow the Arapaima population to recover while local fishermen continued harvesting.

“The Management Plan organises local fishermen into Fisheries Committees responsible for counting the Arapaima every year. After the annual surveys, a quota is determined and 20 per cent of the adult population, of fish more than 1.5 metres, can be harvested. This harvest is then shared among the 16 communities. Fishing is only permitted between December and February and we do not allow harvesting of breeding adults,” says the trained Forest Ranger.

The plan is based on a Brazilian project by the Mamirauá Institute which, following the quota system, increased its Arapaima population by 300 per cent in three years and simultaneously doubled fishermen’s profits through selective marketing. Despite the fact that, ironically, the demand for this fish from Guyana comes from Brazil, Norman says the Iwokrama plan is showing similarly stunning results.

“From just over 400 fish in 2001, a recently concluded survey revealed there are now more than 3000. And very few people are still engaged in illegal harvesting,” he adds.

Norman continues to conduct community education outreach and heads regular river patrols to catch anybody fishing illegally. The father-of-four patently loves his job.

“I love everything I do, especially being in the field counting the Arapaima. I will continue working as long as I am healthy.”

• Visit www.iwokrama.org

Annette Arjoon, Marine Turtle Conservation Society
Annette Arjoon is dedicated to protecting Guyana’s indigenous marine communities. Arjoon was founding secretary of the Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society (GMTCS), which works to protect the leatherback, olive ridley, green and hawksbill turtles, all of which nest on Shell Beach.

The 44-year-old, raised by her Amerindian grandmother in Guyana’s rural Pomeroon region, has worked to broaden the GMTCS scope to include programmes that benefit not just the turtles, but also the communities around the turtle-nesting beaches.

“I am focusing on community development and  finding alternative livelihoods and income so they no longer have to kill the turtles and take the eggs,” says the joint winner of the 2008 Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Award for Excellence in Public and Civic Contributions.

Arjoon saw the possibility that communities in Guyana’s north-west could use sustainable non-timber forest products, such as handmade cocoa sticks, to earn income, and consequently supplement their diets with protein other than turtle meat and eggs. This idea grew into a product-line called North West Organics, promoting five goods native to the Guyanese Amerindian culture.

“Helping indigenous communities here, helps protect wildlife and the rainforests, which in turn affects the rest of the Caribbean,” she explains.

Since 2002 the GMTCS has also successfully lobbied for a partial ban on trawler fishing around beaches during nesting season, and it was instrumental in the government’s decision to identify the 100-mile-long Shell Beach as a protected area.

“With a little effort we can bring about huge changes,” says Arjoon.

• Visit www.gmtcs.org.gy 

Gupte Lutchmedial, Manatee Conservation Trust
“When you volunteer for something and become involved, your desire for it strengthens; you become committed to the animal’s welfare and it changes your life” . So says 56-year-old Gupte Lutchmedial of his near 20-year association with the West Indian manatees of Trinidad’s Nariva Swamp.

The protection and rehabilitation of these endangered aquatic mammals, which average an impressive 3m (10ft) in length and 400-600 kg (880-1,322lbs) in weight, began as a Rotary Club project in 1990. Lutchmedial was assigned to head up what, in 1993, became the Manatee Conservation Trust (MCT).

In 1996 the 500-acre estate on which the animals live came up for sale and was duly purchased by the MCT. “We’re the only ever totally local, non-profit, group to purchase the habitat of an animal and make it sustainable [in Trinidad],” says Lutchmedial proudly.

Threats to the manatee population, currently estimated at 60, included: habitat encroachment by rice farming; hunters; entanglement in fishing nets, and being struck by boat propellers.

The Trust set about conducting manatee dietary studies and encouraging vegetation favourites; doubling the manatees’ grazing area through improved channel accessibility; carrying out population counts; introducing patrols; banning fishing nets and motorboats, and establishing a research station on site.

Both Lutchmedial and the MCT have received Humming Bird (Silver) Medals from the T&T government in recognition of their environmental contributions.

The Trust’s scope has grown to encompass the conservation and protection of the Nariva Swamp and adjacent environmentally sensitive areas. Other major projects now also include protecting nesting marine turtles on Manzanilla Beach, and the re-introduction of blue and gold macaws into Nariva Swamp.

But the manatee remains uppermost for Lutchmedial. “If I am to be remembered for anything I hope it would be for my efforts to protect the manatee habitat,” he says.

• Visit www.manateetrust.org.tt

Arlington James, Forestry, Wildlife & Parks Division
Arlington James has devoted more than 30 years to bird and plant conservation in Dominica as a member of the nation’s Forestry, Wildlife & Parks Division. As well as dedicated hands-on fieldwork he has authored numerous publications and is coordinator of the island’s Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival programme.

James, who describes his work as “being involved in a bit of everything”, began as an Assistant Forest Officer and rose to Acting Director of Forestry and Wildlife at various times. The Division is hailed for its work, including efforts to conserve Dominica’s two endemic parrots, the Imperial Parrot (or “Sisserou”) and the Red-necked Parrot (or “Jaco”).

James’ wide-ranging career has included co-ordinating research on Dominica’s native palms, freshwater swamps and mangrove species; the environmental monitoring of beaches, rainfall, stream flow and water levels; monitoring water level changes and related conditions at Dominica’s famous Boiling Lake, and overseeing the activities of visiting researchers.

It’s clear that the creativity involved in Dominica’s month-long Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival, which had a 2009 theme of Celebrate Birds in Culture, has inspired him.

“It’s growing, and we’re excited about that. We do a lot of activities with school children and we try to be as creative as possible, coming up with ideas to fire their imagination,” James explains.

James has written widely on Dominica’s plants, animals and ecosystems. He is lead author of Dominica’s Birds, a fully illustrated guide exploring the island’s birdlife and its cultural importance, and he also wrote Flora and Fauna of Cabrits National Park. He’s currently working on another publication, documenting the traditional games Dominican children play with local plants and plant parts.

“I am proud of the publications because, when I retire, I will have left something behind. One or two schools have already used them as texts, and that is gratifying. I’m not going anywhere yet though,” he laughs. “ I’ll be doing this for as long as I am able to.”

• Visit www.avirtualdominica.com/forestry

Bonnie Rusk, Conservation Biologist
Bonnie Rusk has dedicated her life to saving the critically-endangered Grenada dove.

“This is my life’s work, this is what I do. It has been all-consuming for the last 18 years,” says the 46-year-old.

Rusk, a Canadian conservation biologist, fascinated by endangered species on islands, began graduate research on the dove in 1991.

Conservation efforts, initiated largely by Rusk (in collaboration with Grenada’s Forestry and National Parks) were succeeding, with the dove’s population rising from around 90 in 1990, to 182 in 2003, when Hurricane Ivan struck in 2004. “The devastation wrought by Ivan was unbelievable, it wiped out at least a third of the dove’s population,” she says.

The dove faced another threat in 2006 when plans to build a holiday resort on one of its last remaining strongholds were unveiled.  Rusk, who lives high in the Colorado Mountains but spends up to five months a year in Grenada, mediated a solution between the interests of the dove and the developers. That resulted in international exposure.

“That made a difference,” she says. “Local people saw this was a big deal and that foreign visitors would come just to see the dove. The dove is unique to Grenada.”

Rusk’s work  includes monitoring population levels; ecological studies on the dove’s dry forest habitat; collaborating with government; community work; awareness campaigns (including television), and school education programmes. She was instrumental in the establishment of two national parks for the dove, and having a dedicated visitor centre built at the Mt Harman Estate. 2007 population estimates suggest 136 doves remain, concentrated in two pockets on the Grenadian south-west and west coasts.

“The species cannot decline any further,” says Rusk, or else extinction looms. “The key is habitat protection. Many other things will come from that but first and foremost we must protect its remaining habitat.”

• Visit www.birdlife.org or contact Bonnie Rusk at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Joseph Prosper, Conservationist
“I like the idea that somebody local is making a difference,” says Joseph ‘Junior’ Prosper, who was named as a 2008 Conservation Hero by The Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund. The award recognised the 50-year-old’s outstanding efforts in the preservation of Antigua and Barbuda’s endangered snakes, birds and sea turtles.

Prosper’s childhood love of wildlife was piqued by a 2002 wetlands conservation workshop delivered by Dr Lisa Sorenson (see page 42), and the Clare Hall School Geography teacher now devotes all his spare time to the fundamentals of conservation.

This includes tirelessly maintaining bait stations guarding offshore islands from introduced predators such as rats (an essential task for the recovery of Antiguan Racer Snakes, nesting turtles and many native birds), and also assessing seabird populations; catching and measuring snakes, and documenting habitat changes and pressures.

From February to November, Prosper is out four nights a week (from 9pm-2am) counting, measuring, and tagging nesting Hawksbill, Green and Leatherback sea turtles. However, the species with which Prosper has become synonymous is the beautiful West Indian Whistling-Duck. He is an expert on its ecology, and his groundbreaking work on the species – such as collating first-hand data on nesting sites, feeding and resting areas – has resulted in a better picture of the duck’s population and distribution.

Prosper says a lot of his work has been based on adapting the observed techniques of visiting scientists, perfecting them for Antiguan conditions. Maybe he is being self-effacing as his own work is widely recognised and he regularly presents papers on his findings.

“I didn’t want to wait six or 12 months until they (overseas scientists) came back again, I looked at the methodologies and perfected them.
“Somebody has to do it and as long as nothing prevents me from doing it here I will continue,” says Prosper modestly.

• Visit www.eag.org.ag

Dr Lisa Sorenson, Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds
“I love what I do; it’s so rewarding. I’m passionate about the Caribbean; the birds and habitats are so unique and beautiful, but unfortunately people aren’t aware of their value and they’re fast disappearing due to development, pollution, and other threats,” says Dr Lisa Sorenson, president of the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB).

Spreading the Conservation message and increasing local capacity are the SCSCB’s primary aims says Florida-born Sorenson, whose Caribbean odyssey started 25 years ago whilst conducting PhD research on White-cheeked Pintails in the Bahamas.

The 49-year-old joined the SCSCB in 1990 and, after a 1995 post-doctorate at the Smithsonian Institution, attended a SCSCB workshop on the endangered West Indian Whistling-Duck (WIWD), in Nassau, in 1996. Volunteers were sought for leadership of a working group to save this regional endemic. Sorenson raised her hand and ‘The WIWD and Wetlands Conservation Project’ was born.

She began developing outreach materials, including writing and editing the Wondrous West Indian Wetlands: Teachers’ Resource Book. The book proved a monumental task, but one that meant Sorenson could then begin conducting regional training workshops in earnest – visiting 18 Caribbean countries and over 3500 teachers in the last eight years.

“We’re really trying to help local educators and non-governmental organisations do their jobs. Because many Caribbean countries do not have the resources developed nations enjoy, we do whatever we can to assist by providing materials, guidance, encouragement, training and networking opportunities.”

In 2002, the mother-of-two quit her regular job to devote herself full-time to leading the SCSCB’s conservation initiatives. Her work now includes strategic planning, grant proposal submissions, programme coordination, leading workshops; and website management. She has authored over 18 conservation-related publications and her fundraising efforts have yielded nearly US$900,000 in grants.

• Visit www.scscb.org

Allan Smith, Marine Biologist
Around the coasts of St Lucia Allan Smith is a familiar sight. In his depth sounder-and GPS-fitted kayak, this marine biologist has dedicated the best part of a decade to identifying, describing and mapping the nation’s coastal reefs and mangroves.

“Around 95 per cent of all mangroves have been mapped, and also 20 per cent of the reefs,” explains Smith, who grew up in Zimbabwe before attending University in Scotland and then Canada.  It is essential work, as the St Lucia National Trust uses the information to develop a wetlands and mangroves management blueprint.

“I absolutely love my work,” says Smith. “Seeing the information gathered over many hours being used to help protect these areas gives immense satisfaction. You can’t conserve something if you don’t know what’s there.”

Smith employs ingenious methods to further his work, even utilising cameras attached to kites to obtain aerial shots of the mangroves. “It’s the best way of identifying the different types of vegetation,” explains the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute Research Associate.

He first came to the Caribbean when conducting post-graduate work on seaweeds in Barbados, and has been living in Vieux Fort, near Laborie, St Lucia, for 20 years.

Smith is the driving force behind initiatives designed to sustainably manage two overexploited natural resources: sea moss and white sea urchins/eggs. “The idea is to take the pressure off the wild stocks and provide an additional source of income for the local community. It’s tremendously gratifying to start a project of this kind and see the villagers really take it on; form an association; have women getting involved, and so on,” he says.

Smith conducts training through the region on coastal resource mapping and management, and sea moss project implementation, and has published numerous papers on his work.

• Visit www.canari.org