Education:Stories from the Field
Capacity building, Caribbean style
The Turks and Caicos Islands are an idyllic Caribbean paradise composed of eight major islands and hundreds of smaller islands. So why would anyone leave this enticing destination? To get some unique job training from the San Diego Zoo! In spring 2005, Gigi Williams, an educator from the Turks and Caicos National Trust (TCNT), braved San Diego's relentless rain in order to learn more from our world-class educators about how to develop effective education programs.
As part of our continued commitment to protecting endangered species in their native habitat, the Zoo's Education Department and the Applied Conservation Division of CRES collaborated to develop a training course that would help our Caribbean partners become more effective conservationists. This course, partially funded by a grant from the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund, was similar to another course led for our New Zealand collaborators but was tailored to meet the needs of the TCNT, our partner on the Turks and Caicos Iguana Restoration Program through CRES.
Protection of the critically endangered Turks and Caicos rock iguana will require support from the local population both in keeping cats off the small offshore island refuges and in continuing to monitor and protect the populations restored by the CRES program. To help her garner public support, Miss Williams learned about a variety of educational activities that engage and motivate the public both at the Zoo and other interpretive facilities such as the Cuyamaca Waterwise Garden and Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center. The program was a success; Miss Williams returned to her island home with some new ideas on how to get the public to keep it the natural paradise that it is.
