South Rupununi Conservation Society

THE RED SISKIN RESEARCH PROGRAMME: A collaborative management plan for the Red Siskins 🦜🐦

In the first week of July 2024, Whitley Award winner and President of the South Rupununi Conservation Society (SRCS), Mr. Leroy Ignacio, coordinated a meeting in Katoonarib Village, South Rupununi. Representatives from the Red Siskin partner communities came together to review and discuss the Red Siskin Collaborative Management Plan and the updated Red Siskin Range Map.

Rangers, Toshaos, Village Council representatives, SRCS Executives, the South Rupununi District Council and a Research officer from the Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission Ms. Sherica Isaacs participated in the meeting, contributing to discussions on the continued protection and collaborative management of this endangered and protected species across its entire range.

For more than 20 years, community rangers have researched, monitored, and protected the Red Siskin. Over time, this remarkable bird has become an icon of biodiversity conservation in the South Rupununi, with communities benefiting from Avi tourism and conservation activities through the presence of the species.

Research has identified a number of threats to the Red Siskin and its habitat, including uncontrolled fires, land degradation, and climate change. The review of the Management Plan provided an opportunity to reflect on progress, contribute to fire management plans for biodiversity conservation, discuss ongoing challenges, and strengthen the collaborative actions needed to ensure the long-term conservation of the Red Siskin.

Special Spotlight on the Red Siskin communities Sawariwau, Sand Creek, Shulinab, Rupunau, Shea, Katoonarib and Maruranau. And to the Whitley Fund for Nature for their partnership in this project over the last two years.

Photo Credits: SRCS

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM | Region 4 & 6 | Discovering the Coast: Our Culture, Landscape and Practices!

Yesterday on July 7th, at Umana Yana, we celebrated the official launch of ‘Discovering the Coast: Our Culture, Landscapes and Practices’, the new Environmental Education Curriculum for Regions 4 & 6 along with ‘A guide to develop an Environmental Education Curriculum: A case Study from the Rupununi, Guyana’.

For SRCS, environmental education is not just a key program area, it’s the foundation of our conservation work. We have pushed to embed it into every conversation about the Rupununi’s future. That vision took a major step forward in 2018 when the Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme (SWM) began work here. Our partnership with SWM took environmental education to a more formal step when they supported the creation of ‘My Rupununi and Me’, Region 9 environmental education curriculum.

Between then and now, that model has grown. SRCS supported the creation of ‘My Barima Waini and Me: Our Culture, Landscape and Wildlife’ for Region 1 in partnership with the Guyana Marine Conservation Society launched this February. And now, Regions 4 & 6 have their own: ‘Discovering the Coast’, developed in partnership the Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission (GWCMC).

Like its predecessors, this curriculum is designed as a practical, engaging guide for a full academic year, with an activity book, teacher’s handbook, and appendices. Over three terms, students will explore native plants, wildlife and habitats, waterways, farming, fishing, and coastal folklore and traditions.

Special spotlight thanks to Dr. Arianne Harris for her work on the Region 4 & 6 curriculum. And to Mr. Neal Millar, Dr. Kayla de Freitas, Ms. Alyssa Melville for their contributions to the case study.

We thank the Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme not only for their partnership, but for believing in our dream. This work is only possible because of dedicated funding partners the European Union, and key government partners Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission, the Ministry of Education, NCERD, and the teachers and students who bring these pages to life.

From My Rupununi and Me to Discovering the Coast, we are seeing a movement grow: Education that reflects our landscapes, our identity, culture, our future.

📸: Luke McKenna, SWM

Where in the world is Kim and Angelbert? 🌎🇵🇪

Kim Spencer and Angelbert Johnny have graduated from the Rising Wildlife Leaders Amazon Program (2024–2026) after completing a two-year journey of training, mentorship, and regional learning across the Amazon, an initiative by the Wildlife Conservation Network.

Both Kim (SRCS Executive Member) and Angelbert (Project Coordinator, Traditional Knowledge Programme) have been part of a series of intensive leadership development sessions under the program, building skills and experience alongside conservationists from Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Bolivia, Ecuador, Suriname, and Peru.

The final training, held from 21st–26th June in Iquitos, Peru, focused on collaboration in conservation, exploring strategic systems mapping, governance models, engagement strategies, and approaches to navigating collaboration and conflict in complex conservation landscapes.

As part of the closing session, participants also engaged in field learning experiences, including visits to the world’s largest canopy walkway and community-led beekeeping initiatives, highlighting the strong connections between biodiversity conservation, livelihoods, and ancestral lands.

This final gathering marked the completion of their journey in the program, culminating in their graduation as Rising Wildlife Leaders for the Amazon region.

Congratulations to them, and we look forward to continue to support their conservation journey!!!

📸: Kim Spencer