Hi everyone:
Well, we did it. We have just finished teaching all 4th graders at 25 public schools on the island. There was one small school (FQ Sanchez) in the south where we taught the entire school (just under 100 students). The first and second grade students at FQ Sanchez were adorable! We also completed a successful teacher training workshop. It was an all day workshop to train the teachers on how to utilize the educational kits and build their knowledge and awareness of endemic species on Guam.
We had Friday off from teaching and spent the afternoon exploring the facilities at the Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources (DAWR), the Guam Zoological, Botanical and Marine Garden and the Underwater World Aquarium. We met with the zoo and aquarium staff and took behind the scenes tours of the facilities. There is a lot of great work being done with all of these
organizations on behalf of wildlife in Guam. The pictures below were taken at DAWR in their captive breeding and lab areas. DAWR has 133 KoKos (Guam rails) in their breeding program and will be releasing 50 birds back into the wild on the island of Rota at the end of this month. The bird featured in these photos is "Staples" and he got his name from believe it or not eating staples! He is a tough little bird. We also worked with "Mutong" the fanihi (Mariana fruit bat). The word "Mutong" means smelly in Charmorro! He was cute and a fiesty little bat.
We also had an opportunity to tour a small island off the southern coast of Guam called Cocos Island. It is a gorgeous island and the DAWR staff showed us where they are planning their next KoKo (Guam rail) release after Rota. This weekend we are doing a bit more snorkeling and on Sunday we are headed to a private beach in northern Guam for a fiesta with all of the Charmorro teachers! We really have enjoyed working with them as well as Ronald Laguana (who has organized this entire school schedule for us). We are very excited about the celebration and the great food on Sunday. Monday we catch a small plane (only a 20 minute ride) to Rota. On Rota we will be teaching at all of the schools (only 5 on the island) and all grade levels. Stay tuned for our adventures in Rota!
Kristen