Iguanas need community buy-in

Hope Zoo Kingston wants community members in Hellshire Hills to help with the conservation of the endemic Jamaican Iguana.

Hope Zoo Kingston, which is operated by the Hope Zoo Preservation Foundation, is the recipient of a grant from the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (implemented by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to support the Headstart Project for the Jamaican Iguanas.

“We want the community to become a part of the Jamaican Iguana conservation programme as a matter of necessity,” said Orlando Robinson, project consultant for the Hope Zoo Iguana Headstart Project. “Community participation and partnership is key to the success of any conservation effort.”

The Hope Zoo Iguana Headstart Project is hailed for being a crucial part of bringing the Jamaican Iguana back from extinction.

Declared extinct in 1948, the Jamaican Iguana (scientific name Cyclura collie) is an endemic reptile species. In 1990, however, a pig hunter stumbled upon a live specimen of the species, which he handed over to the Hope Zoo. The specimen was later confirmed to  be the Jamiacan Iguana and its species recovery plan started. 

Since then, the Hope Zoo Kingston has housed hundreds of the iguana hatchlings from the wild for approximately five years or until they are at a size to be reintroduced.

The Hope Zoo recovery programme is globally recognised as a modern-day conservation success story and of which Jamaica can be very proud. 

“With all that success in the Zoo, our aim is really to reintroduce these precious animals into the wild,” Robinson said. “The project aims, in part, to counter the negative effects of human activity in the Jamaican Iguana habitat by providing forest users with other income streams that would reduce their dependence on forest resources.”

For the Jamaican Iguana, the Hellshire Hills are a critical site for their survival and for Jamaica’s biodiversity. Although the area (Hellshire Hills) is in the Portland Bight Protected Area, habitat of native deciduous and dry limestone forests are being lost. 

The users include small farmers, animal rearers, wood cutters (for carving, furniture, or fence post) and flower harvesters.

From left: Melanie Litton, assistant curator of Herpetology at Audubon Zoo in Louisiana and Joey Brown, general curator of Hope Zoo Kingston guides The Honourable Audley Shaw, former Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries handling of a Jamaican Iguana as Kenneth Benjamin, chairman of the Hope Zoo Preservation Foundation looks on. Minister Shaw was at the annual Iguana Health Screening Exercise

Training Being Offered

"The forest users may not realise how they are impacting the habitats. They are providing for their families in the ways they know," said Robinson. "But we want them to know that (1) they are operating in a protected area and (2) the Hope Zoo Headstart Programme is willing to train them for income alternatives."

The conservation plan allows for training in all HEART Trust NTA programmes offered at the Portmore campus and Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) Team Jamaica training through the Portmore Community College.

"The Headstart Project is also excited to have the Ministry of Agriculture offer beekeeper training," Robinson shared. 

Community members who are eligible to access the training are the forest users, their life partners, their children who are 18 years or older and still live with their parents. 

"If you are unemployed and unattached youth, 18 and older, who is thinking of using the forest in the ways we have mentioned, we can help you to develop an alternative income," Robinson urged. 

Contact Hope Zoo Kingston at call 876-970-2459 or e-mail, email-hopezooja@gmail.com. The interested individuals should indicate their area of interest along with their contact information. 

"We will then contact persons and invite them to scheduled meetings to discuss their eligibility. It should be noted that only persons with a TRN will qualify for HEART programmes or courses," Robinson said.

Promising PEP Scholars receive $400,000 from LASCO Curves

LASCO Distributors Limited through its Curves brand continued its advocacy for young girls to have equal access to education with the announcement of the 2020 LASCO Curves Primary Exit Profile (PEP) Scholarship Awardees at a special handover lunch on Wednesday, August 19, 2020.

Held at White Marl, St Catherine headquarters, eight promising PEP scholars from schools across the island were awarded scholarships from LASCO Curves, valued at $400,000.

Mom, Marjorie Wright (left) shares a sweet embrace with her star achiever and 2020 LASCO Curves Primary Exit Profile (PEP) Scholarship recipient Miquandre Wright (centre) during a special ceremony at LASCO Distributors Limited in White Marl, St. Catherine on Wednesday, August 19, 2020. LASCO Beverage Marketing Manager Danielle Cunningham joins the moment.

The 2020 recipients are: Miquandre Wright, Christina Primary and Infant School;  Gabriella Foster, Wakefield Primary School; Rayana Anderson, Free Hill Primary and Infant School; Courtenae Steer, Chetwood Memorial Primary; Nashema Rhoden, Rock River All Age School; Keshamoi Powell, Alpha Primary School; Youlanda Brown, Belmont Primary School and Analise East, St. Andrew Preparatory School.

“LASCO Curves has always been passionate about youth advocacy and mentorship, especially for our young girls and women. Our PEP Scholarship Programme is yet another exciting step on our journey to positively change lives, particularly when it is financial barriers that make the difference between having that opportunity or not having. The last seven years have truly been gratifying as we partnered with leaders across the various disciplines including health, youth advocacy and social reform to encourage girls to be the woman they dream of becoming,” stated Renee Rose, corporate programmes manager at LASCO.

LASCO through the Curves Scholarship Programme is proud to brighten the path to tomorrow for Jamaica’s young achievers.

“The LASCO Curves PEP Scholarship is an opportune activity that will allow our girls to develop some appreciation for the work that local businesses contribute to the economy and education. Sometimes our young people do not make the connection between a strong economy and a great education system,” explained Sophia Forbes-Hall, director for Region 6 in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information.

She further noted, “If we look at worldwide trends we will realize that all education systems that have done well across the world would have done well because they are strongly funded by the local economy. This is an opportunity for our girls to have that appreciation for what LASCO does. We use this opportunity to credit LASCO for the years of partnership with the Ministry of Education Youth and Information.” 

The award also features a special slot for the highest female achiever of a LASCO Distributors Employee.
Curves, LASCO’s line of sanitary napkins, is a firm believer in personal health development as one of the critical means to ensuring our nation’s women and young girls gain access to affordable choices of menstrual hygiene materials.

Public Relations vs Marketing

Do you think Public Relations (PR) and Marketing are the same thing? Sadly, you’re not the only one. The good news though is that we’re here to tell you that they’re absolutely not, and why. While Public Relations is considered a marketing strategy, it is quite different from Marketing itself. First, let’s begin with what common to the two fields.

Marketing and Public Relations are both aimed at increasing brand awareness. They are also both concerned with creating and maintaining a positive public image for their clients. The means to these ends, however, are quite different.
Here are a few ways that Marketing differs from Public Relations:

1.    While Marketing is predominantly focused on promoting and selling products and services, and also includes advertising, PR is about building favourable relationships with the client’s target market. PR doesn’t involve direct selling.

2.    Speaking about target market, even that is different. The goal of the marketer is to get customers to keep buying a product or service, and to convert non-buyers into customers. The efforts of Public Relations Officers (PROs) are targeted to a wider group of people: the media, suppliers, customers, partners, to name a few.

3. Lastly, Public Relations isn’t bought media, it is earned media. The PR practitioner can make pitches and write releases on behalf of their client, but there is no guarantee for placement. The decision is that of the media house/editor. The Marketer on the other hand pays to have their ads placed. It’s about buying and selling.

Public Relations and Marketing are connected, or similar even, but they’re two different practices.

Nine St. Mary students reap over $2m in scholarships

The Sydney A. Phillips Scholarship Trust Fund (SAPSTF) awarded approximately $2,250,000 to nine outstanding students from the parish of St. Mary on Friday, August 14, 2020 at the Headquarters of the Jamaica Producers Group (JPG).  

Funding for this year stems from the support of Jamaica Producers Group, who has been the major financier of the Fund since its inception, in addition to past scholars, whose generosity covers the cost of two of this year’s scholarships, and friends and family of the late Sydney A. Phillips.

The nine recipients have each successfully obtained scholarships valued at $250,000 per annum for the duration of their degree. In fact, the 2020 cohort includes six students from 2019 and three from the new, very competitive batch of applicants this year. 

Those continuing from last year include Shamona Bailey and Shando Buchanan, both Marine Engineering students at Caribbean Maritime University (CMU); Shereen LaTouche, a Science Education major at Mico University; Cedella McKie, Integrated Marketing Communications student at University of the West Indies (UWI); Xandrea Roach, Law student at UWI; and Natola Watt, Land Economy and Valuation Surveying at University of Technology Jamaica. 

Joining them are Joelle Greensword, a third-year Industrial Engineering at CMU; Kristina Selvyn, final year Psychology student at UWI and Ashley Gray, a second-year Sociology major at UWI.

According to Jeffrey Hall, CEO of Jamaica Producers Group, JPG’s support for this Fund and the parish of St. Mary remain unwavering.

“Jamaica Producers is the largest private employer in the Parish of St. Mary where we have operated for over 90 years. We have a strong commitment to the communities in which we do business, and this is the main reason why we have proudly remained steadfast in supporting the educational goals of bright young people from St. Mary — the home of JP Farms — through the Sydney A. Phillips Scholarship Trust.”

This is the first year that the Trust will be providing in excess of $2 million to the scholars. The previous highest being $1.5 million in 2019; bringing the Fund’s total contribution to education to $17.05 million in aid of St. Mary’s brightest.

Fondly known as the “Pay-It-Forward” scholarship, the SAPSTF assists students from the parish of St. Mary, who display excellent academic performance and community involvement. Elizabeth Phillips, director of SAPSTF spoke highly of the candidates and selection process.

“We have been very impressed and amazed by the level of knowledge, maturity and dedication of these young people. It really restores your hope in the future of this country, when you see this talent and this intent of purpose that is there,” noted Phillips.

Sydney A. Phillips Scholarship Trust Fund Scholarship (SAPSTF) awardees Joelle Greensword, third-year Industrial Engineering student at Caribbean Maritime Institute; Ashley Gray, second-year Sociology student at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona and Kristina Selvyn, final year Psychology student at UWI, Mona share a happy moment during the presentation ceremony held on Friday, August 14, 2020 at the Jamaica Producers Group corporate head office in Kingston. The SAPSTF awarded approximately $2,250,000 to nine outstanding students from the parish of St. Mary for the 2020-2021 academic year

Lifted Burden

Joelle Greensword, who has been battling for a seat at the table in the male-dominated field of engineering, expressed relief in being selected for this year’s scholarship awardees. 

“I currently live in an extended family and my elderly mother and father are retired and financially, they are only dependent on their pensions. This scholarship will not only lift a burden from my family, who is already using all the resources possible to help me achieve my goal, but it will also take a strain away from me as a student. It will allow me the opportunity to continue to strive for greatness and graduate with my degree as an Industrial Engineer in which I can give back to my society.”

With similar views on positively contributing to society with the assistance of the scholarship was Sociology major Ashley Gray.

“This scholarship will benefit me by laying the foundation for me to achieve my goals. There are many societal issues in our country such as poverty, crime, and teenage pregnancy that hinder our development. I want to use sociology to mitigate these issues in a way that it will foster our development. Sociology will help me to fully understand the causes of these issues and to provide solutions. I will be able to make my contribution to the development of my country with a degree in Sociology.”

For Kristina Selvyn, the scholarship represents a source of comfort and fuel for her passion.

“I am overwhelmed, humbled and thankful to know that I have been chosen as a recipient. This scholarship will truly benefit my family and me by easing the financial pressures that are present and allow me to focus more on my studies and complete my final year successfully.

“I have a passion for helping people and understanding why people do the things they do. I want to help people find resources to cope with everyday problems and adversities. This [scholarship] will make this academic year much easier and help get closer to achieving my goals,” Selvyn explained

The Sydney A. Phillips Scholarship was established in 1994 in honour of then retiring Custos of the parish of St. Mary.  He was a lawyer, farmer, senator and sportsman, whose crowning glory was captaining the St. Mary Cricket Team to victory in the Nethersole Cup. He passed away on August 4, 1994; two days after the first scholarship recipients were selected.