News from Myakka City & Madagascar | September 2018
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Our partner Nature's Path
EnviroKidz
believes in the
#PowerOfKids
and we’re so excited to share their new campaign filmed at the Lemur Conservation Foundation!
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Thank you,
EnviroKidz
, for including us—and helping to build awareness about lemurs.
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Allagash and her twin sister Rogue were born at LCF on April 3, 2013 to parents Ansell and Yuengling. Rogue and Allagash are mostly inseparable, often found within a few feet of one another. While similar in tastes, both girls have unique personalities, Allagash being the more playful and sensitive of the two.
The ring-tailed lemur is listed as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List with a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future. LCF works with multiple Species Survival Plans to manage its breeding program and is currently home to 52 lemurs, including 14 ring-tailed lemurs.
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TONIGHT!
September 13
2nd Annual Laugh for Lemurs
McCurdy's Comedy Theatre
5:30pm Reception
7:00pm Comedian Dennis Blair
Just a few tickets remain!
Don't miss out—come enjoy a laughter-filled night and help save lemurs from extinction by joining us at this LCF benefit to support our mission.
Tickets are $25 (cash bar, 2 item minimum) and include a pre-show reception from 5:30pm to 6:30pm with LCF staff and light appetizers followed by the hilarious Dennis Blair at 7pm.
McCurdy's describes Dennis Blair as 'one of the most talented and versatile comedians in show business.' He's performed on The Tonight Show and HBO, and has entertained everywhere from Carnegie Hall in New York to the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles to the Kennedy Center in DC.
Purchase your tickets
here
or call the Box Office at (941) 925-FUNY (3869).
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Saturday, October 13
World Lemur Festival
11am to 3pm
RCAD Goldstein Library
Join us in celebrating the first annual World Lemur Festival at the Ringling Alfred R. Goldstein Library on the College of Art and Design (RCAD) campus on Saturday, October 13, from 11am to 3pm.
The World Lemur Festival is a series of international events held throughout the world in October to celebrate lemurs and raise awareness for lemur conservation. The Lemur Conservation Foundation is proud to partner with RCAD to bring this
FREE
family friendly international celebration to Sarasota, Florida.
Highlights include:
Featured artwork
by students and faculty from the World Lemur Festival Juried Exhibition—winners announced at 2:30pm.
Dress up as your favorite lemur for a chance to win the
costume contest prize
—winners announced at 2:00pm.
Fun and
educational conservation activities for all ages
, including face painting, coloring, and games.
Taste free samples
of Nature’s Path EnviroKidz delicious cereal bars and learn how EnviroKidz and LCF are partnering to help save lemurs.
Film screening of the BBC special
Madagascar: The Land Where Evolution Ran Wild
narrated by David Attenborough at 11:00am and 1:30pm.
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HURRICANE SUPPLIES
WISH LIST
With hurricane season lasting from June to November, our staff have to be prepared for any emergency. Part of this includes keeping an up-to-date inventory of crates so that we can transfer all our lemurs safely in a crisis. Cleaning out the crates, checking for any damage, and storing them by size are imperative to ensuring safe and stress-free travels.
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Hurricane prep always includes an inventory of the lemurs' crates.
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ART NEWS
LCF Rockman Artwork Exhibited at Whatcom Museum
by Penelope Bodry-Sanders, LCF Founder
LCF is honored to participate in
Endangered Species: Artists on the Front Line of Biodiversity
,
September 8, 2018 to January 6, 2019, at the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, Washington. Dr. Barbara Matilsky, Whatcom Museum Curator of Art, selected Alexis Rockman’s piece,
Fragments
(24”x18”, watercolor and gouache on paper, 2010), from LCF's permanent collection to include in the exhibition.
The painting is beautiful, provocative, and disturbing, depicting the plight of lemurs and other creatures facing unprecedented threats in Madagascar.
Alexis Rockman was the favorite artist of noted paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould who wrote that “artiface often illuminates the empirical world far better than direct description.” Inspired by Gould, Penelope Bodry-Sanders, through an Audubon/Toyota Together Green Fellowship grant, interviewed several artists, including Alexis Rockman, about their work intersecting art, science, and conservation. Rockman's work especially can be intensely effective, emotionally engaging the public about our dying biodiversity.
The interview inspired the “Alexis Rockman Research Expedition,” a mission to create something unique that would rouse the world regarding habitat and species loss. Thus, in 2009, Penelope accompanied Rockman to Madagascar to meet field biologists and conservationists, most notably
Dr. Erik Patel
, now LCF Conservation and Research Director, and to introduce him to the astonishing biota of the island, particularly its charming and charismatic primates.
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A woolly lemur peers from the rainforest
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black-and-white ruffed lemurs
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Alexis Rockman with a diademed sifaka
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As a result, Rockman created the perfect painting for LCF -
Fragments
. The expedition was generously underwritten by Mr. and Mrs. Royall Victor III, Dr. Thomas Lovejoy, Charlotte Lovejoy, Martha Kiser, Scott D. Riviere, Penelope Bodry-Sanders, and Cherri Briggs via EXPLORE Travel.
The original
Fragments
is on loan to the Whatcom Museum from our reserve’s Anne and Walter Bladstrom Library in the Mianatra Center for Lemur Studies. If you are interested in purchasing a limited edition signed print, please email
info@lemurreserve.org
or call (941) 322-8494. Proceeds directly benefit LCF’s programs to save lemurs from extinction.
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140 Fuel Efficient ADES Stoves Distributed
Our Madagascar team recently distributed 140 fuel efficient stoves (made by the NGO
ADES
) over just several days. Local demand is extremely high for these well-made stoves which use far less wood or charcoal than local options, last longer, and are less expensive.
Selective logging for fuelwood is a common source of disturbance for lemur forest habitats. These stoves may reduce such logging in lemur habitats.
We pay for transportation from Tana and sell them at cost to local communities. LCF is the only distributor of these needed stoves in the SAVA region.
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GREAT PRODUCTS, GREAT SPONSORS
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In last month's news, we thanked
Lemur Bags
for generously supporting LCF. This month, we're pleased to also thank long-time supporter Dabbawalla Bags and new supporter Wendy Barnes Designs. Your purchase of these wonderful products funds LCF's programs and helps save lemurs from extinction.
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Dabbawalla Bags
Leapin' Lemur Lunch Bag
Who wouldn't want to have lunch with this cute ring-tailed lemur?
Dabbawalla Founder and past LCF Trustee Susan Givens generously donates the Leapin' Lemur Lunch Bags to our gift shop. 100% of your lunch bag purchase funds LCF programs, helping to conserve and preserve lemurs. Sustainable material is degradable, recyclable and 100% toxic-free, lead-free, BPA-free and no phthalates or PVC.
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Wendy Barnes Design
Reusable Straw Bags
Are you carrying your reusable straw and/or utensils with you? Now you can be conservation chic and help save lemurs.
Wendy Barnes Design has created two beautiful, custom-designed LCF bags featuring red ruffed and indri lemurs to carry your straw, cleaning brush and utensils—or bamboo toothbrush—anywhere you go.
Handmade in Florida with eco-friendly inks and cotton from original pen and ink artwork by designer Wendy Barnes, 10% of the proceeds from the sale of these machine washable bags support LCF's conservation and research programs in the U.S. and Madagascar.
Purchasing your trendy case and supporting critical LCF conservation efforts is a win-win for you and lemurs.
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The Lemur Conservation Foundation was honored to participate in the
3rd Annual EdExploreSRQ ED-stravaganza
at Suncoast Technical College on Saturday, August 25.
We had a blast meeting some of the 200 teachers throughout Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, and Desoto counties who attended the event and are passionate about incorporating lemurs and conservation into their curriculum. Pictured is
Katie Virun, LCF Education Manager & Keeper
.
Congratulations to the 14 educators who received an Ako Conservation Education Kit to share with their school.
Our local community is equipped with the education materials necessary to inspire the next generation of conservationists. With 21 standards-aligned Lemur Lesson Plans, the Ako Educator’s Guide, six children’s books about lemurs, and more, our dedicated educators are prepared to make a positive difference for lemurs and other wildlife. The teachers unable to attend this event are in luck because all of our learning materials are available to view online
here.
Qualifying educators may also be eligible to receive a
FREE Ako Conservation Education Kit
for their school. Please
visit our website
for more information on how to get involved with the Ako Project, a global conservation education program.
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