Category Archives: Fermata

The past several months have been productive. In fact, I can’t recall a period when I have accomplished more. We have ginned out three major reports, organized my images into a major on-line gallery, traveled throughout the Caribbean to gather information for my report on Key Biodiversity Areas, and have spoken at a number of events and conferences including the National Extension Conference on Tourism in Detroit. As I write this quick update I am finishing interpretive plans for the eleven scenic byways in Kansas.

In the next few weeks I will be on the speaking trail again. I will be in Toledo in early November to conduct workshops for the Toledo Metroparks, then I will continue to the Pennsylvania to speak at the Schuylkill Highlands CLI annual breakfast. In January I will join The Conservation Fund and Ed McMahon for the first of two Appalachian Gateway Communities Regional Workshops. The first of the workshops will be held January 14-16, 2014, in Abingdon, VA (southern communities), with the second February 10-12, 2014 in Shepherdstown, WV for northern communities. Here is a link for additional information about these workshops.

Here are links to some of the work that has been produced these past few months.

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  • Sandhills Journey (Nebraska) Scenic Byway Interpretive Plan

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For those interested in my photography, I have created a new website from my imagery at this link. Check out the new portfolios for our clients and projects. Look for much, much more in the near future.

One last note. Here is a link to a recent article covering our project in the PA Wilds. What a wonderful story! I can’t think of a nicer group of people to be having such success.

 

Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB) Lifetime Achievement Award

Conservation, , , , , ,
SCSCB's Howard Nelson, Holly Robertson, and Lisa Sorenson with Ted Eubanks' Lifetime Achievement Award
SCSCB’s Howard Nelson, Holly Robertson, and Lisa Sorenson with Ted Eubanks’ Lifetime Achievement Award

There are few regular meetings that I am not willing to miss. The biannual SCSCB conference is one that I try to make come hell or high water. Conservationists and educators from around the Caribbean meet every two years to discuss Caribbean birds and what needs to be done to ensure their futures.

Due to my wife’s surgery, however, I had to cancel my trip to Grenada to take part in this year’s gathering. However, this morning I received an email from Lisa Sorenson, SCSCB Executive Director, letting me know that the organization had awarded me a lifetime achievement award in absentia. What a pleasant (and timely) surprise! Thanks to Howard Nelson, Lisa Sorenson, Holly Robertson, and the SCSCB family for this amazing honor. You will never know how much this means to me and my family.

Here is the award citation given by Lisa Sorenson at the meeting.

We are honoring Ted Eubanks for his tireless work in helping the Society develop the Caribbean Birding Trail Project. Ted has spent much of his career studying and promoting experiential tourism and outdoor recreation as sustainable approaches to community revitalization and conservation. Ted is also a certified interpretive planner and trainer through the National Association for Interpretation. His expertise in the field of environmental interpretation has been particularly instrumental in advancing the Caribbean Birding Trail’s goal of telling the story of the Caribbean’s vast natural and cultural resources.

Ted has attended 3 SCSCB regional meetings, giving plenary talks and workshops on bird and nature tourism at each one, including a workshop to develop the CBT at our last meeting in Freeport, Grand Bahama. Over the past 12 months he traveled with Holly Robertson and myself to three Caribbean countries to launch the CBT at seven sites. From this he has provided us with an interpretive strategy for the sites and for the entire region, plus many other valuable tools that we will need moving forward. This includes taking thousands of photos that capture the essence of the Caribbean, writing numerous articles for the CBT blog, and getting us established with social media and the website.

Ted has donated countless hours and days of his time helping us achieve the level of success that we have today, and for that we want to honor him.

Ted Lee Eubanks
9 August 2013

Summertime

Birds, Fermata, Presentations, Recreation, Research, Travel, ,

Red-billed tropicbird, Great Bird Island, Antigua, by Ted Lee Eubanks
Red-billed tropicbird, Great Bird Island, Antigua, by Ted Lee Eubanks
Summertime, and the living is easy? Hardly. Summer is the season for field work and for bringing projects to completion.

This summer I have visited Antigua & Barbuda on two occasions. The first visit (in spring, actually) consisted of a week of constant field work. I returned in late June to conduct a two-day workshop on avitourism in the region. With this workshop the project is complete.

Here are links to the various materials related to the project. We thank our client, the Environmental Awareness Group, as well as countless friends and supporters in the islands, for their help and aid in this important project.

Avitourism in Antigua & Barbuda (Final Report)
Antigua & Barbuda Photo Gallery (Images)

An article about our work in Antigua & Barbuda will be published on the Nature Travel Network blog soon, and we will post a link to the article as soon as it is live.

Ted