Rebecca has been working at FFI since September 2007. Though she studied conservation in her BA and MSc, she decided that the life in the jungle just wasn't for her. Having grown up in New York City, she has experienced more pigeons and squirrels than parrots and spider monkeys. So she decided to write about the impact that FFI's projects have on the ground.
Her current role as Communications Officer (Business & Biodiversity) has allowed her to focus her energy towards FFI's innovative Business & Biodiversity Programme. Rebecca helps to get the message out about FFI's strategic corporate partnerships and what they have helped to achieve for global biodiversity.
FFI’s Liberia team has been especially busy lately – they’ve been using the arts to communicate with local people around Sapo National Park, the country’s most important protected area.
Fiona Pamplin, who is in charge of FFI’s awareness raising activities Sapo National Park, decided to incorporate local theatre and music to reinforce key conservation messages. It is hoped that using a medium that is traditional to the region will help to garner local support for conservation.
So she enlisted a Monrovia-based professional theatre group, House of Freedom, to write an eco-play and train local troupe Community Conservation Promoters (CCP) in acting, drumming and dancing skills. The resulting play performed by CCP in Jalay Town, home to the Headquarters of Sapo National Park, was spectacular and emphasised strong conservation messages.
FFI’s community outreach program aims to educate about the importance of conserving forest resources. Conservation meetings are held on a regular basis with communities around the Park. We try to keep the gatherings as informal and fun as possible, for example, by carrying out ‘edu-entertainment’ activities such as films, quizzes and simple scientific demonstrations. It’s milestones such as this recent performance which show that FFI is succeeding in engaging communities in Liberia’s only National Park.
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