|
One day while exploring an uncharted region of the island with his Cuna native guide Dave walked directly into a poacher's camp. The four poachers were armed with machetes and shot guns and could have easily harmed Dave and his guide. Instead, they took them in and showed them their campsite. A part of Dave died that day as he discovered the amount of damage they had done to the habitat and local wildlife. An area the size of two city blocks was completely denuded of all living trees, and at the end of one of the trails was a butchered toucan - a bird about the size of a crow. The organization became officially established as a registered Canadian non-profit charitable organization in 1997, with Derek Swartz, Rod Smith and Jan Skrypnyk as the founding Directors. As a charity our mission is to raise funds and awareness for the preservation, protection, restoration, conservation and improvement of endangered, threatened, vulnerable or significant species and/or habitats. Since 1996 we have operated specialized Research/Conservation Expeditions to North, Central and South America. In 1996, 1997 and 1998 we conducted Expeditions to the tropical island of Isla Tigre in central Panama to live with and study the endangered Panamanian tamarin monkey (Saguinus geoffroyi). EARTHQUEST teams also successfully documented mammal and bird species and marked 4875 meters of trails on the 33 hectare island. In April, 1999 a team journeyed into the Peruvian Amazon by boat and counted 115 species of birds, 15 mammal species and 8 primate species, including the endangered Golden Lion tamarin monkey (Leontopithecus rosalia). During the summer of 1999 we launched a Canadian-based project on the Niagara Escarpement World Biosphere Reserve (ie. Bruce Trail) in northcentral Ontario to document Canadian flora and fauna species. To date, EARTHQUEST teams have discovered 128 plant species (four of which are considered provincially signficant), 65 bird species (2 rare species in the Province of Ontario), 6 mammals, 3 amphibians and reptiles and 13 species of butterflies (see Bruce Trail book compiled between 1999 and 2004). In June, 2000 we conducted another 10 day Field Assistant Training Expedition (FAT) to the Bruce Trail and discovered another 65 plants species (1 new to the counties of Grey-Bruce), 10 new bird species, 2 more mammals, 4 new amphibian and reptile species, and 11 additional species of butterflies. These flora and fauna species were documented between Lion's Head and Cape Croker on the Bruce Peninsula. A sample annotated checklist of the flora and fauna species of this Expedition is being prepared and will be available shortly. 
Senior Instructor
| ||||||||
