Month: March 2014

Conservation of Portland Environment

PortlandI love Portland.  It’s such a great place to live.  And in general, I feel that the powers-that-be (or whoever it is) really do work hard to ensure the environment is protected.  But there is always so much to do.  And that requires money.  And not everyone is donating the money that is needed to protect and enhance the Portland environment.

So I was delighted to hear about the opening of the Alligator Head Marine Lab by Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary (TBA 21).  Launched with the intention of engaging in “research dedicated to the conservation and sustainable development of Portland’s marine life,” this is the brainchild of Baroness Francesca von Habsburg.  It will be operated by staff at the University of the West Indies.

The program – aiming to enhance Portland environment in a variety of ways – received a large cash injection of $24.5m for five years, from von Habsburg.  It will focus on seven areas of Portland environment: “lionfish control, plankton communities, coastal water quality, fish nursery establishment, reef herbivore research, reef community monitoring, and the establishment of coral nurseries.”

So this really is very exciting.  I’m so glad that the Portland environment is continuing to be a top priority for the state.  And I hope to hear more in the same vein some time soon.

Safari Here We Come!

tanzaniaIt’s definitely time for a vacation.  I need to do something different.  Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on your perspective! – we can’t take the kids with us.  There is a new rule in their school that one has to pay a fee if taking them out unless they are sick.

When I realized it was just Daniel and me taking the vacation I started to look into plans that involved something a bit out of the ordinary.  First, I investigated extreme water sports (being a lover of water).  But then I decided Daniel would hate it and, in the end, I would probably be too scared to actually do it myself!  Then I thought about hand-gliding but I realized that would excite me for about 5 minutes and then what?  And that’s when I came to the realization that Daniel and I should really take this opportunity to travel to some exotic place and go on Safari.

I started looking online and read about a group of students that toured the southern tip of the Dark Continent in South Africa in an attempt to gain a deeper understanding of African culture. It really  looked fun actually, with students even walking with penguins!  But Daniel said that he’d already been to South Africa and wanted to do something different.

Daniel said he really liked the idea of Tanzania and that he’s always wanted to go there anyway.  So we’re going to start thinking about booking in the next few weeks.  Watch this space for details of our adventure!