| Happy New Year from all of us at SEED! The highlights of 2022 are powering our team forward for the rather packed agenda that 2023 has in store. We’re delighted to report that we had our very first lemur sighting in the Sainte Luce forest fragments, along with many other great successes for the SCRP team. After the success of the pad-making pilot in Mandiso School we’ll be looking to expand the menstrual hygiene classes to other schools this year, and; the new Esohihy school is doing more than maths and science in class, with a special mural on the outside to encourage environmental stewardship amongst the students. Read on for the full stories! 👇 | | Photo of Microcebus tanosi (Mouse lemur) | | After a brief halt in our conservation research activity, 2022 was a productive year. With the return of international staff volunteers we were able to continue to track the population numbers of three endangered lemur species found only in the southeast of Madagascar; the Anosy mouse lemur (Microcebus tanosi), Southern woolly lemur (Avahi meridionalis), and Thomas’ dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus thomasi) 🐒 Excitingly, towards the end of the year, we captured our first lemur sighting overlooking Corridor 3!
The Conservation Research Programme activity and SEED’s close working relationship with the local communities in Sainte Luce also ensured that we were able to further build on our understanding of the Mahampy (Lepironia articulata) reed species 🌾 We conducted surveys in collaboration with the Mahampy Cooperative members, assessing the physical characteristics of the wetland and the biodiversity that grows within it. This resulted in data on 29 bird species and 54 plant species, many of which are still to be fully identified 🦋 Heading into 2023, the SCRP expects to continue building on the successes established from years previous, harvesting further our relationship with the local population and welcoming an increased number of experienced volunteers. You can read more about SCRP’s successes and future directions in the 2022 Annual Report here. | | | | A sanitary towel making session at Mandiso School | | For many girls in Madagascar starting your period is the end of your education. In 2019, SEED started constructing Menstrual Health/Hygiene Management (MHM) facilities as part of the provision of WASH infrastructure across all of its school construction projects 🚽 Our WASH and Schools team recently piloted MHM education sessions along with reusable pad-making workshops at Mandiso Lower Secondary School. These activities complement the MHM facilities installed by SEED, empowering students to manage their menstruation at school with privacy and dignity. Over the course of three workshops - tracing, cutting, and sewing – SEED’s Community Liaison Officers teach students to make three of their own menstrual pads that are reusable, sustainable and low-cost 🧵 After a successful pilot with high levels of student engagement, SEED will now include these MHM activities in future Sekoly projects! Read how it started here 👇 | | | | Environmental Education! 🌳🌊 | 2022 was a fantastic year for SEED’s school building team, with yet more school projects completed. One of which, a brand new primary school for the community of Esohihy, now has three additional, fully-furnished classrooms, six gender-segregated latrines, a MHM facility, and sanitation station, a rainwater harvesting system for clean drinking water, and a teacher’s house! 👨🏫 Not only that, the school building features a large mural, encouraging the students to take care of their environment. The mural, pictured above, reads: Top: "The ocean and the resources within it guarantee our future." Below: "Your respect of the protected area will [have] mean a long-lasting future for your generation." With Madagascar being one of the most climate-vulnerable nations, empowering the next generation to take care of their environment and increase their resilience to the impact of climate change is crucial. | | | Facebook fundraisers generated over £2000 for us in 2022. Set one up to help us kickstart 2023! Here’s how. | | | This email was sent to friend@example.com | © SEED Madagascar. All rights reserved. |
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