Binoculars4charity

Photos: Carlos Mario Wagner, Asoríocali
Asoríocali, the NGO in Colombia we supported recently, is actively using the equipment they received from Binoculars4charity. During the last weeks, voluntary birdwatchers and local residents have been using the 10 binoculars, 2 spotting scopes and the bird identification guide for the Christmas Bird Count around Cali in the west of Colombia. With these counts, they are contributing to one of the biggest long-term efforts for monitoring the birds in the Americas. In the future, the equipment will be used for birdwatching courses, excursions and monitoring activities in the rural areas of Cali organized by Asoríocali and the Colombia Birdfair. We are very happy to provide such a meaningful second life to otherwise unused equipment and extend the gratitude of Asoríocali to the donors that made this possible!

A detailed report by Asoríocali can be found here (in Spanish).

Photos: Anubhav Shukla, Tiger Watch
Binoculars4charity has supplied the “Village Wildlife Watchers” in Ranthambhore, India, with 5 binoculars and a spotting scope with tripod. The highly active group of volunteers monitors the populations of tigers, gharials (a relative of the crocodiles) and other endangered species around the National Park and is under the supervision of the local conservation organization „Tiger Watch“. The material from Binoculars4charity arrived in Ranthambhore in mid-October and facilitates the valuable work of the “Village Wildlife Watchers”. We would like to pass on the thanks of Tiger Watch to our donors!

Binoculars4charity has handed over several bird books and DVDs to the Zurich-based association „Natrix“, which is one of the most active youth groups in Switzerland. It regularly organizes field trips, nature conservation activities and summer camps. Our donation complements the group’s library, where children and young people can borrow books about nature. Further information about Natrix can be found on their website.

Thanks to the equipment that we have received from many generous donors during the last weeks, we are happy to announce that we will support several projects for nature education and conservation. For the time being, we have selected three organisations, which will receive a material supply in the coming weeks. We would like to introduce the three organisations to you.

Asoríocali is an NGO established in 1997 by residents of the rural areas of Cali in Colombia. Through its environmental education program, the organisation is promoting birdwatching as a strategy for recreation, social integration and peace building and to build awareness of the value of biodiversity among rural communities. One of the main activities of Asoríocali is the organisation of the Colombia BirdFair, an annual event in Cali that brings together a vast community of people from Colombia and abroad who share their fascination with the bird world. Binoculars4charity will provide 10 binoculars, 2 telescopes and some bird identification books to Asoríocali and the Colombia BirdFair. These will be used for workshops on bird and nature observation for children in rural areas and for public bird excursions during the Colombia BirdFair. More information can be found on the website and the Facebook page of Colombia BirdFair.

Tiger Watch is a non-profit organisation that is strongly committed to the protection of wildlife and especially tigers at the Ranthambhore National Park in Rajasthan, India. Among many other projects, Tiger Watch runs the “Village Wildlife Volunteers” program, where local volunteers get involved with the monitoring of tigers, anti-poaching activities, and the prevention of human-animal conflicts in and around the Tiger Reserve. Binoculars4charity donates 5 binoculars and a spotting scope to support the work of this dedicated group. For more information about Tiger Watch, visit the website and the Facebook page of the organisation.

The “Ecology and Rural Development Society” (ERDS), established in 2007, is an organisation in western Rajasthan, India and is committed to the conservation of the local biodiversity. Among the activities of the ERDS is the capacity-building of local communities for ornithological tourism in the Thar Desert and the Desert National Park. The society runs awareness campaigns, bird races and bird identification workshops and supports local initiatives to develop sustainable tourism in the area of the highly endangered Indian Bustard. The 5 binoculars, the telescope and the 5 bird identification books that are provided by Binoculars4charity will be used by volunteers of the ERDS for the activities mentioned. For more information about ERDS, visit the society’s Facebook page.

We are now looking for ways to deliver the material reliably and cost-effectively to their destination. If you can help us, please contact us!

Together with friends, we organized a party at the Provitreff in Zurich on April 7th. The goal was not only to have a good time, dance to the great music of Rumba Boxx, eat Colombian specialties and spend a beautiful spring evening at the Limmat, but also to raise money for supporting the work of Binoculars4charity. We would like to thank all those who have made this possible: our co-organizers, who have put their heart and soul into it, our guests from near and far, the volunteers who supported us at the bar and the entrance, the DJs, who have played their best music, the cooks of the delicious empanadas and pandebonos, and the sponsors of Rum el Primero. Thanks to you the party was a great success! The profits will be donated to Binoculars4charity to cover the cost of material transport, purchase guidebooks and organize a bird festival in Maguri Beel, India (see our blog entry from April 5th).

During a trip to Northeast India in 2016, we (Juanita and Mathias) visited Maguri Beel, a complex of wetland habitats near Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, where many specialized bird species of the Brahmaputra floodplain occur. It was raining cats and dogs, which was why Binanda, our local guide, suggested that we visit his old school to wait out the rain. Our visit was not announced, but the teachers and students of the local village school gave us a warm reception with tea and biscuits and showed us their school. The classrooms were very basic, electricity was hardly available and the heavy rains had damaged their only computer. The money to provide meals for the students at noon had been cancelled by the authorities. All the more because of these hardships, we were impressed by the hospitality and generosity of the students and teachers.

The English teacher is fascinated by the local bird life and he tries to pass on this fascination to his students. Even without the help of binoculars and guidebooks, he teaches them the most important bird species in the area, with both their English and local names. From time to time, he receives help from Binanda, who is a role model in the village community. Binanda is now a busy birdwatching guide, not only in Maguri Beel, but in the whole of Northeast India, a little known but enormously exciting and diverse region. Some students would like to follow his example. In addition to creating an alternative income opportunity for the local population, ecotourism would also contribute to better protection of the endangered wetland habitats in the area.

We were moved by our visit to the village school and wanted to thank the students and teachers for their hospitality and their enthusiasm. After some thinking and discussing, we decided to donate a few binoculars and guidebooks to the school to help the students in their endeavours to discover the local bird fauna. Our Indian friend and travel companion Gaurav Kataria, who, as an organizer of nature travel, knows the north-east of India like no other, liked the idea and offered to organize the handover. He proposed taking the opportunity to organize a small bird festival with excursions for the village community.

After our return to Switzerland, we started looking for good-quality binoculars. We assumed that we had to raise considerable funds and were thinking of looking for sponsors. After discussing with colleagues, it turned out that many people had optical devices such as binoculars or spotting scopes that were no longer used at home and would gladly be willing to donate for a good cause. So why not pass on such devices instead of buying new ones? This is how we kill 3 birds with one stone: happy recipients of high-quality equipment for birdwatchers, happy donors who give their devices a meaningful second life and a win for the environment, because no resources are used for the production of new devices. And thus the idea of ​​Binoculars4charity was born.

At the beginning of April, we sent five binoculars and a spotting scope with tripod, generously donated by BirdLife Switzerland, to India. In addition, we bought 6 ornithological guidebooks. The material is currently in Delhi and we are planning the handover and the bird festival in Maguri Beel, which will take place later this year. We will keep you up to date. Many thanks to our sponsors, partners and friends, who helped us to make this idea a reality!