Cocktails Fundraising for the Yellow-shouldered Parrot

This year's Diploma Students with The World Land Trust & University of East Anglia have just left for a research project expedition to Margarita Island, Venezuela, where they will assist WLT partners ProVita with research into the status of the Yellow-Shouldered Parrot.

In preparation for their visit the students, Fiona Duncan, Jo Keene and Pedro Mayorga-Jeffs organised and held a Venezuelan themed fundraising evening at the University of East Anglia, Norwich. The event featured delicious home-cooked traditional Venezuelan cuisine, Venezuelan music and a silent auction. A group of WLT staff came along to the fundraising evening and enjoyed the Venezuelan food and drink, as well as bidding on the wide range of donated treats in the silent auction. Read WLT's CEO John Burton's account of the evening in our Green Diary blog.

Some of the food they cooked for the evening. (Click on the images to see larger version)

The Yellow-shouldered Parrot

After the event

Money raised:

All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable and successful evening which raised over £400 towards the project. The Diploma Students would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who sponsored the event and donated generously to the auction.

During their stay on Margarita Island, each of the three students has their own individual research projects:

• Pedro's research will focus on Yellow-Shouldered Parrots and the characteristics of their nests to investigate any trends that may predispose the nests to be successful or unsuccessful.
• Fiona will be conducting a baseline bird and butterfly survey of a proposed WLT reserve on the island which will provide valuable information which will be used in the planning of a nature trail for visitors to this area.
• Finally, Jo will be studying the effects of sand mining on the island's vegetation with a particular focus on invasive species and species important for the survival of the Yellow-Shouldered Parrot. We look forward to reading their reports on their return.