ICC: Rotary Club of Saipan

Saturday, September 17, 2011 8am-9:30am
Garapan Fishing Basin, Saipan CNMI
Coordinated by: Laurie Peterka

Thank you to everyone who showed up to help with the International Coastal Clean Up at the Garapan Fishing Basin on Saturday! It was a really great turn out --- kudos to you all!!! The ocean thanks you and the planet thanks you for taking the time to pick up trash and for helping to set an example for others in our community. For those who were unable to join us, we missed you and hope to see you next time...

Our total group (after stragglers arrived) was about 25 people, including staff from McDonalds. We started a little after 8am and stopped around 9:30am due to the major downpour of rain. Afterwards, we gathered in the tented area and counted our collections for reporting to the CRM and Ocean Conservancy.

All in all, we collected approximately 40 bags of trash, which consisted mostly of bits of plastic bags and wrappers, cans, bottles, caps, cigarette butts, batteries, diapers and carry away food service items (cups, forks, spoons, etc).

Additionally, we discussed making a request once again to move the Rotary recycling bin back to its original location under the big pine tree nearest the road going in and out of the area for higher visibility and, hopefully, more usage.

Saipan Waterspout Photos

Marianas High School teacher Bryan Jones emailed around some photos of this week's waterspout, which many mistakenly thought was a tornado.  According to Mr. Jones the photos are taken at 3-minute intervals.  The photos are taken from Navy Hill.

 

 

"The Navigators" playing in October

First Friday Films Celebrates National Arts and Humanities Month in October featuring The Navigators: Pathfinders of the Pacific playing at 6:30 p.m. on October 7, 2011 at American Memorial Park.

Over 1,000 years ago, the islands of Polynesia were explored and settled by navigators who used only the waves, the stars, and the flights of birds for guidance. In hand-built, double-hulled canoes sixty feet long, the ancestors of today's Polynesians sailed across a vast ocean area, larger than Europe and North America combined.

To explore this ancient navigational heritage, anthropologist/filmmaker Sanford Low visited the tiny coral atoll of Satawal in Micronesia's remote Caroline Islands. The Navigators reveals the subtleties of this sea science, transmitted in part through a ceremony known as "unfolding the mat," in which 32 lumps of coral are arranged in a circle to represent the points of the "star compass." To master the lore of navigation was to attain great status in traditional Micronesian society.

This special event is brought to you by the NMI Council for the Humanities, the Tan Siu Lin Foundation, the Division of Environmental Quality and the National Park Service.

As always, First Friday Films is free and open to the public. For planning purposes, the film runs 59 minutes.  Visit the website for more information: firstfridayfilmssaipan.blogspot.com

2011 International Coastal

Join the entire Commonwealth for the 2011 International Coastal
Cleanup

Together, we can start a sea of change.

Hafa Adai Friends and Colleagues,

We are all connected to the ocean. And we're all responsible for the trash we leave behind, whether we mean to or not. Please join us, and the global movement that is giving back to the ocean, by spending just one day cleaning up trash from our world's waterways and ocean. It's one of the easiest things we can do to help protect the ocean.

We invite you to join us on Friday, September 16 and Saturday, September 17 - from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. for the 2011 International Coastal Cleanup.

To sign-up for the event, kindly complete the attached sign-up sheet and fax it to Guy Macaranas, Coastal Resources Management, at 664-8315. For more information, call 664-8305 or email guy.macaranas@crm.gov.mp

CRM along with DEQ will retrieve and properly dispose of the trash and recycling collected from the cleanup on Saipan. We will coordinate with your organization/group to determine a pick up point.

Thank you for your kind consideration of this important CNMI-wide event.

Regards,
Rita C. Chong-Dela Cruz
Administrator

From Blogger Pictures

First Friday Films presents "Home" tomorrow

Tomorrow, August 5, First Friday Films will be screening Home, a film that exposes the impacts of mankind’s actions on our planet Earth. With breathtaking visuals taken from an aerial perspective, we can take a look down on what has become of Earth and what we can do to save it from the threats of global warming. The journey starts at 6:30 PM at the American Memorial Park Visitor's Center. 

There is no place like home—and that is especially true when “home” refers to our planet. With stunning shots from over fifty countries, Home presents what Time magazine hails as “an intoxicating perspective on our world” showcasing the majestic beauty of the planet as well as the undeniable tragedy that we have caused it. Director Yann Arthus-Bertrand hopes that with this stark presentation of Earth, the film will resonate in all of us and convince us to save our home.

Steve Mckagan, from the NOAA field office here on Saipan, will be on hand to talk about what we are doing locally to prepare for climate change and how the local community can get involved with some of those programs.
 

As always, First Friday Films is free and open to the public.  Seated is limited, so please arrive early to ensure admittance.

See you tomorrow!

UNEP/GRID-Arendal’s Blue Carbon Photography Contest

Grassroots organizations involved in coastal and marine conservation are invited to participate in UNEP/GRID-Arendal’s Blue Carbon Photography Contest. Selected photographs are intended for use in a special publication for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa (COP17), and for an online image resource - the Blue Carbon Photography Library.

The theme of the contest “Life on the coasts - Blue Carbon” focuses on the importance of a healthy marine environment in coastal livelihoods.

We are looking for iconic images in two categories – People & the Environment, and Coastal & Marine Ecosystems. Examples include coastal and underwater scenes, community based restoration and conservation projects, our connection to healthy coastal ecosystems (e.g. fisheries, tourism), and how a changing ocean and climate impact the daily life of people and communities living along the coast.

As long as there is a clear affiliation with a grassroots organization, all professional and non-professional photographers worldwide are welcome to submit. Organization logos will also be highlighted in the special publication. Blue Climate Solutions has offered a digital underwater camera as a prize for the best image. Additional sponsors are welcome.

**To SUBMIT your images, please see the Competition Rules and send all submissions to: photocontest@grida.no

**The DEADLINE for submitting pictures to UNEP/GRID-Arendal is SEPTEMBER 30, 2011. Finalists will be announced in October 2011.

Personal Release forms are required for all images that include recognizable subjects and children (see Competition Rules).

After reviewing the following Competition Rules, you will be fully prepared to enter the contest.

Contest information and rules can be found at: http://www.grida.no/marine/activities/blue-carbon-photo-contest.aspx?id=4808


Best of luck to all!
Steven Lutz
UNEP/GRID-Arendal
Arendal, Norway
Email: photocontest@grida.no

UNEP/GRID-Arendal is a non-profit, administratively independent institution and an official collaborating centre of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It was established in 1989 by the Norwegian Ministry of Environment to support UN’s Environment Programme and other UN agencies. Its mission is to communicate environmental information to policy-makers and facilitate environmental decision-making for change.

Suzanne Garrett
DCMC Coordinator
IUCN
1630 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20009
202.518.2072

Dog Tag License Registrati​on

Courtesy of PAWS (Pet Assistance and Welfare Services) a message from the Mayor's Office:
Hafa Adai to all,

This to kindly inform dog owners starting next week July 11th-22nd 2011 Mayor of Saipan will reopen its Dog Control Program "Dog Tag License Registration". Registration will take place at the Mayor of Saipan Compound at Chalan Kanoa (behind the Post Service Office) from 9:00am-4:00pm(open during lunch hours). Please be advised to pay your fees at the CNMI Treasury in Capitol Hill, Superior Court in Susupe or the Tax and Revenue in Dan Dan then proceed to the registration site. Applications are available at the cashiers, please fill out the application per dog so we can expedite the process and then we will issue the tags.

To see a copy of Saipan Local Law 9-12 Dog Control Act and its Regulations, please contact the Mayor's office. Thank you for outmost support for the program.