Thanks to Optics for the Tropics, this year we awarded 25 mini-grants of binoculars to Latin American and Caribbean organizations. We received many excellent proposals from organizations doing extraordinary work in their respective communities. It was exciting to read proposals from diverse organizations, and from so many different parts of the continent, where people are thinking about birds, their observation, and conservation. Therefore, the selection of the winning organizations was not easy.
The winning organizations of the 2018 binoculars mini-grants were chosen based on their geographic diversity, and their potential to have a real and long-term impact on their communities, by integrating binoculars into their educational and environmental activities focused on birds, their observation, and conservation. We were impressed, above all, by proposals that included participants from all sectors of the population, especially youth and their families.
The 2018 Mini- Grant Binocular Winners:
- Alianza Mexicana para la Conservación de la Vida Silvestre, Mexico
- Aves de Oaxaca, Mexico
- Centro Básico San Mateo, Panama
- Colectivo AVES-TAMIENTO en Humedales, Colombia
- Colectivo Ojo de Lumbre, Mexico
- Corporación Mapuche Newen, Chile
- Ecopil Arte Crea Conciencia A.C., Mexico
- Escuela de Barrio El Carmen, Costa Rica
- Estación Científica La Malinche, Mexico
- Fundacion Ambiental DapaViva, Colombia
- Instituto de Planeación Ambiental y Calidad de Vida A.C., Mexico
- Instituto Mixto de Educación Básica Ixlú, Guatemala
- Instituto Veracruzano de Ecología, Mexico
- Organización Reverdece Tu Comunidad, Puerto Rico
- Parque Metropolitano La Libertad, Costa Rica
- PAU Tuxtla, Mexico
- Peten Birders Association (club), Guatemala
- Proyecto Aldea Global, Honduras
- Proyecto Construyendo un Corredor de Conservación en mi Región-Cenicafé, Colombia
- Proyecto PANAS, Puerto Rico
- Semilleros De Alas Campeche, Mexico
- Siruki Educación Ambiental, A.C., Mexico
- Transformación, Arte y Educación AC, Mexico
- Toucan Ridge Ecology and Education Society (T.R.E.E.S.), Belize
- Ukuchil Cuxtal Sc de Rl, Mexico