Cherbourg

 

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Cherbourg, France, August 2010

 

Oceans, between hope and disappearance

 

Today I am meeting a flock of gulls.  They are going to show me the strange architecture of the Cherbourg Liner terminal in Normandy in Northwestern France. 

 

Large ships, like the Queen Mary 2, still come from time to time to relive the amazing past of this history filled building.  Even the Titanic stopped in before sinking in the middle of the Atlantic. 

 

I leave my friends outside after checking out several scientific submarines, each stranger than the previous because we are here at La Cité de la Mer (city of the sea), a great place for sea lovers.  It is the film “Oceans” that interests me, and one of the key scenes of this documentary was even filmed here. 

 

Everyone seems to be fascinated, especially the kids, and they barely notice me.  I take my time watching videos and following on the giant map the 54 sites where this monumental film was shot. 

 

My friend, Francois Sarano, a member of our panel of experts and one of the first to believe in Eco-Sys Action, made a large contribution to this film.  It is he who is alone in front of and swims with a Great white shark.  What an awe inspiring scene that really demonstrates how we should have greater tolerance of sharks!  Admirable and and moving when Francois swims with this sea “monster.”  You can feel his passion for the sea and this makes him one of the best ambassadors for sharks. 

 

More strong emotions seeing this life sized reproduction of a Steller's sea cow.  Not very well known this animal, is it?  And for a reason, since it was massacred in the 18th century for its flesh, fat and skin.  This giant cousin of the dugong lived in the Arctic, close to the Bering Strait, but was rapidly hunted to extinction.  And this Caribbean monk seal? Gone!  And this sea turtle?  Protect it as quickly as possible!   

 

As I sit on this Steller's sea cow, so symbolic, I remember the message from “Oceans”: “the Earth does not belong to us, it is to share.  Anything is possible.”

 

See the Oceans trailer at:

 

 

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Eco-Sys Action joins Caap Aids sensibilation events, November/December 2008

 

 

 

Three great initiatives by Caap Aids in Les Pieux and Cherbourg (Manche) have helped connect people with the disastrous situation of AIDS around the world and the need to keep up the fight against this disease.

 

 

 

A beautiful show by Danse Plurielle, the dancing school created by Catherine Cadol, dazzles every talk with UNICEF, along with a doctor specializing in AIDS and Eco-Sys Action represented by Valérie Pilard. Valérie delivered a very meaningful talk, talking about the millions of AIDS orphans in sub-Saharan Africa and the Eco-Sys Action program in Kenya for the kids who have lost everything.

 

Handicrafts from Kenya were sold after each event, raising more funds for the Eco-Sys program.

 

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Cheetahs and kids helped by schoolchildren, Cherbourg (France), June 2007

 

In a wonderful example of how children can help other kids and wildlife at the same time, the Saint-Paul School in Cherbourg (France) organised a photo exhibition, an auction of embroidered works and mosaics made by some students and a bowl of rice day to raise money for the Eco-Sys project in Kenya (see project).

 

Valérie Pilard and Elodie Lerogeron set up a team of little artists who worked during lunch breaks for months on beautifully made mosaics and embroidery works featuring animals. Combined with the bowl of rice day, the proceeds of the sales brought back over 770 euros to the Eco-Sys Action Foundation.

 

This money will be a great help to the 35 kids taken in by the Eco-Sys Action project in Kenya in order to raise awareness in the villages about the endangered cheetahs.

 

It also shows that one person can make a difference and that kids are so sensitive to meaningful actions.