The 11th Micronesians in Island Conservation Retreat ended last night with a farewell dinner at the Village attended by the Governor of Pohnpei, John Ehsa.
That's Governor Ehsa in the middle. I did take a picture of him with his eyes open, but I'm not in that picture. Hopefully he'll forgive me for posting this one.
In our last session of the retreat I was nominated and voted onto the MIC steering committee for a second consecutive term. That means some extra travel and more opportunities to spend time working with other conservation leaders in Micronesia. Not that being on the steering committee is all about my own professional development, but I can point to a conversation last January I had as a result of my participation on the steering committee that helped guide me through the entire Mariana Trench Marine National Monument process.
Being on the steering committee is a good thing. I enjoy the work.
As practically our first order of business, I was nominated by the other steering committee members to become the MIC blog blogmaster. I don't have access to it yet, but stay tuned for some changes.
We also decided where our next meeting will be held. Looks like I'll be traveling to Palau soon.
******
Here are some random photos from the retreat. Several posts are to follow.
On the second day of the hike, Bill Raynor led us on a hike to a waterfall and facilitated a talk on leadership. A picture of the waterfall is in my last post. A full blog post on the discussion is forthcoming. This photo of Mary Rose Nakayama and her daughter was taken at the base of said waterfall. Mary Rose is on the steering committee.
Cheryl Calaustro lives on Guam. She's finishing up a RARE campaign there. She's on the steering committee, too.
Fran Castro is an MIC member and Pete was a guest of the retreat. In this photo we are on the raft near the Nahtik marine protected area on the south end of the island. We are about to feast on mangrove crab and parrot fish in this photo. More photos of the food to follow.
In this photo are Wisney Nakayama from Chuuk and Entuyah Oidov from Mongolia at sakau ceremony held by the community of Enpein. The community members served us piles upon piles of food.
Most of my readers know Laurie Peterka, my partner on the campaign to build local support for the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument. You might not know Mae, the MIC Coordinator.
That's Governor Ehsa in the middle. I did take a picture of him with his eyes open, but I'm not in that picture. Hopefully he'll forgive me for posting this one.In our last session of the retreat I was nominated and voted onto the MIC steering committee for a second consecutive term. That means some extra travel and more opportunities to spend time working with other conservation leaders in Micronesia. Not that being on the steering committee is all about my own professional development, but I can point to a conversation last January I had as a result of my participation on the steering committee that helped guide me through the entire Mariana Trench Marine National Monument process.
Being on the steering committee is a good thing. I enjoy the work.
As practically our first order of business, I was nominated by the other steering committee members to become the MIC blog blogmaster. I don't have access to it yet, but stay tuned for some changes.
We also decided where our next meeting will be held. Looks like I'll be traveling to Palau soon.
******
Here are some random photos from the retreat. Several posts are to follow.
On the second day of the hike, Bill Raynor led us on a hike to a waterfall and facilitated a talk on leadership. A picture of the waterfall is in my last post. A full blog post on the discussion is forthcoming. This photo of Mary Rose Nakayama and her daughter was taken at the base of said waterfall. Mary Rose is on the steering committee.
Cheryl Calaustro lives on Guam. She's finishing up a RARE campaign there. She's on the steering committee, too.
Fran Castro is an MIC member and Pete was a guest of the retreat. In this photo we are on the raft near the Nahtik marine protected area on the south end of the island. We are about to feast on mangrove crab and parrot fish in this photo. More photos of the food to follow.
In this photo are Wisney Nakayama from Chuuk and Entuyah Oidov from Mongolia at sakau ceremony held by the community of Enpein. The community members served us piles upon piles of food. 
Most of my readers know Laurie Peterka, my partner on the campaign to build local support for the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument. You might not know Mae, the MIC Coordinator.