Latest news with #SkyIslands
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Elusive jaguar seen on trail camera in southern Arizona is 'good news,' experts say
One of Arizona's most elusive sights showed up in a series of trail camera images collected by volunteer scientists in a Sky Islands mountain range near the U.S.-Mexico border: a jaguar roaming a remote landscape. The image is the latest of five jaguar sightings documented this summer by the University of Arizona's Wild Cat Research and Conservation Center and their team of citizen scientists. Researchers said all of the images are of the same male jaguar, which was last seen in the same area over a year and a half ago. 'We're really excited that it's on the landscape again, because it speaks volumes about the biodiversity of the ecosystem,' said Susan Malusa, a biogeographer and co-coordinator for the researcher center. 'It's good news to see that an ecosystem is healthy for tiny little herbivores up to these apex predators.' The University of Arizona's jaguar and ocelot monitoring program has been operating for almost 15 years, collecting over 200 detections (which include photo, video and DNA samples) of four jaguars documented in the region for scientific research. The program also contributes to the research of dozens of other species, including protected ocelots, gray wolves and golden eagles. The camera traps are almost entirely maintained by citizen scientists, who are volunteers trained by the center. 'We really do want people to recognize the community-driven science here,' said Malusa, who has managed the project since 2011. 'This is a wonderful group of people, and their commitment has made this happen.' Sky Islands: Where the border wall ends, wildlife survives. Advocates fear losses if the gaps close Border wall, mining challenge jaguar recovery in Arizona Jaguars are the largest cats in the Western Hemisphere, and are best characterized by their distinctive spots, known as rosettes, which form a unique pattern specific to each jaguar and help researchers identify individual jaguars from photos. There have been eight jaguars photographed in the United States since 1996. The cats were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 1997. The long-term datasets collected by the university's monitoring project help researchers understand the species' habitat range and contribute to the conservation and recovery of the binational population. Primary threats to jaguars in the United States include habitat loss and fragmentation, which have been highlighted in recent years by controversial mining projects and border wall construction in southern Arizona. For more stories about Arizona wildlife: Sign up for AZ Climate, The Republic's weekly environment newsletter. In 2014, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated over 750,000 acres of critical habitat for the species along the border in southern Arizona and New Mexico, but that area was reduced by about 65,000 acres in 2024 after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, hearing a lawsuit filed by mining company Rosemont Copper, a subsidiary of the Canadian Hudbay Minerals, found the federal government didn't prove the acreage was essential to the species' survival. In July, conservation groups sued the Trump administration over plans to construct a border wall across the San Rafael Valley, one of the last stretches of untouched borderlands where jaguars and ocelots have been documented crossing into the United States from Mexico. John Leos covers environmental issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to Environmental coverage on and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at and @azcenvironment on Facebook and Instagram. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Male jaguar shows up on trail cameras in southern Arizona Solve the daily Crossword
The Province
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Province
Pulitzer Prize-winner Susie Ibarra, plus 10 shows to see during the Vancouver Jazz Festival
Filipinx-American musician is one of this year's Artists in Residence Susie Ibarra Diana Pflammatter Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Susie Ibarra was awarded the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her adventurous piece titled Sky Islands. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors As one of the 2025 Vancouver International Jazz Festival artists-in-residence at the New Improvisers Studio at Western Front, the Filipinx-American composer and percussionist will deliver a talk about her concepts on rhythm in daily environments, as well as perform three radically different concerts. Susie Ibarra All in a day's work for this acclaimed creator, whose work crosses between composing, recording and performing a unique blend of jazz, avant-garde, global and contemporary classical music. Ibarra also lectures on creative impulses and discoveries in field recordings as a TED fellowship recipient. Sky Islands is a showcase for these conceptual models. A musical tribute to the unique tropical rainforest habitats of Luzon, Philippines, the work combines the distinctive rhythmic traditions of the Northern Philippines with gongs, bamboo staffs and flute, string quartet, jazz flute, piano and Ibarra on numerous percussion instruments. As part of the creation, the artist spent time walking in, and recording, the sounds of the environment of Luzon. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Habitat Sounds label launched by Ibarra and Jake Landau in 2023 has released recordings of sound pieces inspired by and focused on the environment. And Ibarra's book, Rhythm In Nature: An Ecology of Rhythm, looks at how to sound-map the world's natural sounds into rhythms that can be developed into compositions. It's heady stuff. The final results of the applied concepts is some truly beautiful music, as heard in Sky Islands and on albums such as 2004's Folkloriko and 2007's solo Drum Sketches. Receiving the Pulitzer Prize in Music for composing recognizes not only the artist's music, but also her writing and research methods. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Artist Talk moderated by François Houle: June 26, 3:30 p.m. at Western Front Collaborative Performance with Cat Toren, Tommy Babin and Jen Yakamovich: June 27, 5 p.m. at Revue Stage, Granville Island New Improvisers Studio public performance: June 28, 1 p.m. at Western Front Susie Ibarra: An Ecology of Rhythm: June 28, 9:30 p.m. at Revue Stage, Granville Island 'It's hard to wear a lot of hats, but it's the direction that my studies in music and sound have taken me. And I'm grateful to have the many different sides to my creative practice,' said Ibarra. 'I'm honoured to receive the Pulitzer and hugely proud of the artists who were involved in bringing it together into the performance and production for the world premiere. To be honest, it's still sinking in.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Now living in Berlin, where she is on a fellowship looking into music and sound, Ibarra says her hybrid style has developed over a long history of making field recordings and finding rhythmic content in everything from glacier movements in the Himalayas, to wind in bamboo forests. Finding the muse in such projects depends on using a sense that, weirdly, many musicians can overlook: Hearing. 'When I go out into the field with a sound team to record, I try not to force anything or compose, but rather take in the space as a whole,' she said. 'With a team, you can capture all of the elements that you might not individually hear and get the full orchestra effect. For many years now, I have been recording things like water flows, birdsongs and such and transcribing them.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Bringing all of that 'huge soundscape' back into the studio where she can manipulate the frequencies into audible levels opens up a treasure chest of sonic opportunities to develop into compositions. Ibarra also tunes into the soundscape in the 'built' urban world. You get very different results from the natural versus developed environment, but Ibarra manages to make them all groove. 'I'll be working with improvising musicians during the artist-in-residence, working on concepts that connect my environmental field practice with how it integrates with studio and stage performance,' she said. 'I'm really excited to be going out with them for field recording in Vancouver, as you have so many nearby places to record. Then we will present some music at the end of the week developed out of our study.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Ibarra will also get behind her drum kit to spontaneously create music with an instant quartet as well as a more guided presentation based on one of her compositions titled Bird Souls: Score for Flying. Basset clarinettist Francois Houle performs at the 2025 Vancouver International Jazz Festival Genevieve Monro 10 shows in 10 days to see at the 40th Vancouver International Jazz Festival The Vancouver International Jazz Festival runs June 20-July 1. However, there is a break between the first 10 days and the Canada Day jazz events that take place on July 1. After all, Canada Day often feels like a separate festival after a festival. It's kind of a no-brainer to be there for the whole day, which winds down with a performance by the acclaimed Cowboy Bebop Bebop Band at 8:15 p.m. at Ocean Artworks for free. Given this large group has been selling out shows performing the swinging score from the acclaimed anime series Cowboy Bebop, seeing them gratis is great. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. For the full calendar of jazz fest listings, pick up a copy of the program or visit Here are the picks for 10 shows over the first 10 days of jazz fest not to miss. Saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins Joshua Woods Immanuel Wilkins with the Lotoslawski Quartet When: June 20, 7 p.m. Where: Western Front Tickets/info: $39 at The Canadian premiere of a new work commissioned by Poland's Jazztopad Festival/National Forum of Musicians Wroclaw for the acclaimed contemporary classical group the Lutoslawski Quartet by star Saxophonist/composer Wilkins. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Trumpeter Feven Kidane Ingrid cheung When: June 21, 3:15 p.m. Where: Downtown Jazz, Georgia Street Stage, Vancouver Art Gallery Tickets/info: Free Multi-instrumentalist Kidane is a rising star who leads a number of crack combos performing everything from the Vancouver hippie era groovers Dido & the Handpeople (July 1, Ocean Artworks, 2:45 p.m., free) to leading her own adventurous original material in units like her sextet. Drummer Biboye Onanuga Biboye Onanuga Biboye Onanuga New Standards Trio When: June 22, 9:30 p.m. Where: Tyrant Studios Tickets/info: $18 at British-born, Nigerian-Canadian drummer and composer Onanuga is a fixture on the Edmonton music scene and a frequent visitor to town where he has a trio with local keyboardist Mary Ancheta and saxophonist Gordon Li. Stick around for the Open Jazz Jam to follow lead by the group and whoever sits in on the session. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Richard Bona Photo by Leesa Richards / Leesa Richards When: June 23, 7:30 p.m. Where: Vancouver Playhouse Tickets/Info: From $50 at Grammy-winning Cameroonian bassist and bandleader whose credits range from Salif Keita to Bobby McFerrin and the Pat Metheny Group leads an ace trio that finds common ground in Afro-Cuban grooves and improvisational grit with inspired style. Bill Frisell. Paul Moore (Ottawa Citizen) Bill Frisell Trio w/Thomas Morgan and Rudy Royston When: June 24, 7:30 p.m. Where: Vancouver Playhouse Tickets/info: from $50 at A living legend on the jazz guitar, Seattle-based musician Frisell has a resumé that reads like a history of jazz and instrumental Americana over the last 50-plus years. His trio with bassist Morgan and drummer Royston is a true power trio. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Guitarist/oud player Gordon Grdina (l) and clarinettist Francois Houle (r) Genevieve Monro When: June 25, 9:30 p.m. Where: Revue Stage Tickets/info: $30 at Basset clarinettist Houle and guitarist/oud player perform together as Heliotrope making wild and beautiful avant-garde/open jazz/classical hybrid. Add in Dublin-based pianist Kimura and Swiss-based American improvised musical legend, drummer Gerry Hemingway and sparks will fly. Violinist Joshua Zubot Genevieve Monro Joshua Zubot Octet When: June 26, 9:30 p.m. Where: Revue Stage Tickets/info: $30 at Violinist/composer Zubot is a fixture on the West Coast scene in multiple capacities. This group focuses on his contemporary chamber jazz work features his equally renowned violinist brother Jesse and also Josh's son Klee. The bows will fly at this one. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Trumpeter Marquis Hill Kenneth Lethridge When: June 27, 7:30 p.m. Where: Performance Works, 1218 Cartwright St., Granville Is. Tickets/info: $44 at Celebrating Black music across history, trumpeter Hill is a contemporary jazz star whose latest project homes in on compositions from fellow Chicago scene player Jeff Parker to Afro-futurist reeds player Marcus Strickland and others. He will perform these pieces with his crack quartet. Saxophonist/vocalist Nubya Garcia Danica Lawrence Nubya Garcia When: June 28, 7:30 p.m. Where: Performance Works, 1218 Cartwright St., Granville Is. Tickets/info: $44 at London saxophonist Garcia is exploding across international jazz with her mix of West Indian dub stylings, R&B, breakbeat and grime with unique, driving power. Her most-recent album, 2024's Odyssey, is loaded with killer jams. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Madeleine Elkins Trio Raunie Mae When: June 29, 4 p.m. Where: Ocean Artworks, Granville Is. Tickets/info: Pay-what-you-can Vancouver guitarist Elkins blends jazz, folk, rock and blues into her flowing tunes that continuously surprise with their changes and chording. Her debut, Brighton Train, is due out later this year on the excellent local Infidels Jazz label. sderdeyn@ Read More Love concerts, but can't make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off. Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances. Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks Local News World Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Sun
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Vancouver Sun
Pulitzer Prize-winner Susie Ibarra, plus 10 shows to see during the Vancouver Jazz Festival
Susie Ibarra was awarded the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her adventurous piece titled Sky Islands. As one of the 2025 Vancouver International Jazz Festival artists-in-residence at the New Improvisers Studio at Western Front, the Filipinx-American composer and percussionist will deliver a talk about her concepts on rhythm in daily environments, as well as perform three radically different concerts. All in a day's work for this acclaimed creator, whose work crosses between composing, recording and performing a unique blend of jazz, avant-garde, global and contemporary classical music. Ibarra also lectures on creative impulses and discoveries in field recordings as a TED fellowship recipient. Get top headlines and gossip from the world of celebrity and entertainment. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sun Spots will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Sky Islands is a showcase for these conceptual models. A musical tribute to the unique tropical rainforest habitats of Luzon, Philippines, the work combines the distinctive rhythmic traditions of the Northern Philippines with gongs, bamboo staffs and flute, string quartet, jazz flute, piano and Ibarra on numerous percussion instruments. As part of the creation, the artist spent time walking in, and recording, the sounds of the environment of Luzon. The Habitat Sounds label launched by Ibarra and Jake Landau in 2023 has released recordings of sound pieces inspired by and focused on the environment. And Ibarra's book, Rhythm In Nature: An Ecology of Rhythm, looks at how to sound-map the world's natural sounds into rhythms that can be developed into compositions. It's heady stuff. The final results of the applied concepts is some truly beautiful music, as heard in Sky Islands and on albums such as 2004's Folkloriko and 2007's solo Drum Sketches. Receiving the Pulitzer Prize in Music for composing recognizes not only the artist's music, but also her writing and research methods. Artist Talk moderated by François Houle: June 26, 3:30 p.m. at Western Front Collaborative Performance with Cat Toren, Tommy Babin and Jen Yakamovich: June 27, 5 p.m. at Revue Stage, Granville Island New Improvisers Studio public performance: June 28, 1 p.m. at Western Front Susie Ibarra: An Ecology of Rhythm: June 28, 9:30 p.m. at Revue Stage, Granville Island 'It's hard to wear a lot of hats, but it's the direction that my studies in music and sound have taken me. And I'm grateful to have the many different sides to my creative practice,' said Ibarra. 'I'm honoured to receive the Pulitzer and hugely proud of the artists who were involved in bringing it together into the performance and production for the world premiere. To be honest, it's still sinking in.' Now living in Berlin, where she is on a fellowship looking into music and sound, Ibarra says her hybrid style has developed over a long history of making field recordings and finding rhythmic content in everything from glacier movements in the Himalayas, to wind in bamboo forests. Finding the muse in such projects depends on using a sense that, weirdly, many musicians can overlook: Hearing. 'When I go out into the field with a sound team to record, I try not to force anything or compose, but rather take in the space as a whole,' she said. 'With a team, you can capture all of the elements that you might not individually hear and get the full orchestra effect. For many years now, I have been recording things like water flows, birdsongs and such and transcribing them.' Bringing all of that 'huge soundscape' back into the studio where she can manipulate the frequencies into audible levels opens up a treasure chest of sonic opportunities to develop into compositions. Ibarra also tunes into the soundscape in the 'built' urban world. You get very different results from the natural versus developed environment, but Ibarra manages to make them all groove. 'I'll be working with improvising musicians during the artist-in-residence, working on concepts that connect my environmental field practice with how it integrates with studio and stage performance,' she said. 'I'm really excited to be going out with them for field recording in Vancouver, as you have so many nearby places to record. Then we will present some music at the end of the week developed out of our study.' Ibarra will also get behind her drum kit to spontaneously create music with an instant quartet as well as a more guided presentation based on one of her compositions titled Bird Souls: Score for Flying. The Vancouver International Jazz Festival runs June 20-July 1. However, there is a break between the first 10 days and the Canada Day jazz events that take place on July 1. After all, Canada Day often feels like a separate festival after a festival. It's kind of a no-brainer to be there for the whole day, which winds down with a performance by the acclaimed Cowboy Bebop Bebop Band at 8:15 p.m. at Ocean Artworks for free. Given this large group has been selling out shows performing the swinging score from the acclaimed anime series Cowboy Bebop, seeing them gratis is great. For the full calendar of jazz fest listings, pick up a copy of the program or visit . Here are the picks for 10 shows over the first 10 days of jazz fest not to miss. When : June 20, 7 p.m. Where : Western Front Tickets/info : $39 at The Canadian premiere of a new work commissioned by Poland's Jazztopad Festival/National Forum of Musicians Wroclaw for the acclaimed contemporary classical group the Lutoslawski Quartet by star Saxophonist/composer Wilkins. When : June 21, 3:15 p.m. Where : Downtown Jazz, Georgia Street Stage, Vancouver Art Gallery Tickets/info : Free Multi-instrumentalist Kidane is a rising star who leads a number of crack combos performing everything from the Vancouver hippie era groovers Dido & the Handpeople (July 1, Ocean Artworks, 2:45 p.m., free) to leading her own adventurous original material in units like her sextet. When : June 22, 9:30 p.m. Where : Tyrant Studios Tickets/info : $18 at British-born, Nigerian-Canadian drummer and composer Onanuga is a fixture on the Edmonton music scene and a frequent visitor to town where he has a trio with local keyboardist Mary Ancheta and saxophonist Gordon Li. Stick around for the Open Jazz Jam to follow lead by the group and whoever sits in on the session. When : June 23, 7:30 p.m. Where: Vancouver Playhouse Tickets/Info : From $50 at Grammy-winning Cameroonian bassist and bandleader whose credits range from Salif Keita to Bobby McFerrin and the Pat Metheny Group leads an ace trio that finds common ground in Afro-Cuban grooves and improvisational grit with inspired style. When : June 24, 7:30 p.m. Where : Vancouver Playhouse Tickets/info : from $50 at A living legend on the jazz guitar, Seattle-based musician Frisell has a resumé that reads like a history of jazz and instrumental Americana over the last 50-plus years. His trio with bassist Morgan and drummer Royston is a true power trio. When: June 25, 9:30 p.m. Where : Revue Stage Tickets/info : $30 at Basset clarinettist Houle and guitarist/oud player perform together as Heliotrope making wild and beautiful avant-garde/open jazz/classical hybrid. Add in Dublin-based pianist Kimura and Swiss-based American improvised musical legend, drummer Gerry Hemingway and sparks will fly. When : June 26, 9:30 p.m. Where : Revue Stage Tickets/info : $30 at Violinist/composer Zubot is a fixture on the West Coast scene in multiple capacities. This group focuses on his contemporary chamber jazz work features his equally renowned violinist brother Jesse and also Josh's son Klee. The bows will fly at this one. When : June 27, 7:30 p.m. Where : Performance Works, 1218 Cartwright St., Granville Is. Tickets/info : $44 at Celebrating Black music across history, trumpeter Hill is a contemporary jazz star whose latest project homes in on compositions from fellow Chicago scene player Jeff Parker to Afro-futurist reeds player Marcus Strickland and others. He will perform these pieces with his crack quartet. When : June 28, 7:30 p.m. Where : Performance Works, 1218 Cartwright St., Granville Is. Tickets/info : $44 at London saxophonist Garcia is exploding across international jazz with her mix of West Indian dub stylings, R&B, breakbeat and grime with unique, driving power. Her most-recent album, 2024's Odyssey, is loaded with killer jams. When : June 29, 4 p.m. Where : Ocean Artworks, Granville Is. Tickets/info : Pay-what-you-can Vancouver guitarist Elkins blends jazz, folk, rock and blues into her flowing tunes that continuously surprise with their changes and chording. Her debut, Brighton Train, is due out later this year on the excellent local Infidels Jazz label. sderdeyn@ Love concerts, but can't make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off. Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances.
The Star
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Filipino American composer Susie Ibarra wins 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Music
MANILA: Bridging ancestral tradition with environmental urgency, Filipino American composer and percussionist Susie Ibarra (pic) has recently claimed the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her visionary work, 'Sky Islands.' 'Sky Islands' is a piece that reimagines the boundaries of contemporary music while celebrating the biodiversity of the Philippines. Premiered on July 18 last year, at the Asia Society in New York, 'Sky Islands' draws from the ecosystems found in the highland rainforests of Luzon. In a recent Ojai Talk with Ara Guzelimian, Ibarra emphasised the importance of biodiversity in these rare and vital landscapes, which deeply informed her creative process. 'Sky Islands,' she shared, was born from an urgency to give voice to the ecological and cultural stories embedded in these endangered terrains. The Pulitzer jury praised the work for '[challenging] the notion of the compositional voice by interweaving the profound musicianship and improvisational skills of a soloist as a creative tool,' highlighting its bold and collaborative spirit. At the heart of 'Sky Islands' is Ibarra's commitment to using sound as a medium for ecological storytelling. Drawing from native instruments like bamboo percussion, flutes and the kulintang – a traditional gong ensemble from southern Philippines – she created a layered sonic tapestry that invites reflection on both nature and heritage. The performance took place on 'Floating Gardens,' a set of sculptural gongs that served as both visual centerpiece and resonant sound chamber, elevating the immersive experience. The ensemble featured Ibarra alongside fellow percussionist Levy Lorenzo, flutist Claire Chase and the Bergamot Quartet: violinists Ledah Finck and Sarah Thomas, violinist Amy Huimei Tan and cellist Irene Han. Speaking about the piece, Ibarra expressed her hope to bring attention to the 'rich and fragile ecosystems' that inspired her. Through 'Sky Islands,' she invites listeners into a space where ancestral memory, environmental urgency and musical experimentation converge. In 2024, Fil-Am journalist Nicole Dungca was a finalist for her work on 'Searching for Maura' with The Washington Post. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
The Hindu
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
It takes a village to protect the Western Ghats' Sky Islands
Heading into the hills of Kodaikanal in the middle of balmy April was already a treat. Then, to sit on the lush grounds of a boutique hotel with nearly 150 people, the cool air speckled with a light drizzle, listening to 'Music from the Mountains to the Skies', was simply magical. The unique concert held at Mountain Retreat Kodai against the starry evening sky, kicked off with the sonic stylings of the Dindigul Mavattam Kodaikanal Poombarai Gramiya Kalai Kuzhu. The band of nine musicians of the indigenous Arunthatiyar community played their traditional percussion and wind instruments, including the kombu, an S-shaped brass instrument that looks like an elephant's raised trunk. They were followed by singer Seema Ramchandani, a Kodaikanal resident and formerly of the pop band Viva, who belted out covers of Joni Mitchell to Jason Mraz. Finally, lit by spotlight and moonlight, indie artist Suman Sridhar closed off the show with her original songs that blend jazz, Indian classical music, spoken word, opera and Afro-beat. She concluded her set with her underground hit Plastic, a track that is Sridhar's commentary on the increasing plastic pollution around us. The concert marked the launch of Sky Islands, an independent digital platform that 'aims to connect communities across the Western Ghats towards engagement, action and storytelling'. Rajni George, its founding editor and publisher, thinks of the hill station in Tamil Nadu 'as a special place' having grown up here. Nearly two decades ago, the widespread protests against the Hindustan Unilever mercury contamination of the area was her first memory of local groups 'proactively coming together to stop Kodaikanal going the way of other hill stations around India'. Inspired by this formidable older generation who took on industry and the state, George started looking around for others to band together 'to preserve and protect' their piece of the earth. Speaking of their experiences George brought her experience and connections from the publishing and media field into play, and since 2021, along with editor-writer Neha Sumitran, 'ran a hyperlocal publication called The Kodai Chronicle to speak of the environmental degradation as well as the amazing things happening in this region'. After four years of running it, George wanted to bring other citizen-led conservation and care to the centrestage, and so she decided that while the Chronicle's website will remain as 'an archive for the hyperlocal stories', the new Sky Islands platform, administered by the Kodai Chronicle Trust, will mature this vision. 'Sky islands' are geographically isolated high-elevation regions that have distinct flora and fauna from its lower-elevation surroundings. Like islands, 'they're cut-off but still share so much'. For George, the poetry and potential of this name was the reason for adopting it for the platform. With it, she seeks to bring together stakeholders along the Western Ghats — from the Nilgiris and Anamalais (Eravikulam, Munnar, and Meeshapuli mountains), to Banasura Hills, Chembra Hills, the Palanis and more — to collectively share and pool ideas on conserving and celebrating the region. She intends for 'local news to be sustainably reported from the perspective of lived experiences', to bring more adivasi voices into the debates on what should be going on in the hills, and become a confluence of the larger community taking on the environmental fight, to take ownership of their island. 'Each month, we will publish an audio format and longform story from the region, which speak directly to issues and initiatives that affect the people living here. There will be an 'engage' section, which will highlight the various citizen conservation campaigns and map out the opportunities for the people of the Western Ghats to take part. Sky Islands will also run outreach programmes and workshops led by indigenous and other environmental stakeholders to help locals navigate the bureaucracy to make change happen,' she explains. Opening up the mandate to spotlight the entire region means that the platform can access a larger pool of resources, financially and people-wise. They'll be networking with independent researchers and environmentalists, private organisations and government bodies and as a node for important information. 'With Sky Islands, we're helping locals across the Western Ghats feel ownership and engage with conservation initiatives in their regions,' she says. For instance, the day after the fundraising concert, Murgeshwari, a contributing writer and a daily wage agricultural labourer from the Paliyar adivasi community, conducted an outreach programme. 'She spoke to schoolchildren in Kodai about the importance of the forest to the indigenous way of life and taught them songs as well,' says George. Adivasi voices Over the years that Murgeshwari reported for The Kodai Chronicle and now Sky islands, she found herself being able to tell stories that are often missed by the mainstream media. Now, with a grant from Shared Ecologies, a programme by the non-profit Shyama Foundation, to continue writing from her lived experience as one of the original indigenous stakeholders, she says it 'gives me a sense of self-respect, and allows me to provide for my four-year-old son without constant worry'. 'While previously, I've focused on writing about my own community's challenges with the outside world, the expanded focus of Sky Islands allows me to swap the knowledge that the many adivasi communities hold about the forests and this land, and present it to one another and the world.' She believes that involving the adivasi stakeholders in protecting these regions is the only way forward. 'We've absorbed the knowledge about the forests. We can tell things by looking at a leaf or the sky,' she says, highlighting the importance of passing on this knowledge. 'If people know, they will care.' For her, conservation policies are well-meaning and well-intentioned, but aren't enforced at all. 'Each time I see garbage in bins shaped like the Indian Gaur, it breaks my heart. Who thought of this? Does it really translate the message,' she asks. Connecting stakeholders The common-sense learning over these several decades of conservation work has been that the fight must be tailored to the region. 'It's important to distinguish between the footprint of the capitalist-industrial complex and those of individuals,' says restorationist and rewilder Suprabha Seshan of Wayanad's Gurukula Periyar Botanical Sanctuary. She points out that blame can't be equally shared between these categories 'because the destruction of these bio-diverse regions are being done with impunity by the former hand-in-hand with the state'. She has spent a lifetime marking out this difference, but 'it hasn't caused much dent'. If people take ownership of the lands around them, however, mainstream conservation discourse will step outside of the 'individual blame game' towards encouraging cooperation and community living. 'First, we need to protect what exists before beginning to restore what has been destroyed,' says Seshan, who, for over two decades, has been working with the botanical sanctuary to fight species extinction. They run 'search-and-rescue operations' for native plants, 'bring them back and multiply them', and if the 'climate and the social climate allow, they would return these plants to the sites of origin'. Highlighting these local conservation initiatives, compounding their impact and connecting stakeholders of the Western Ghat are some of the tasks laid out by Sky Islands. 'We need to understand what it means to cooperate in the long run because the odds against resilience are so high,' Seshan points out. And these kinds of locally-birthed, participative responses might just be another arrow in the quiver of saving the hills — and a guiding light to inspire other such special geographical regions in the country. The writer and poet is based in Bengaluru.
