Founders’ Award for Best Student Paper in Conservation or Management Research
The Founders’ Award was established in 2011 at our Conference in Freeport, Grand Bahama, thanks to the vision and financial support of the founding members of the Founders Award Committee: Drs. Fred Schaffner and Joseph Wunderle. Congratulations to the winner of the award, Christopher Cambrone, at our 2019 Conference in Guadeloupe – you can read about his award here and here.
Guidelines for the Award
This award will be given to the student who, at the biennial conference of BirdsCaribbean, presents the best paper in conservation research or management research. The paper must present a scientific research project, the results from which directly apply to management of bird populations, their habitats or related critical natural resources in the Caribbean Region.
If a student research project of sufficient scientific quality or merit is not presented, this award will be given to the student who, at a BirdsCaribbean conference, presents the best paper in reporting the results of a conservation project, conducted by the student, that significantly benefitted bird populations, their habitat or related critical natural resources in the Caribbean Region.
The award is specifically not to be given for environmental or outdoor education projects as these areas are already better supported than the research and activism areas previously mentioned.
The award consists of a Life Membership in BirdsCaribbean. One or more Honorable Mentions may also be awarded for excellent projects at the discretion of the Founders’ Award Committee judges.
If no appropriate project is presented, no award will be given.
To apply, students must submit an abstract to the conference and indicate on the online form that they are applying for consideration for the Founders’ Award for Best Student Paper. The abstract must be accepted. Students must also submit evidence that they are currently enrolled or have graduated within the past year (e.g., provide a letter from their advisor on institutional letterhead via email). The award is open to all students pursuing a post-graduate degree (M.S. or Ph.D.), but priority will be given to Caribbean nationals.
Funds for the Life Membership will be obtained from direct donations from BirdsCaribbean members, and others (including but not limited to other individuals, foundations, corporations) deposited into a BirdsCaribbean special fund or endowment established for this purpose. We welcome donations to this fund here – choose Founders Award in the dropdown menu where you can designate where your award goes.
A Committee has been established to evaluate student projects for this award and to manage the fund or special endowment . The Committee consists of (1) BirdsCaribbean members familiar with conservation issues related to birds generally and to the Caribbean region, Bahamas, and Bermuda specifically, and (2) at least one member with expertise on fund management. Fund management will be the responsibility of BirdsCaribbean with advice from the Committee. The current Chair of the Founders’ Award Committee is Dr. Howard Nelson.