Bats of Haiti

This fall 2011 in Haiti I will start teaching about bats in addition to birds. There are 15 extant and 2 extinct species of bats in Haiti. I’m not finding much information about them, so am using this post to keep track of what I do find. If you have any suggestions please post a comment! Wordless resources or those in French or Creole would be most useful. I would especially like to find inexpensive prints of this poster (or donations of them) - http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Bats-Posters_i8065545_.htm

Caribbean conservation groups
Bat Conservation International - http://www.batcon.org/
Cayman Wildlife Connection - http://www.caymanwildlife.org/index.html

Anecdotal information

• The Haitians have many names for bats, all a variation of chovsourit which literally means old mouse. Many people believe that old mice metamorphose into bats. Variations – chòchòl, chovsourit, chatsouri, chatsourit, chichòt, chòdchòd, chòdchòt, chòfsourit, chòtchòt, chouchòl, chouchwòl, chòvsouri, chòvsourit, chwètchwèt, sovsouri, tchotchorit, tchòtchòt (Freeman Haitian-English Dictionary 2011). Baby bats would be called 'ti chòchòl' or 'pitit chòchòl' to emphasize that it is the offspring of the bats.
• I think some of the Haitians thought the cave swallows (irondel) were bats.
• Here’s a photo of man who collects and sells bat guano from a nearby cave that he owns.

Educational materials

• Laminated illustrations I use in Haiti - http://zwazoyo.blogspot.com/2011/03/life-cycle-and-food-chains-nan-kreyol.html
• Bat poster with French names (does anyone have this to donate?) - http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Bats-Posters_i8065545_.htm
• From Bat Con. Int’l - https://www.batcatalog.com/scripts/default.asp
• Scroll down to Bats Study Guide for Teachers and Students on http://www.caymanwildlife.org/index.html

Literature
Klingener, D.K., H.H. Genoways, and R.J. Baker. 1978. Bats from Southern Haiti. Annals of Carnegie Museum. 47:88–99.

Woods & Ottenwalder 1992. The Natural History of Southern Haiti. FL Museum of Nat. History., Univ. FL.

Cassava mill & bread

UCI has a cassava mill to encourage local food production, to move away from reliance on the rice imported from the US. The women peel the manioc root with spoons, it’s soaked in water, ground in the mill, pressed to squeeze out water, then ground again. Salt and other things (sugar etc.) can be added to the flour before it is cooked on large metal plates over coals. The best is when coconut is layered in the middle.

Here’s a recipe for the closest I could get to making it at home. Experiment with small batches until you get a feel for how much water to add.

Heat cast iron skillet on high. To ½ c of cassava flour add 1T water, mix with fork until moist but crumbly. If it’s pastey it will be unpleasantly moist in the center. Sprinkle onto skillet in about a 3in diameter, scrape all the crumbles into the center or they will burn, & tap down with tip of spatula (not the flat side of spatula or it’ll stick). It will set up and when underside browns, flip it and tap down again with tip of spatula. It’s done when brown on both sides. Variation – make it thinner, add a pinch of coconut on top, then a second pinch of cassava mixture. By then it’ll be brown underneath so flip it and tap down with spatula.

It’s not nearly as good as when they make it. Post a comment if you have a better recipe!

Have motorcycle, will teach. Days 2 & 3

Tuesday Derold the translator took me by motorcycle to Grand Latanier (private school) – farther away on hwy 3 towards Hinche. Gave the principle binocs and pages from the bird guide. Taught in 6 classes: 45 4^th graders; ~ 45 5^th graders; 25 kindergarteners in same room as 65 1^st graders; ~50 2^nd graders; Two adjoining rooms of 36 3^rd graders in front room and 25 older kids in back room (couldn’t see them all). Done around 9:45a.

Then to the Maranatha church school – about 100 kids meet in the old church (brown uniforms, some from UCI neighborhood). Followed by 45 women in the new church. They seemed to know less than the kids (one called the hawk clip art a bat). Got home around 11:30.

For 45 min. met again with 3 UCI employees – went over basic water chemistry and that testing it will help them figure out what is wrong if there’s a fish kill. They asked about putting in fish ponds. Gave them the ekoloji, deforestation, and science dictionary books in Creole.

Then went to the nutrition center at the end of driveway. About 60 kids, Tana translated. They didn’t listen well. The teacher wasn’t there, it was just to eat.

Wednesday went to 2 schools before my flight. First was Lotbo Bohoc, near the market. I taught there 3 years ago when it was just a nutrition center in a gazebo and again last year. Now it is a school with 2 buildings. Met with ~40 kids (yellow uniforms).

Then stopped at another and went classroom by classroom (forgot to get the name). 8 classes: 13 preteens; 10 5^th graders; 9 6-7yr.; 13 3^rd graders (with teacher nursing baby); 8 6-yr; 12 8-yr; 8 6-yr who were singing the Ti Zwazo song; 4 cute 2-4-yr olds.

Then I went to the UCI board meeting, had lunch, and flew to Port-au-Prince.

Totals: 7 schools, 2 church groups, 1 nutrition center, 1 group of employees = 880 kids, 30 teens, 51 adults. This doesn’t include the teachers or people along the streets who saw me out birding. Next time bring more handouts!

Teaching Ecology in Haiti

During my second week here in Haiti I am teaching in the schools. I’ll chronicle the experience here.

Curriculum – I'm using laminated visual aids (see post) that I put in one binder so that it’s portable whether I’m walking, on motorcycle, ATV, or truck. I teach that hawks (malfini) eat rats. Even though they also eat chickens, the benefit of eating the rats that eat chicken eggs, rice, and corn far outweighs the loss of chickens. I ask whether the children would rather have rats or malfini. Next I talk about hummingbirds (wanga). There are 4 in Haiti, one of which is in the US (ruby-throated). I come to Haiti to see the other 3 (Antillean mango, Hispaniolan emerald, and the world’s 2^nd smallest bird the vervain hummingbird). The wanga pollinate the flowers when they drink the nectar. Finally, we talk about parakeets (parriche) and parrots (jako) that eat fruit and spread the seeds (someone mentioned they also eat corn), thereby planting trees. I ask what the kids do when they see a nest. The usual answer is touch it, destroy it, etc. We talk about how there are fewer birds when they do that. And reiterate that malfini eat rats, wanga help make fruit, and parakeets/parrots help plant trees. I finish with what will they do next time they see a next. Answer – leave it alone! By the way, Kristie said she’s seeing more birds on their property and thinks kids are remembering this lesson.

A variation of this talk includes the life cycle of birds, frogs, and butterflies. I have the kids come up and help me put the visual aids in order from egg to adult. We talk about frogs (krapo) eating insects such as flies and mosquitoes, and butterflies pollinating flowers. I show them my frog necklace and reiterate that mwen renmen krapo (I like frogs). There is a myth that if a frog pees in your eye it will pop! Many people are afraid of frogs in the way that Americans are afraid of spiders or snakes. We finish with the Ti Zwazo song that everyone seems to know. The words are in the book Ti Zwazo Kote W A Prale that I bought at the Audubon office in Port au Prince last year.

I hand out to each kid either a bookmark with life cycles on one side and hydrologic cycle on the back, or a page of the bird guide by Florence Sergile. I give the principle either a binder of the teaching material, or binoculars with a bird guide.

Friday – UCI (United Christians International) Dironot translated. This is the school on UCI property in Caiman that was built and opened last year to school the children and employ the teachers who had to move here after the Jan. 2010 earthquake. I taught in 4 classrooms, two rooms of about 25 each 2-3 yr olds (they start them early), 25 4-5 yr olds, and 25 6-9 year olds.

Saturday – UCI youth group. JeanJean translated. The teens who go to Pastor JeanJean’s church meet in the worship center. We talked about the hydrologic cycle and the importance of trees for clean water both to drink and for fish habitat. I encouraged them to start now planting trees and in 10 years they’ll be glad they did. UCI has a nursery and the teens will start a tree project.

Monday – Fwa Kretyen de la Jeune (Pignon) – (down the highway from the cemetery, towards Pignon, turn at the sign in the photo). Derold translated. Dropped off by truck around 8a, finished around 9:30am. I spoke in 6 classrooms (ages are a guess): 15 preteens; 16 7^th graders; 37 ~10 yr olds; 20 3-4 yr olds; 30 teens in the same room as 22 4 – 5 yr olds who faced a different wall; ~40 5 – 6 yr olds.

We then walked to National Public School (green school with large trees that had red flowers and huge been pods). They weren’t expecting us, but graciously assembled all the kids (~150, blue checkered uniforms) outside under the trees. I gave the principle a pair of binoculars for the school, and laminated bird guides for the teachers. I spoke for about ½ hour. JeanJean mentioned they haven’t had any activities yet at this school. Principle said they don’t have people teaching what I teach.

Then walked home (turn at the new HAFF lodging), arrived around 10:30a. Hot & sunny day!

Monday afternoon – For about 1 hour I talked with 6 UCI employees who work in the nursery and tend gardens. Reviewed hydrologic cycle and what I teach kids. They thought bats came from old mice that metamorphed, so showed them the laminated illustrations of mother and baby bats, and babies drinking milk and staying warm. They would like a longer workshop, so I suggested they organize it and invite other communities, and give tours of UCI projects.