SILVERY GIBBON PROJECT NEWSLETTERThe Page 1 September 2013 SILVERY GIBBON PROJECT PO BOX 335 COMO 6952 WESTERN AUSTRALIA Website: www.silvery.org.au E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 0438992325 September 2013 Agile Gibbons, Siamangs, Sunbears, Clouded Leopards and even Sumatran Tigers, the area lies PRESIDENT’S REPORT adjacent to a larger protected forest and is also the location of Kalaweit Conservation Centre. We Dear Members and Friends hope to be able to provide additional support to this important project into the future. Keep an eye We are excited to report that the release of on our Facebook page for updates on camera trap Sadewa and Kiki in June went very well and they images from Supayang. continue to thrive in the forest. They are proving a little challenging for the monitoring team to keep Back in Perth, the SGP team is gearing up for our up with but thanks to their morning call the team Art Auction which will be held on October 26. are still able to locate them most days. Please Once again we have secured some amazing read the update on their release on page 4. pieces and the generosity of artists is truly inspiring. Be sure to get your tickets early as this event may sell out. We also have some exciting projects underway with Wildlife Asia. You can find out more about our crowd funding project on page 5. It was certainly an honour to be present at the release, which was the culmination of many years hard work for the Java Gibbon Centre (JGC) team. A huge thank you to our supporters who have so generously donated to Silvery Gibbon I’d also like to take the opportunity to thank Project (SGP) to assist with the reintroduction Professor Vincent Nijman for writing a short article program. Of course maintaining JGC is a critical specifically for our newsletter (refer page 6). We element of the overall program and we are are very grateful for his support. working hard to ensure that we have sufficient funds to cover both activities in coming years. We look forward to seeing some of you at our AGM on September 15, commencing at 1:00pm SGP has also committed to assisting Kalaweit with the purchase of land at the Supayang Until then, take care Reserve in Sumatra. This is a unique opportunity to actually secure an area forever and we are Clare Campbell really excited to be a part of this project. Home to President, Silvery Gibbon Project SILVERY GIBBON PROJECT NEWSLETTER Page 2 September 2013 MILLY VALENTINE: A CRUSADER FOR GIBBON CONSERVATION Silvery Gibbon Project (SGP) would like to introduce Milly Valentine (above), an inspiring young lady from Brisbane who is very passionate about saving gibbons. Milly contacted us a few months ago asking what she could do to help and came up with a great idea to make gibbon pins to sell at her school. Milly's goal was to raise enough money to rescue a pet gibbon and with great determination she managed to go beyond her target. Milly raised $500 for SGP to assist with the rescue of another gibbon and also adopted Nakula, a Javan Gibbon Centre (JGC) favourite! JGC staff are currently making arrangements to rescue another gibbon that has been kept illegally as a pet in Java. We will keep you all posted on progress with this rescue. We hope that other young gibbon fans will be motivated by Milly's story. She has certainly shown that one person really can make a difference. Thanks for caring Milly! Here are some photos of Milly and some friends busy in their conservation efforts at their school in Queensland. SILVERY GIBBON PROJECT NEWSLETTER Page 3 September 2013 BACKGROUND TO THE SILVERY GIBBON PROJECT CONSTITUTION CHANGES Jeff Beaton Our current Constitution was written in 1997, and was subsequently amended twice to recognise the deductible gift recipient status gained by the Silvery Gibbon Project Inc. in 2001. The proposed Constitution combines all these into one coherent document, which will be presented at this year’s AGM on the 15 September 2013. This has necessitated some re-ordering of clauses in the original document, but in the main, the intent remains the same. There are, however, some changes and additions and these are listed below: We’ve changed the Objectives of the Association The proposed objectives of the association have been changed slightly to include other Gibbon species as well as follows: The objectives of the Association are to support the Conservation of Silvery Gibbons (Hylobates moloch), other Gibbon species and other threatened species. This makes it clear we are concerned with conservation support for all Gibbon species We’ve included a new clause regarding membership of the Committee 13(3) Membership of Committee The President may invite a member to join the Committee and provided all existing Committee members agree to the appointment, that appointed member shall hold office until the commencement of the next Annual General Meeting. The idea here is to allow the inclusion on the Committee, members who it is thought can contribute in some way to our objectives. We’ve updated payment processes to include EFT as a method of payment from Association funds Proposed 17 (c) The Treasurer shall - Make payments from the funds of the Association with the authority of a General meeting or of the Committee, and in so doing ensure that all cheques are signed, or electronic transfers are authorised by himself or herself and at least one other authorised Committee member, or by any two others as are authorised by the Committee; This aligns the payment process with current practice We’ve reduced the number of members and clarified the position with proxies and quorums Proposed 21.(1) At a General meeting, including the Annual General Meeting and a Special General Meeting, 15 members present in person or by proxy constitutes a quorum; (a) A proxy may be: (i) by written notice authorizing an existing member to act on the absent member’s behalf under rule 24, (ii) or a person, whether a member or not, attending the meeting to act on the behalf of the member under rule 24; (b) A quorum of 15 members cannot be made up of less than 10 natural persons present, whether members or non-members who are proxies; We’ve reduced the number of days prior to the AGM for financial members to nominate for Committee from 21 to 7 and done away with the need for secret ballots where a vote on Committee membership is required. SILVERY GIBBON PROJECT NEWSLETTER Page 4 September 2013 KIKI AND SADEWA RELEASE UPDATE As reported in the last issue of the newsletter, in June this year the Javan gibbons Kiki and Sadewa were successfully released into the Malabar Forest, in the Bandung District of West Java. An enormous effort was put into the release project. On-the-ground in Indonesia several organisations and individuals worked hard over a long period to achieve this outcome. They were substantially supported by the Silvery Gibbon Project, which from the beginning played a leading role – both in funding and in developing the release plan. It could not have happened without the support of all. The pictures below and on the front page were taken at the site on the day of the release. It was an extraordinary event, and a positive development in the conservation of the species. Sadewa inspects the terrain from the safety of the Human primates Mulya Hermansyah (Javan canopy shortly after release. Gibbon Centre) and Clare Campbell (Silvery Gibbon Project), who played a major role in the release program. Prior to the release, Kiki and Sadewa lived at the Javan Gibbon Centre, where dedicated staff provided for their care and wellbeing. Since the release, the two gibbons have fared very well indeed. Initially they stayed close to the release site but have now moved further into the forest. In fact, visual monitoring has proved difficult, but they can reliably be heard singing early in the morning. With planning for the next release already underway, consideration is being given to improving monitoring and the potential use of collars or similar monitoring devices. Conservation is a long road, but it is a road worth travelling. We thank you for your support. The dedicated team who ensured the successful release of Kiki and Sadewa back into the wild. SILVERY GIBBON PROJECT NEWSLETTER Page 5 September 2013 SILVERY GIBBON ART AUCTION – COMING SOON! 26 October 2013 It's back! This October the Silvery Gibbon Project is hosting another of our famous charity Art Auctions. Tickets are $20 and available by either: Emailing: [email protected] Phone: Clare on 0438-992-325 Come along to the Perth Zoo on Saturday the 26th October 2013 and bid for one of the amazing works of art, and help raise funds for gibbon conservation. You could take home a masterpiece! We have an amazing range of artwork from local and international artists, including Steve Morvell, Fiona Anderson, Thomas Marent, Sue Codee, Alison Fennell, Lisa Roet, Robin Wingrave and many more. Viewing starts at 4:30pm, and the auction commences at 6:30pm. Canapes will be served from 5-6pm. Tickets are just $20, and include a complimentary glass of wine on arrival. Save the date now - tickets will be available for purchase soon. This event is generously sponsored by Margaret River's Credaro Wines. Shown: A stunning original painting by Steve Morvell (Ostriches), a beautiful watercolour (seahorse) by Alison Fennel and a wonderful original charcoal (Orangutan) by Fiona Anderson are just some of the fabulous works of art available.