Friends of the pawi got together last week to heap praise on forester Ken Fournillier, described by one environmentalist as "an extraordinary conservation biologist", for his year-long campaign to protect this blue-throated bird.

  The very small "praise party" took place at Pax Guest House in St Augustine, that is managed by Gerard Ramsewak, a self-confessed avid bird-watcher.

  Ramsewak judged the success of Fournillier's educational efforts partly on a phone call he got a few weeks ago from a ten-year-old Marabella girl. She wanted bumper stickers of the pawi, known too as the piping guan.

  When asked why she wanted the stickers, the girl said she'd read and heard a lot about the pawi, found it was a nice idea, and wanted to spread the message to her friends.

  "I was so touched,' Ramsewak said. "The piping guan, I believe, is on the brink of extinction. It’s one of these silly birds that stands still and then people may shoot hem. Some play dead, some freeze. They're very easy targets for hunting and it's so sad."

  The pawi (Pipile pipile) is found only in Trinidad and lives in the high woods of the Northern Range. It's threatened by hunting and forest destruction. Up to 20 years ago, it was common to see flocks of up to 15 pawi in their natural habitat.

  It's a big bird, as big as a turkey, and weighs about three kilograms. It has shiny black feathers, red legs, and a blue face. Its sound is like the soft music of a pipe.

  The public awareness campaign involved 24 events, including skits in schools using puppets, bumper stickers, posters, creating a jingle composed by Gregory Ballantyne, which was sung by David Rudder, and making a video.

  Fournillier, who was complimented for going "through the effort", said one of the most challenging things about the project was "dreading going out and begging", a skill he has now mastered.

  He got support in one form or another from, among others, Ian Lambie of the Asa Wright Nature Centre, Molly Gaskin, Hans Geiser, the resident representative for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Pax (for sponsoring 5,000 stickers), the Centre for the Rescue of Endangered Species of Trinidad and Tobago (Crestt), Pearl and Deane Caribbean Limited (for developing the video), and the Rare Center for Tropical Conservation.

  And the media.

  "I remember going up to Cumana near Valencia where the school has about 25 children, and they were so grateful that the programme had gone there, they serenaded us, and it was heartwarming," Fournillier said.

  Union/Claxton Bay Senior Comprehensive School chose the pawi for its Royal bank young Leaders project. Form four student Jaime Jharilalsingh represented the school at he gathering.

  The puppet presentation of the pawi has "taken on a life of its own", the forester said.

  "Ken makes a great-looking pawi," joked Paul Butler, the St Lucia-based director of conservation education with the Rare Center, referring to his puppeteering talent.

  "Overall, the pawi is celebrated as a very important bird from Trinidad," the forester said.

  On a more serious note, Butler encouraged the continued use of the puppets in conservation work, going further to suggest that the pawi introduce the turtle. "As a funding agency, we're constantly asked to fund projects, and we're very pleased, very proud, with this project," Butler said.

  Robyn Cross, assistant conservator of forests in the Ministry of Agriculture, Land, and Marine Resources, said: "Sometimes timing is everything. This was an impetus to our environment education."

  She said Fournillier had been working on turtle conservation for years and he was perfectly suited to this kind of project.

  Referring to the importance of corporate support for such work, Cross said one of the "hugest" corporate citizens around donated a cheque for $32 to another project. She suspected the money was collected from employees.

  Scott Eckert, senior research biologist with Hubbs-Seaworld Research Institute in California, said the pawi has turned into "a flagship species for the north coast because it generates conservation all along the tier".

  David Chadee, and agriculture officer working in the Natural Parks Division, put it best when he said: "Let the pawi fly again."

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