ONCA is proud to be a key part of the coalition of artists and educators driving the Remembrance Day for Lost Species initiative. We are looking for a volunteer researcher/ project developer to help promote and develop the initiative.
Recent research has shown that Earth has lost half its wildlife in the last 40 years. Worse is to come, as climate change and habitat loss are leading us into the Sixth Mass Extinction. Now is the time to create new rituals for remembering and mourning what we have lost, and for celebrating and making commitments to what remains.
Since 2011, groups in the UK and internationally have met on the last day of November to hold memorials for extinct species. Activities over the five years have included:
- Cairn building, processions and vigils
- Performances and poetry readings
- Centenary memorials for the Passenger Pigeon
- Bells tolled around the world at the same time
and many more.
Our vision is for Remembrance Day for Lost Species to become an established and familiar part of the broad cultural calendar, in the same way as initiatives like Black History Month, International Women’s Day and Earth Hour. For this to happen requires dedication and energy. We are looking for a special person to work on this project for about one day per week. In the autumn this commitment becomes more intense in the build up to the Day. The role requires:
- A solid grasp of the issues and drivers of the extinction crisis
- Use of social media
- Network building
- Education outreach
- Creating resources for use in schools
- Writing, blogging, speaking about the project
- Strategic planning
- An understanding of fundraising.
Ideally you will be based in Brighton and able to come into ONCA for meetings, but the right person may be based anywhere and liaise regularly via Skype/ phone/ email.
To apply for this unique opportunity, please send a CV and covering letter saying why you would like to volunteer by email to Persephone Pearl, persephone@onca.org.uk, by May 15th 2016.
Funeral for the Caspian Tiger, Feral Theatre: photo credit Bridget McKenzie.
Notes about some coalition members:
- The Life Cairn: An international group that builds stone cairns as a focus for memorials to extinct species, established in UK by Andreas Kornevall , Rev. Peter Owen-Jones and Vanessa Vine http://www.thelifecairnproject.org/ Anyone is welcome to make a Life Cairn.
- Extinction Symbol http://www.extinctionsymbol.info/
- Feral Theatre: A theatre company that explores loss, death and memory through performance and participatory projects. http://feraltheatre.co.uk/funeral-for-lost-species/
- Brandon Ballengée is an artist/biologist http://brandonballengee.com
- Flow UK is a cultural learning consultancy based in London, led by Bridget McKenzie and Susanne Buck  http://flowglobal.co.uk/
- Nick Hunt is editor of the Dark Mountain blog, and author of Walking the Woods and the Water http://dark-mountain.net/blog/
- Joel Greenberg is author of ‘A Feathered River Across the Sky’, one of the leaders of Project Passenger Pigeon and co-producer of “From Billions to None: The Passenger Pigeons Flight to Extinction.â€Â http://joelrgreenberg.com/books-and-other-writings.html
- Megan Hollingsworth is a US-based poet and founder of Extinction Witness http://wextinctionwitness.org/
- The MEMO Project is an iconic architectural project on the cliffs of the Isle of Portland, to build a permanent memorial to extinct species overlooking the ‘Jurassic Coast’ World Heritage Site http://www.memoproject.org/