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More significantly, at the most recent session of the Legislative Council, the Government of St. Helena accepted a motion calling on it to take the lead in nature conservation activities, Thus effectively adopting these conservation
activities as official policy.
There is at present very little activity by voluntary groups in this field. However, this is being encouraged by this Dept.; the Boy Scouts have been involved in tree planting (endemics) to improve the aspect of some barren land adjacent to Jamestown,and school children are being encouraged to plant and look after a tree (all kids with birthdays in the month of the Agricultural Show were presented with a "Birthday Tree")
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The most organised voluntary group on the Island is the St. Helena Heritage Society, This group runs the museum and holds regular meetings, the aim of which is to keep alive an awareness of the history of the Island. They have in the past tended to concentrate on the preservation of historic buildings and monuments but are now showing increasing interest in aspects of natural history. They can act as a most effective "ginger group", having amongst their members some of the more influential people on the Island.
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You may well notice the lack of emphasis on the Island fauna in all of the "above, This does not denote lack of interest, but rather the lack of of any expert knowledge available on the Island, The fauna has not benefited from the same degree of study or of overseas interest as has the endemic flora,
Ano important aspect may
important aspect may well be that S
be that St. Helena's fauna is rather
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restricted and not of great interest to the layman,
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Wild mammals are represented by only 4 species, rabbits, mice, and two common species of rat, Bird life again is relatively, restricted, with very few species being represented and with the exeption of the wirebird being rather mundane, being represented and with the Indeed, apart from some fish that are particular to St. Helena, (and these tend not to exite public interest) it is not until you get to the relatively obscure
realms of marine molluscs, earwigs and the coleoptera that things become more
interesting.
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The following list of people that have been recently involved with the St Helena fauma may be of interest Indeed you may find that they can offer mo
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