Hi Folks! My name is Heather Kostick, and I'm interested in conservation. I recently received my Master of Environmental Studies degree from the University of Pennsylvania. As a grad student, I completed independent research in Puerto Rico doing a taxonomic survey of the marine mollusks of the northeastern and northwestern regions. Both regions are rich in biodiversity and are high in ecological value. As a result of my research, I created educational seashell guides in English and Spanish for use by local non-profits (Northeast Ecological Corridor Natural Reserve, Ecological League of the Northwest) so that visitors to the regions could learn about the shells they see and find on the beach.
Unfortunately, due to the lack of funding and economic situation in Puerto Rico, these guides I created haven't been able to be printed. I want to change that. I'm raising funds so that I can print out hundreds of guides and ship them to the regions I created them for. I believe that research should be shared and available to the people who it would impact the most, and by having these guides printed and distributed, both residents and visitors could learn more about the interesting wildlife in Puerto Rico. All the funds from the t-shirts purchased will go directly to the costs of printing and shipping the field guides. Any additional funding will go to the ongoing movement lead by Liga Ecologica del Noroeste (Ecological League of the Northwest) to protect the beaches in the northwest from future development, and to the Corredor Ecologico del Noreste (Northeast Ecological Corridor). T-shirt orders close in 8 days, and they will be shipped out by early May. There are two style options (t-shirt, or tank top, both unisex), and a couple of color choices. The T-shirts say "What the [shell]?" on them, and where the word "shell" should be, is a picture of a bivalve. https://www.bonfire.com/what-the-shell-fundraiser/ Thank you for your time!
