There are few regular meetings that I am not willing to miss. The biannual SCSCB conference is one that I try to make come hell or high water. Conservationists and educators from around the Caribbean meet every two years to discuss Caribbean birds and what needs to be done to ensure their futures.

Due to my wife’s surgery, however, I had to cancel my trip to Grenada to take part in this year’s gathering. However, this morning I received an email from Lisa Sorenson, SCSCB Executive Director, letting me know that the organization had awarded me a lifetime achievement award in absentia. What a pleasant (and timely) surprise! Thanks to Howard Nelson, Lisa Sorenson, Holly Robertson, and the SCSCB family for this amazing honor. You will never know how much this means to me and my family.

Here is the award citation given by Lisa Sorenson at the meeting.

We are honoring Ted Eubanks for his tireless work in helping the Society develop the Caribbean Birding Trail Project. Ted has spent much of his career studying and promoting experiential tourism and outdoor recreation as sustainable approaches to community revitalization and conservation. Ted is also a certified interpretive planner and trainer through the National Association for Interpretation. His expertise in the field of environmental interpretation has been particularly instrumental in advancing the Caribbean Birding Trail’s goal of telling the story of the Caribbean’s vast natural and cultural resources.

Ted has attended 3 SCSCB regional meetings, giving plenary talks and workshops on bird and nature tourism at each one, including a workshop to develop the CBT at our last meeting in Freeport, Grand Bahama. Over the past 12 months he traveled with Holly Robertson and myself to three Caribbean countries to launch the CBT at seven sites. From this he has provided us with an interpretive strategy for the sites and for the entire region, plus many other valuable tools that we will need moving forward. This includes taking thousands of photos that capture the essence of the Caribbean, writing numerous articles for the CBT blog, and getting us established with social media and the website.

Ted has donated countless hours and days of his time helping us achieve the level of success that we have today, and for that we want to honor him.

Ted Lee Eubanks
9 August 2013