Young Children at the Liceo Francés Learn about Preservation of Bluebirds

September 14, 2016

“The Bluebird Man,” one of the films being shown at the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival, was screened at the Liceo Francés.

Santo Domingo – With the screening of the documentary, “The Bluebird Man” by director Matthew Podolsky, students at the Liceo Francés in Santo Domingo learned all about preservation of the bluebird.

Attending the screening, which is part of the 6^th edition of the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF), included Matthew Podolsky, producer and co-director of “The Bluebird Man;” Jorge Brocca, executive director of the Hispaniola Ornithological Society and Biology professor Nicole Chastrette.

The film tells the story of 94-year-old Al Larson, a self-taught conservation hero who has committed the last 38 years of his life to saving North America’s bluebirds.

Podolsky, cofounder of the non-profit company Wild Lens that focuses on wildlife conservation issues, said he became interested in making a documentary when he met Al Larson. “I had the opportunity to meet this amazing person and he inspired me to make the film,” said Podolsky.

“The Bluebird Man” aims to present Al Larson’s bluebird conservation project to a wider audience. “We wanted it to help create a process which would be taken over later by someone when Al was no longer able to continue it,” said the film director. He added that another goal of the film was to encourage young people to create these types of projects.

Jorge Brocca, executive director of the Hispaniola Ornithological Society, talked about bird preservation projects underway in the country in Valle Nuevo and Sierra de Bahoruco.

The initiative, he explained, seeks to protect the Golden Swallow, endemic to the island, for which they have 400 nest boxes where the birds can lay their eggs.

Brocca invited the children to support the initiative underway in the country. “We are trying to inspire young people, who live in the capital as well as communities out in the countryside,” he said.

During the question and answer session, the students showed a great deal of interest in learning more about the filmmaking process.

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