SVGEF April & May 2026 – MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

Dear All,

 

In this newsletter, we combine the updates from the months of April and May together, and we are very excited to catch you up on all the highlights. The details within demonstrate the impact of our work, taking us from the reefs of Bequia, engaging in scuba-diving fieldwork, to the heart of London for our fundraising event. We are so grateful for all of the support from our donors, project partners, and team members, enabling us to make huge waves of positive change among our islands as we work hand in hand with local communities to protect the species and habitat of St.Vincent and the Grenadines

 

I hope you enjoy the newsletter below. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

 

Stephan Hornsey

Executive Director

St.Vincent and the Grenadines Environment Fund

SVGEF April & May 2026 – MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

 

First Ever Lobster V-Notching Exercise Conducted in St.Vincent and the

Grenadines. 🦞 🥚

We are excited to share our continued work alongside Bequia fisherfolk, having trailed a new lobster conservation technique here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines called V-Notching. In April, the SVGEF Wild Nurseries team conducted a lobster V-notching exercise, which involves placing a small notch in the tail of a breeding female identified by the presence of eggs (berries). The lobster open season is from September 1st to April 31st, and any lobster bearing eggs during the open season is protected under law in St.Vincent and the Grenadines. This notch would allow fishers, fisheries officers, restaurants, and even their patrons to have the opportunity to identify the notch, giving an opportunity for accountability and enforcement at every stage.

In preparation for the activity, our Rangers received training in lobster biology, fisheries regulations and learned more on how v-notching could benefit them and their communities while also sharing their local knowledge and experience as fishers. The activity also allowed the team to test how practical v-notching would be, and while our Rangers felt v-notching would work well with lobster pots, it gave us an opportunity to explore its application using another technique known as “jegging” or “snaring” under normal fishing conditions which we achieved despite its challenges.

 

Please note all lobsters that were caught were released during this research.

With lobster landings reported to be low during the 2025–2026 season, conservation initiatives like these highlight the importance of exploring new approaches to help support healthy lobster populations and sustainable fisheries for the future.

SVGEF Sea Turtle Project 2026 Season Showing Growth In Leatherback Nesting

Activity, & Featured In Local Media 🐢 💙

After an early beginning with our first and earliest recorded activity in February, our monitors have continued patrolling throughout the nesting season for leatherbacks. With 68 leatherback activities recorded in 2026 as of May 30th, it shows an increase of 34% over 2025 so far. Throughout the season, there have been some memorable moments shared by our monitors and our island community at large.

Raymone, on Big Sands beach, had a record of four leatherbacks in one night in April, surpassing some of the previous highest nesting numbers seen on a single patrol under the project.

Pope, on Black Point beach, got to see his first leatherback hatchlings emerge as he proudly looked over the nest for the two months since it was laid to witness the baby turtles make their way into the sea.

Maria, on Colonaire, encountered a leatherback sea turtle nesting in the daytime at her beach, a known poaching hotspot. Maria called the rest of the SVGEF team, who came in numbers to support as the crowd on the beach grew to 30 coastal citizens. With the SVGEF team in present lead by Maria’s call for support, the leatherback was able to nest among the crowd and also return to sea safe and sound. The SVGEF posted on social media about the event, which later became a hot topic on national news across various news outlets. It also quickly became the SVGEF’s most popular post to date, gaining over 132,000 views, 51,480 of which are from St.Vincent and the Grenadines, close to half of our island’s population.

Youth Ocean Academy Kicks off with Sailing & Cetacean Conservation.

⛵ 📚 🐳

We would like to introduce you to our Ocean Guardians for 2026, as they literally set sail for their journey towards marine conservation, beginning with a sailing module led by the SVG Sailing Association. The students pictured here all applied online as part of our outreach for applications and were awarded their spots among the 30 members of our 2026 cohort. With 54 applications, all participants were scored to achieve a range of qualities to bring a truly diverse and passionate group of students to join our six-month-long programme to learn about protecting our marine environment. Through hands-on activities, mentorship from local experts, and real-world conservation experiences, participants explored the challenges and opportunities facing our marine environment while building a deep sense of ocean stewardship.

 

Sailing returned as our opening module for the Youth Ocean Academy 2026, a favourite among last year’s Ocean Guardians. Everyone was eager to learn how to harness the wind as energy for the most sustainable form of travel across our islands, building their water confidence and having fun in the sun. We were delighted to partner once again with the SVG Sailing Association to lead the session with their young and experienced sailing coaches, not only providing an incredibly professional session but also demonstrating youth leadership. Tegan and Akira led our Ocean Guardians in the theoretical portion of the day, and the afternoon was led by other SVG Sailing coaches and athletes who travel for international sailing competitions, representing St.Vincent and the Grenadines, continuing the example of youth leadership that the SVG Sailing Association does so well. It was undoubtedly the best way to kick off the programme with smooth sailing, a few small capsizes, but even bigger smiles.

For our May module on Cetaceans, Delight delivered a truly captivating biology course on cetaceans in-class for our Ocean Guardians. The session prompted fantastic questions and discussions from the students as they were left in awe of our whales and dolphins that inhabit our waters. After the morning session, the students ventured off to sea for a day of whale watching with their eyes peeled on the water for any sign of activity. Unfortunately, it was a dry day for cetacean sightings on this particular adventure, with not even a single sign of a whale or dolphin. However, the team is scheduling another opportunity for cetacean sightings in August during the Sea Birds module to hopefully have a second chance for whale and dolphin sightings during the travel at sea.

🇻🇨 SVGEF team attends the Global Gathering for 2026 in the Highlands of

Scotland. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

In the exotic landscape of Scotland, our SVGEF team, Stephan Hornsey and Lisa Gaymes, made their first-ever journey into the Highlands to the 2026 Global Gathering at Ardtonish Estate. The gathering was hosted by the Highlands and Islands Environment Fund (HIEF) team lead by members Sally McNaught and Louis MacMillan, all in a space most conducive to falling in love with Scotland’s environment. 50+ members of the gathering from around the conservation collective network convened daily in the estate’s castle to get right down to discussing the heart of conservations challenges and success throughout the network. These crucial conversations hosted throughout the comfort of the castle helped carve the path ahead as we all continue to make positive waves in our local environments. Yet, we didn’t miss the opportunities before or between our chats to dip into the loch, walk among flowery forests, or hike up and over wild ponies’ pastures.

The highlight of the Highlands gathering was the collectives’ awards evening. From bagpipes to ceilidh, we all quickly learned how infectiously fun Scottish music and dance can be. The musical celebrations came off the energy of the awards dinner, where each of the 21 foundations was eligible for the 5 prestigious categories and 5 honourable mentions as runner-up. The SVGEF were honoured to receive the runner-up award for People’s Choice in The Collectives Awards 2026, with first place going to our very own lovely hosts, Sally and Louis of HIEF . After a week filled with magic from Scotland, we had set off to London for the events ahead, from the fundraising, LEF’s ‘Margin Lands’ film screening, ABEF’s networking event launch, and our very own SVGEF 2026 Fundraising Dinner.

✨ The SVGEF 2026 Fundraising Dinner at Wild By Tart, London. 🇬🇧

Our second ever fundraising event at the St.Vincent and the Grenadines Environment Fund returned to Wild By Tart in Eccleston Yards for a night filled with music, drinks, vegan food and sharing our passion for protecting the environment of St.Vincent and the Grenadines. Bryan Adams and Ben Goldsmith, founders of the SVGEF , gave incredible speeches with an honourable acknowledgement to Tai-Sarah Mitchell attending in representation of our third founder, Louise Mitchell, who was unable to join us this time in London. Bryan and Ben recounted the ten-year journey that 2026 marks at the SVGEF , showing the vision planted from a decade ago bearing fruit of today’s environmental protection.

 

Stephan Hornsey presented on the immediate massive positive impact made from the previous gala in 2024 thanks to the support given. Then he went on to discuss the plans ahead for the 2026 dinner’s projects continuing with the journey of positive impact for our islands’ environment.

 

Dr. Jenny Daltry of Re:wild and Dr. Judith Brown of The Blue Marine Foundation also gave speeches as they both embodied the power of collaborative partnerships that help to build the capacity of those on the frontlines of conservation in St.Vincent and the Grenadines. Our guests of the evening and supporters far and wide donated to our cause, raising £100,000 to date. Which secured four out of our five projects presented at the event in a remarkable outcome of the campaign. The fundraising efforts continue today as we seek further support closing the funding gap on our fifth project of restoring and protecting Pigeon Island’s sea birds and pink rhino iguanas. A huge thank you to everyone who joined us at our event for such a lovely evening and a special thank you to all of our donors for helping us turn plans into reality in saving the environment of St.Vincent and the Grenadines.

End of Report.

www.svgef.org

@svgef