nature

Since when have science and fundraising gone hand-in-hand? And since when have applying that science and gathering money been also intimately linked?

Duh, now --- since forever. The Smithsonian Insititution, for example, has its origins in a bequest by a British industrialist who liked some things about a United States of America that he had never seen.

El Valle's golden frogs (Atelopus zeteki) were a major tourist attraction when the community in the ancient volcanic crater first began attracting tourists from afar, but they have been in decline for decades and over the past five years with the spread of a deadly --- to amphibians --- strain of the chytrid fungus to their habitat their population has dropped precipitously. Now they are nearly extinct in the wild.

However, once the problem was identified, an ark of sorts was built --- the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center, located at the El Nispero zoo. This facility provides a refuge protected from the fungal plague --- but it cost money to build, and costs money to operate. It will cost money to find a way to reintroduce the frogs in a way that lets them survive in the wild, and if that is discovered, implementing it will also require funds.

Because the golden frogs are a local emblem, because they have been good for business, and because they add to the beauty of a beautiful place, a lot of individuals and businesses --- long time Panamanian residents and expatriated foreigners alike --- are pitching in what they can to save the species.

One of those who has joined the effort is Yolanda Van der Kolk, an artist who moved to Santa Clara from Toronto in 2007. She has painted the golden frog poster seen above, and another Canadian expat, real estate seller and developer Rose Bourgeois (of El Valle's Rosa Azul Real Estate and Developments), put up the money to print that painting on 500 t-shirts. The proceeds from the sale of these will go to the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center.

Bourgeois, Van der Kolk and other supporters of the frog rescue effort are also holding a series of Saturday karaoke night fundraisers at the Xoko restaurant and bar.

The t-shirt campaign will begin on Saturday, July 18 at 8 p.m. at Xoko in Santa Clara. In addition to the t-shirts, there will be balloon pops, raffle draws, a 50/50 draw, a "Name that TV theme song" contest, and more than 5,000 English and a few hundred Spanish karaoke songs. (Liquid courage sold separately.)