Royal Oak seeds
by Duniel Barrios
Like every winter, a team of Planta! climbs two Western Cuba hills to collect the Royal Oak seeds, a treasure hard to find but always reassuring.
An original campaign, the first of its kind in Cuba, is encouraging citizens to find new individuals of the Royal Oak, one of the 50 most threatened species of Cuba.
Date: 25/02/2019
Proyecto: Rescue of the Royal Oak (Ekmanianthe longiflora)
“Wanted” is the word shown on hundreds of posters at stations, commercial places and parks in Cuba, like when hunting for a criminal. However, Ekmanianthe longiflora is just a tree; a king with no other wealth than a lengthy white flower (up to 20 cm), that opens for one night and then falls to the ground. Exclusive of Cuba and La Española, the Royal Oak was
common in the past in Central and Western Cuba, including Isla de la Juventud. Today, only four individuals are reported in Matanzas and one in Cienfuegos.
This pioneer campaign of Planta! is the first its kind in Cuba. We want people to be actively involved in conservation, to give them the chance to undertake specific actions and not just ask them to help us to protect the environment. We do not tell them “this is a threatened tree”. We say instead, “please go look for it, if you find it, we can save it.”
The idea of using the media to look for rare species originated a year ago at Planta!’s annual meeting. It was welcomed enthusiastically by all the members of our team. The Royal Oak, with a wide distribution in the past and a captivating name, it was the ideal one for a national campaign. I knew this tree only from the “Top 50 – the 50 most threatened plants of Cuba” , and yet I took the leadership of this campaign.
To make the spot, we went with Estudio 50, a creative team specialized in audiovisuals, design and publicity. The initial script was “too scientific”, so they helped me with the adaptations to make it more comprehensible. The image of the tree was created in 3D because we did not have good pictures of it. This tree is not only scarce, but its branches grow in between other leafy trees so taking a photo could be challenging.
Following Planta! approach, with always positive messages, both the video and the poster had a white background to stay away from a TV tendency to overload the message. The charismatic actor Raul Bravo was approaching the audience like a friend that encounters you and have a casual talk. The singularity of this video from the visual point of view was aimed to attract the public’s attention.
The filming was a new experience for me. I had never been in a shooting set with so many professionals and equipment. People were consulting me with details, I felt like an Executive Producer, although in fact my main task was to hold the script for a good while to guide Raúl.
When we took the spot to the TV station, we were told that it was too long. With a duration of 54 seconds, it was almost twice the time required. So, we started all over again. Luckily, the good will of the actor and the crew did not diminish. This time, we divided the information that was essential to identify the species and developed two shorter complementary versions. Those are the ones that reach every Cuban home on a daily basis since December.
Another crucial stage of the campaign was the distribution of the posters. Planta!’s volunteers have helped us to take our message all over Cuba. We habilitated a hotline so those who have seen the Royal Oak can contact us. In just a few days we have received the first calls and they give us hope, it could work…
In the following months we will go on an expedition to the places that have been reported to confirm the presence of the Royal Oak. We strongly believe that those who retrace the forests are probably seeing the plant every day, unaware of its rareness.
In our experience, the community was already essential when censing magnolias in Topes de Collantes. Species that we used to considered lost were well known among locals, and they knew exactly where to find the plants.
“The contribution of the community can make a difference in the search and protection of natural treasures in our Island. We hope to create a popular Cuban movement for the search of lost species.”
Coordinator of the project Royal Oak at Planta!
Biology student, University of Havana
If this campaign works, it could be replicated with other plant species threatened by extinction. So please, join us… and spread the word.
by Duniel Barrios
Like every winter, a team of Planta! climbs two Western Cuba hills to collect the Royal Oak seeds, a treasure hard to find but always reassuring.
by Sergio Hernández Rodríguez
Not even when the world seems to be forced to stop, the team of Planta! quits working. These are times of teleworking, and our team knows it. Protecting the singular Cuban flora must go through the pandemic.
by Majela Hernández Rodríguez
Three species of trees allow us to come back to our beloved Topes de Collantes. They are exclusive Cuban species with reduced populations in the past but now recovering with our help.