The Rhineland-Palatinate is a lovely wine growing area in Southwest Germany bordering France where the Palatinate Forest and part of the Rhine River Valley are located. White Storks have recently been re-introduced to Rhineland-Palatinate by a non-profit environmental protection group called “Aktion Pfalzstorch” www.pfalzstorch.de . Aktion Pfalzstorch started in 1997 with scientific support to re-introduce White Storks to Rhineland-Palatinate.
Formerly this beautiful bird was numerous in Western European countries and in the Palatinate. The transformation of the environment, especially by excessive intensification of agriculture, has resulted in a strong decline of stork populations, and even total extinction in some areas. Extinction was the fate of this fascinating bird in Rhineland-Palatinate from 1973 until 1996! Thanks to the successful efforts of Aktion Pfalzstorch there were 39 pairs of white storks nesting here and producing offspring in 2004. However, much work is still necessary in order to establish a stable population here!
The re-introduction of the white stork is not only important for the birds alone. The general popularity of the storks allows for the success of Aktion Pfalzstorch, and helps to bring support for general maintenance of intact Nature in the region. This success shall help efforts for re-introduction of the European Lynx in the Palatinate Forest and maintenance of the local flora and fauna.
For the Stork festival in Bornheim in 2006 an exhibit of works from Art from Jacklyn included 7 oil painting, one watercolor and a chalk drawing of white storks among other works supporting ecological themes. Soon the new stork center in Bornheim will be open to school classes, tourists and the general public. In the new stork center the oil painting “How babies are made” can be seen.
20% of the sale price from all stork works are donated by Jacklyn to Aktion Pfalzstorch.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE ELEPHANT PICTURES
The African elephants depicted here live in Amboseli National Park in Kenya. Amboseli is one of the last places on earth where large groups of elephants live year round. They live in family groups led by the oldest female elephant. Adult males live alone. At times the families gather together to wander about in extended families and even herds! Amboseli borders Tanzania and Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Afrika. The elephants must not leave the park in dry periods because there is a vast swamp located within the park. The elephants share Amboseli with the Masai, a local nomadic tribe who live from their cattle herds. There are often conflicts between the needs of the Masai and the needs of the elephants. The elephants sense where the Masai are currently located, and try to stay away from this area.
In September of 2005 the President of Kenya decided to reduce Amboseli from a National Park regulated by conservation officers to a game reserve. This change would bring Amboseli under regulation of the local population. This change would have very negative consequences for the elephants of Amboseli. Conservation groups including Save Amboseli www.saveamboseli.net have sued against this action. The future of Amboseli is supposed to have been decided in the local courts in September 2007. Unfortunately, no information is currently available as to a decision. The unrest in Kenya since the election at the end of 2007 has complicated the flow of information on Amboseli. The courts have decided that Amboseli remain a National Park until the final decision has been reached.
