COEXISTENCE STORY INC

POWERING COEXISTENCE - THE GRANTS: COEXISTENCE STORY SUPPORTED HUMAN-WILDLIFE COEXISTENCE EFFORTS ACROSS AFRICA, ASIA, AND EUROPE THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS WITH DEDICATED CONSERVATION ORGANIZATIONS. LION GUARDIANS: $150,000EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES IN THE AMBOSELI TO COEXIST PEACEFULLY WITH LIONS, BLENDING TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND SCIENCE-BASED SOLUTIONS. THEIR EFFORTS HAVE REDUCED LION KILLINGS BY MORE THAN 90% IN THE AMBOSELI-TSAVO ECOSYSTEM. FUNDS SUPPORTED A COMMUNITY AWARENESS CAMPAIGN AGAINST WILDLIFE POISONING, THE CREATION OF A MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT FOR LIONS, ELEPHANTS, AND LIVESTOCK, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW CONFLICT-MITIGATION TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE COEXISTENCE.WILD BIRD FUND: $10,000THE WILD BIRD FUND IS NEW YORK CITY'S ONLY REHABILITATION CENTER FOR BIRDS, CARING FOR THOUSANDS OF INJURED BIRDS EACH YEAR. TOGETHER WE EXPANDED PUBLIC EDUCATION ON COEXISTENCE, FROM BIRD-PROOFING BUILDINGS TO PREVENTING VEHICLE COLLISIONS, CREATING A SAFER CITY FOR MILLIONS OF MIGRATING BIRDS WHICH PASS THROUGH EACH YEAR. BLUE LAB PRESERVATION SOCIETY: $85,000THE REEFLINE IS RESTORING MIAMI'S COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS THROUGH ART, SCIENCE, AND COMMUNITY ACTION. FUNDS SUPPORTED THEIR FLAGSHIP PROJECT - A 7-MILE UNDERWATER PUBLIC SCULPTURE PARK AND HYBRID REEF THAT PROTECTS MARINE BIODIVERSITY, FOSTERS OCEAN LITERACY, AND INSPIRES GLOBAL STEWARDSHIP THROUGH CREATIVITY AND COLLABORATION. REWILDING ARGENTINA: $100,000REWILDING ARGENTINA REINTRODUCES SPECIES WHILST ENSURING A PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND THEIR ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN IBER, EL IMPENETRABLE, PATAGONIA PARK AND PATAGONIA AZUL. IN 2024, REWILDING ARGENTINA REINFORCED CO-EXISTENCE MEASURES AND MAINTAINED A RESPONSE TEAM WHICH SUPPORTS THE COMMUNITY BY PROVIDING TRAINING TO PARK GUARDS, POLICE AND FIREFIGHTERS ABOUT HOW TO BEST RESPOND IN CASE OF A "JAGUAR ALERT; DESIGNING ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION MATERIAL LINKED TO CO-EXISTENCE WITH REINTRODUCED WILDLIFE TO BE DISTRIBUTED IN LOCAL SCHOOLS AND EXPANDING THE "I AM A GUARDIAN OF IBER" COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN INTO THE ENTIRE PARK BUFFER AREA TO CREATE CONNECTIONS TO THE PARK WILDLIFE.PANGEA: $63,000PANGEA IS WORKING TO END ELEPHANT EXPLOITATION IN EUROPE AND INSPIRE COLLECTIVE ACTION FOR COEXISTENCE WITH THE NATURAL WORLD. FUNDS FROM COEXISTENCE STORY SUPPORTED THE FIRST PHASE OF DEVELOPMENT FOR EUROPE'S FIRST ELEPHANT SANCTUARY - A HAVEN FOR ELEPHANTS IN NEED AND A REFUGE WHERE NATIVE WILDLIFE CAN THRIVE. THE SANCTUARY WILL OFFER A TRANSFORMATIVE NEW MODEL FOR HOW ELEPHANTS ARE PERCEIVED AND PROTECTED. EUROPEAN NATURE TRUST: $10,800FUNDS SUPPORTED A PARTNERSHIP WITH ITALIAN COMMUNITY NGO SALVIAMO DORSO, WHO ARE TAKING PROACTIVE MEASURES TO SUPPORT BEAR POPULATIONS AS HUMANS EXPAND IN THEIR HISTORIC TERRITORIES, WITH THE CREATION OF 'BEAR SMART COMMUNITIES'. THIS INCLUDES AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS, SCHOOL EDUCATION PROGRAMS, AND PRACTICAL PREVENTION EFFORTS, SUCH AS ANTI-POISONING MEASURES AND "BEAR-SAFE" ROADS. INDIGENOUS LED: $50,000INDIGNEOUS LED BRAIDS INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE WITH WESTERN SCIENCE TO RESTORE ECOSYSTEM BALANCE THROUGH THE RESTORATION OF KEYSTONE SPECIES AND INDIGENOUS WAYS OF LIVING. FUNDING SUPPORTED COLLABORATIONS WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH AND SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY TO BUILD THE SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION FOR LARGE-SCALE INDIGENOUS-LED CONSERVATION AND ADVANCE BUFFALO RESTORATION POLICY AT THE STATE LEVEL. SHELDRICK TRUST: $26,200FUNDS SUPPORTED THEIR REACH THROUGHOUT KENYA TO PROTECT THE COUNTRY'S THREATENED ELEPHANT POPULATIONS, WHILST OFFERING PRACTICAL SUPPORT TO LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO COUNTERACT HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT AND ENCOURAGE A SUSTAINABLE COEXISTENCE BETWEEN PEOPLE AND WILDLIFE. THINK ELEPHANT: $10,000THINK ELEPHANTS INTERNATIONAL COMBINES SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION TO BETTER UNDERSTAND ELEPHANT BEHAVIOR AND BIOLOGY. FUNDS FROM THE GREAT ELEPHANT MIGRATION ENABLED NEW RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, INCLUDING THE CREATION OF A 10-DAY CURRICULUM DESIGNED TO HELP YOUNG PEOPLE UNDERSTAND ELEPHANTS ON A DEEPER LEVEL AND BECOME AMBASSADORS FOR COEXISTENCE. WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST: $6,300THE WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST IS WORKING TO REDUCE HUMAN-TIGER CONFLICT AND BUILD LONG-TERM COEXISTENCE IN CENTRAL INDIA. FUNDING FROM THE GREAT ELEPHANT MIGRATION SUPPORTED CAMERA-TRAP SURVEYS TO MONITOR TIGER POPULATIONS AND HUMAN ACTIVITY, AS WELL AS TRAINING FOR LOCAL FOREST STAFF IN WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING, WITH THE AIM OF CREATING A REPLICABLE MODEL FOR COEXISTENCE WITH LARGE CARNIVORES. SAVE THE BAY: $10,000SAVE THE BAY PROTECTS AND RESTORES RHODE ISLAND'S COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS FOR THE BENEFIT OF PEOPLE AND WILDLIFE. FUNDS RAISED SUPPORTED COMMUNITY-LED HABITAT RESTORATION, INCLUDING THE REMOVAL OF INVASIVE PHRAGMITES FROM NARRAGANSETT BAY, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF 26 SUMMER CAMPS TO TEACH CHILDREN HOW TO LIVE ALONGSIDE AND PROTECT THE COASTAL ENVIRONMENT.

PERPETUATING COEXISTENCE - INDIGENOUS ART ENTERPRISE: WE ARE THE PRIMARY PARTNER TO THE REAL ELEPHANT COLLECTIVE, AN INDIGENOUS ART ENTERPRISE BASED IN THE NILGIRI BIOSPHERE RESERVE. POWERED BY THE SOLIGA, BETTAKURUMBA, KATTUNAYAKAN, AND PANIYA COMMUNITIES, WHO LIVE ALONGSIDE THE WILD ELEPHANTS IN THE GREAT ELEPHANT MIGRATION HERD, THE COLLECTIVE BROUGHT THEIR STORY OF COEXISTENCE TO LIFE. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TREC, COEXISTENCE STORY DEVELOPED THE IDEA OF A HERD OF 100 LIFE-SIZED ELEPHANT SCULPTURES, CRAFTED FROM THE INVASIVE WEED LANTANA CAMARA, TO MIGRATE ACROSS CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES - TRANSFORMING AN ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE INTO A PLATFORM FOR CULTURAL STORYTELLING AND CONSERVATION MESSAGING. OUR ROLE WAS TO CONCEPTUALIZE THE PUBLIC ART MODEL, PROVIDE SEED FUNDING, DELIVER THE EXHIBIT AND CONNECT MARKETS. THE ARTISANS' EMPATHY, RESPECT, AND UNDERSTANDING OF THESE GIANTS ENABLED THEM TO REPLICATE THE ELEPHANTS WITH REMARKABLE ACCURACY, GENERATING APPROXIMATELY $680,000 IN REVENUE FOR THE COLLECTIVE IN 2024. IN 2024, THE NUMBER OF ELEPHANT-MAKING UNITS ACROSS THE NILGIRI HILLS GREW SIGNIFICANTLY, INCREASING THE NUMBER OF ARTISANS FROM 200 TO 300, MAKING IT INDIA'S LARGEST INDIGENOUS ECO-ENTERPRISE WHILE REINFORCING CULTURAL VALUES THAT SUSTAIN BIODIVERSITY. THE CREATION OF THE HERD ALSO ALIGNED ECONOMIC INCENTIVES WITH ECOSYSTEM PROTECTION. THE REAL ELEPHANT COLLECTIVE SUCCESSFULLY REMOVED 250 HECTARES OF LANTANA FROM BANDIPUR AND MUDUMALAI RESERVES. COEXISTENCE STORY'S INVESTMENT DIRECTLY SUPPORTED INDIGENOUS LIVELIHOODS, GENERATED LOCAL EMPLOYMENT, AND CREATED MEASURABLE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS THROUGH THE REMOVAL OF INVASIVE SPECIES. BY LINKING ART, CULTURE, ECONOMY, AND ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION, THE PROGRAM STRENGTHENED CULTURAL HERITAGE, SUPPORTED BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION, AND EXEMPLIFIED HOW CREATIVE ENTERPRISE CAN ADVANCE COEXISTENCE STRATEGIES AT SCALE.