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Flag exchange in UK
Whilst visiting Rotary Club of Southampton Solent, Pam and Ex President of RC Silves, Alan Winn met two visitors from South Carolina, Emerson and Cathy Smith. After introducing their clubs and activities Alan and Emerson exchanged their club flags. Members of RC Southampton Solent have visited RC Silves regularly and supported many of their events. We always look forward to seeing them in the Algarve.
Welcoming a New Member
Rainer expressed the pleasure of welcoming Sian as a new member. Sian was educated in Portuguese schools in Silves and Armaçao de Pêra, where she met Professora Isabel Flores as her Portuguese teacher her sponsor in Rotary. She is fluent in English and Portuguese, working in tourism where she added Spanish and French. Currently Sian works as a Business Development Manager at Farming Futures. In partnership with farms in the Philippines, their mission is to improve the genetic quality of livestock with the aim of achieving food security. Sian would like to be involved in the rehabilitation and guidance of young women who are in trouble and help to motivate and inspire them to choose a better path. Sian’s passion is music, which she created in her “home studio” until her baby girl arrived. She would like to be involved in Rotary’s educational programs for example with the children creating music for the Oscar’s. Members look forward to working with Sian.
Smiles all Round
The Silves-based family charity Castelo de Sonhos has sent a “huge thank you” to everyone who participated in the 19th Christmas Shoebox Campaign for the Elderly.
A record of over 300 boxes were donated, which meant that the Castelo de Sonhos volunteers were able to distribute boxes to local care homes and to elderly patients at Portimão Hospital (via the Associação Elos de Esperança) and also to the Algarve Emporium charity in Guia.
Silves Rotary club takes part in this every year and thanks all of it’s members and friends who participated. We know what a good feeling it is to help others especially at Christmas.
Christmas Swim
The Christmas swim is organised by the the Junta de Freguesia de Armação de Pêra and Classic Car Club of Barlavento. The funds raised from this event are given to the Junta de Freguesia de Armação de Pêra to support of needy families in the parish. The Rotary Club of Silves supported this event last year and this year is no exception. A donation of 1000€ has been given as part of our support for local communities in Silves.
RC Silves Members Enjoy the First Walk of the Season
RC Silves members and friends joined a walk kindly organised a member Philippe Pfister. The country side around the Arade valley is full of surprises. Walkers were treated to fantastic views and were amazed by archaeological remains dating back thousands of years. The sun accompanied us most of the way and the little rain showers did not dampen members enthusiasm. Walks are nor restricted to members. Friends are always welcome.
Just a few of the views
Burial Sites
Festival of Lights
Lagoa International Rotary Club along with Almancil International Rotary Club and the Rotary Club of Silves have organized for you a night of dinner, dancing fun and fellowship. The proceeds from the raffle go to aid the fight against domestic violence. Registration details are on the poster below. We hope you can join us.
Welcome to Dirk
RC Silves welcomes Dirk Smeton as a new member. Having recently made a new home in the Algarve and already participated in some fundraising. He is looking forward to working with new friends to benefit the local community. President Rainer Kroth congratulated Dirk at a rotary meeting and presented his pin.
Christmas Shoebox Appeal
This is the 19th Annual Shoebox Appeal for the disadvantaged of Silves. Christmas is just around the corner and these shoeboxes filled with gifts at Christmas make a big difference. Members of the RC Silves contribute each year to this appeal and this year will be no exception. We hope that you can help us to provide gifts this Christmas. One Shoebox can make all the difference. See the poster below to see how you can help.
A fascinating talk by Sue Butler Cole about an Amazonian Forest Project
Sue Butler-Cole gave a 30-minute talk about this Amazonian Forest Project the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP) where she had worked from late 1979 until early 1982. It was originally called the Minimum Critical Size of Ecosystems. This project was to identify the minimum critical size of a forest reserve so that there would be no loss of species. In the 1970’s there was a very ambitious Brazilian Government program of national park development in Amazonia, but the big question was whether these new parks were going to be large enough to protect all the species within them. In 1977 Dr. Thomas E. Lovejoy learned about the law stipulating that 50% of land purchased from the Government had to be left intact. He came up with a plan to isolate various sized forest reserves starting with 1 hectare up to 1,000 hectares and study the rate of species loss due to their isolation. In 1979 the WWF and the Brazilian National Institute for Amazon Research (INPA) set up the BDFFP project with the intention of finding answers to the debate about single large or several small reserves (SLOSS). After 45 years the project is still going strong because long term data statistics are so valuable and make it possible to answer questions which were not part of the original project design. To date the project has produced 140 PhD & Masters graduates (of which more than half are Brazilian) plus an enormous number of scientific publications.
See Wikipedia regarding:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SLOSS_debate
Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_Dynamics_of_Forest_Fragments_Project
Rubber Duck Racing
Never been tried before but RC Silves is always up for a challenge. Thirty members and friends gathered for an afternoon of fun and fundraising at the home of one of the members. They were treated to an afternoon tea and drinks whilst their rubber ducks raced to find the fastest rubber duck in the pool. Each member had a mascot duck to mark their progress through the races to the grand final.
The crowd watched in anticipation while the racing ducks took their places in the starting gate and then they were off. Fighting turbulence and adverse wind conditions they battled to the finish.
After four heats, two semi finals and a final the winner was Nicky Emms and her cross looking zebra rubber duck who managed a brief smile at the finish. In second place was Jim Kennedy with his lilac dragon duck who wore a heart on his chest throughout.
Prizes were presented by Domino and Petra from the Corridors of Peace Project. A good time was had by all and 835€ was raised in support of the Corridors of Peace project in Chad. A new focus for RC Silves.
Rotary Clube de Silves 