The Jamaica Endemic Bird Festival will be held from Friday, April 28 - 30 at Emanicpation Park, New Kingston as a part of the Jamaica Wellfest expo. This will be in celebration of Earth Day on April 22^nd, as well as form part of the activities for the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival, celebrated regionally from April 22 to May 22. The Festival was first held in 2002 and is an initiative of the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB), which is supported by BirdLife International, and aims to increase awareness and appreciation of Caribbean birds.  

Jamaica has 30 endemic birds, the highest in the Caribbean region. Unfortunately, eight or approximately 25% of our endemic birds are threatened with extinction. The Jamaica Endemic Bird Festival aims to build public awareness about the status of our endemic birds and increase knowledge of the threats facing them, as well as the efforts that are being made to protect the birds and their habitat.  

Exhibitors working in Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Jamaica will be invited to set up display booths. Members of the general public and schools currently in the Schools’ Environment Programme (SEP), SEP Earth Kids and Teacher Training Colleges in Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Catherine and St. Thomas will be invited to view these exhibits, as well as participate in bird games and other activities. Each school will be invited to participate in a bird costume competition and bring posters on birds done by their students for display and prepare a skit, song or poem to perform at the Festival. The advanced SEP schools will assist with making facemasks from papier mache and painting bird faces on them for the students at the Festival. Since Recycle Jamaica Day is always celebrated on Earth Day, the schools can also bring in their PET plastic bottles for recycling. 

All 353 schools in SEP have been invited to celebrate Jamaica’s endemic birds on Earth Day this year. Those schools that will not be a part of the Festival in Kingston will organise their own activities.