Doctor of Conservation visits Darwin Initiative

Dr. Colin Clubbe enjoys a tour of heritage forest
adjacent to the Community College, with Ann Stafford
of CaymanNature and Dr. Mat Cottam from the
Department of Environment.

 
Dr. Colin Clubbe of Kew Gardens examines botanical
specimens in the Salina Reserve

Wednesday,  December 14, 2005

Dr. Colin Clubbe, Head of the UK Overseas Territories Conservation Programme at Kew, one of the world’s leading botanic gardens, recently made a tour of some of the Cayman Islands’ more organic sites.

Dr. Clubbe’s visit was focused mainly on the newly established Darwin Initiative project aimed at drawing together local and international expertise with the goal of developing a Biodiversity Action Plan for the Cayman Islands by protecting both our terrestrial and marine life and their habitats.

Dr. Clubbe’s area of special interest is tropical forest ecology with an emphasis on forests of the Caribbean making his involvement and contribution to the initiative especially valuable.

Dr Mat Cottam, Darwin Research Fellow from the Department of Environment said he was thrilled to welcome the support of Dr. Clubbe and Kew Gardens.

 “Colin brings with him a wealth of expertise and resources and this is a great opportunity for local stakeholders to benefit from the involvement of the internationally renowned Kew Gardens,” he said.

Local stakeholders in the project were invited to meet Dr Clubbe and discuss their own objective and concerns for the botanical diversity of Cayman. His visit was hosted by the Department of Environment and other representatives included the Botanic Park, National Trust, the Orchid Society, the Garden Club, CaymanNature, the Department of Environment, and the Department of Agriculture.

Several priority issues emerged, including the threatened status of many of our slow-growing forest trees, and the threats posed by the introduction and spreading of fast-growing alien invasive species.

“This is a keen and interested group of plant people, and I’m looking forward to working with them,” said Dr Clubbe.

Dr Clubbe was able to offer practical support from Kew in a variety of areas including taxonomic analysis, advice on seed collection and propagation techniques, dealing with invasive plants and the opportunity for Cayman to contribute to the Millennium Seed Bank project.

The Millennium Seed Bank aims to safeguard many of the world’s plant species from extinction, by establishing and maintaining a centralized stock of frozen seeds which in the case of a natural disaster, such as a hurricane, can be used to re-establish plants and trees which may otherwise have been completely wiped out.

The Seed Bank already contains seeds representing almost all the botanical complement of the UK.  Dr. Clubbe’s busy week-long schedule enabled him to become familiar with Cayman’s unique plants and trees.

His first stop was a small island of ancient dry forest, located in the middle of busy George Town.  Dr Clubbe was amazed to see the large variety of trees growing on this small patch of land, which is located adjacent to the Community College. Unlike much of Cayman’s bush, which can be difficult to get to, this small patch of woodland is very accessible: a living representation of many of the trees and plants which have played a significant role in our cultural heritage. Dr. Clubbe remarked how the area might be developed both in the interest of Conservation and Tourism. “This would be the perfect place for the construction of a board walk to enable the full potential of this remarkable forest to be realised,” said Dr Clubbe.

Also on Dr Clubbe’s schedule of visits were the Mastic Trail, the National Trust offices, the Salina Reserve, CaymanNature and the Botanic Park.

Dr Clubbe enjoyed a guided tour of the Park’s facilities, with a focus on the Woodland Trail, and the orchid propagation unit. Plans for a native tree nursery were discussed, along with many of the challenges facing Cayman since hurricane Ivan.

He was so impressed by the Park, he managed to squeeze in an extra visit, to spend more time in the Heritage Garden, which features an original restored turn-of-the-century Caymanian farm house, set in a traditional sand garden.  At the conclusion of his visit, Dr. Clubbe expressed his hopes for the future.

“This was a great introduction to Cayman and I look forward to getting back soon and working with this enthusiastic and committed group of people,” he added.

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